GNU bug report logs - #31584
27.0.50; Document again what match re-search-backward finds

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Message #14 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eric Abrahamsen <eric <at> ericabrahamsen.net>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#31584: 27.0.50;
 Document again what match re-search-backward finds
Date: Thu, 24 May 2018 15:10:26 -0700

Michael Heerdegen <michael_heerdegen <at> web.de> writes:

> Eric Abrahamsen <eric <at> ericabrahamsen.net> writes:
>
>> Michael Heidegger <michael_heerdegen <at> web.de> writes:
>
> FWIW, my last name is "Heerdegen" AFAIK.

It's not too late to change!

I blame `flyspell-auto-correct-previous-word' for this stuff the same
way that other people blame autocorrect on iOS. Apparently I randomly
hit "C-;" a lot.

>> >    The match found is the one starting last in the buffer
>> >    and yet ending before the origin of the search.
>
>> I've been bitten by this before. I'm sure the sentence you cite is
>> correct, but I would suggest something more explicit about backwards
>> searches. The most useful thing I could have read when I was wondering
>> why this didn't work would be something like: "re-search-backward always
>> behaves "non-greedily", i.e., it will find the shortest match before
>> point".
>>
>> That might not be technically correct, but those are the terms that
>> would have made sense to me: in particular, the "*" token is supposed to
>> be "greedy", so why isn't it greedy backwards? This doesn't explain why
>> it isn't, but it would have explicitly told me that it wouldn't be.
>
> Without thinking long about it, I guess the above definition, and greedy
> operators behaving non-greedy for backwards search, could be equivalent,
> more or less.

I agree they're equivalent, but it would take me longer to think about
it, particularly when I'm trying to make a regexp match and am already
annoyed. But it was just a suggestion -- so long as something gets in
there, I don't mind.

Eric

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