## net.sf.saxon.functions.regex
Interface RegularExpression

All Superinterfaces:
  Serializable

All Known Implementing Classes:
  JRegularExpression

    public interface RegularExpression

extends Serializable

This interface represents a compiled regular expression

Field Summary
`static int` `EXPAND_COMPLEMENT_BLOCKS`
`static int` `JAVA_SYNTAX`
`static int` `XML11`
`static int` `XPATH20`
`static int` `XPATH30`

Method Summary
`RegexIterator` `analyze(CharSequence input)` Use this regular expression to analyze an input string, in support of the XSLT analyze-string instruction.
`boolean` `containsMatch(CharSequence input)` Determine whether the regular expression contains a match of a given string
`boolean` `matches(CharSequence input)` Determine whether the regular expression match a given string in its entirety
`CharSequence` `replace(CharSequence input, CharSequence replacement)` Replace all substrings of a supplied input string that match the regular expression with a replacement string.
`SequenceIterator` `tokenize(CharSequence input)` Use this regular expression to tokenize an input string.

Field Detail

### XML11

    static final int XML11

See Also:
  Constant Field Values

### XPATH20

    static final int XPATH20

See Also:
  Constant Field Values

### XPATH30

    static final int XPATH30

See Also:
  Constant Field Values

### JAVA_SYNTAX

    static final int JAVA_SYNTAX

See Also:
  Constant Field Values

### EXPAND_COMPLEMENT_BLOCKS

    static final int EXPAND_COMPLEMENT_BLOCKS

See Also:
  Constant Field Values

Method Detail

### matches

    boolean matches(CharSequence input)

  Determine whether the regular expression match a given string in its entirety

  Parameters:
    `input` - the string to match
  Returns:
    true if the string matches, false otherwise

### containsMatch

    boolean containsMatch(CharSequence input)

  Determine whether the regular expression contains a match of a given string

  Parameters:
    `input` - the string to match
  Returns:
    true if the string matches, false otherwise

### tokenize

    SequenceIterator tokenize(CharSequence input)

  Use this regular expression to tokenize an input string.

  Parameters:
    `input` - the string to be tokenized
  Returns:
    a SequenceIterator containing the resulting tokens, as objects of type StringValue

### analyze

    RegexIterator analyze(CharSequence input)

  Use this regular expression to analyze an input string, in support of the XSLT analyze-string instruction. The resulting RegexIterator provides both the matching and non-matching substrings, and allows them to be distinguished. It also provides access to matched subgroups.

  Parameters:
    `input` - the character string to be analyzed using the regular expression
  Returns:
    an iterator over matched and unmatched substrings

### replace

    CharSequence replace(CharSequence input,
                         CharSequence replacement)
                         throws XPathException

  Replace all substrings of a supplied input string that match the regular expression with a replacement string.

  Parameters:
    `input` - the input string on which replacements are to be performed
    `replacement` - the replacement string in the format of the XPath replace() function
  Returns:
    the result of performing the replacement
  Throws:
    `XPathException` - if the replacement string is invalid

Copyright (c) 2004-2010 Saxonica Limited. All rights reserved.