GNU bug report logs - #22655
grep-2.21 (and git master): --null-data and ranges work in an odd way (-P works fine)

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From: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
To: Aaron Crane <grep <at> aaroncrane.co.uk>
Cc: 22655 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Stephane Chazelas <stephane.chazelas <at> gmail.com>
Subject: bug#22655: grep -Pz '^' now fails!
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2016 15:12:41 -0800

Aaron Crane wrote:
> I'm not sure it's ideal to use the Perl documentation as
> a comprehensive guide to PCRE:

Unfortunately libpcre does not document the regular expression syntax it 
supports. Neither does the grep manual, for 'grep -P'. And as you've mentioned, 
the Perl manual isn't a reliable source for libpcre either. So users of 'grep 
-P' cannot rely on any documentation for behavior; it's an unwritten tradition 
instead.

Long ago when a friend told me "When you're telling someone else where you plan 
to throw the Frisbee, don't say anything more specific than 'Watch this!'" 
That's 'grep -P' in a nutshell.

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