Namespaces
Variants
Views
Actions

Difference between revisions of "cpp/regex/regex search"

From cppreference.com
< cpp‎ | regex
(added note comparing to std::regex_match)
m (Alignment fix.)
 
(33 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{cpp/title|regex_search}}
 
{{cpp/title|regex_search}}
 
{{cpp/regex/navbar}}
 
{{cpp/regex/navbar}}
{{ddcl list begin}}
+
{{dcl begin}}
{{ddcl list header | regex}}
+
{{dcl header|regex}}
{{ddcl list item | num=1 | notes={{mark since c++11}} | 1=
+
{{dcl|num=1|since=c++11|1=
template< class BidirIt,  
+
template< class BidirIt, class Alloc, class CharT, class Traits >
          class Alloc, class CharT, class Traits >
+
 
bool regex_search( BidirIt first, BidirIt last,
 
bool regex_search( BidirIt first, BidirIt last,
                   std::match_results<BidirIt,Alloc>& m,
+
                   std::match_results<BidirIt, Alloc>& m,
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT,Traits>& e,
+
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =  
+
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
}}
 
}}
{{ddcl list item | num=2 | notes={{mark since c++11}} | 1=
+
{{dcl|num=2|since=c++11|1=
template< class Alloc, class CharT, class Traits >
+
template< class BidirIt, class CharT, class Traits >
bool regex_search( const CharT* str,
+
bool regex_search( BidirIt first, BidirIt last,
                  std::match_results<BidirIt,Alloc>& m,
+
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT,Traits>& e,
+
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags {{=}}
+
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
}}
 
}}
{{ddcl list item | num=3 | notes={{mark since c++11}} | 1=
+
{{dcl|num=3|since=c++11|1=
template< class STraits, class SAlloc,
+
template< class CharT, class Alloc, class Traits >
          class Alloc, class CharT, class Traits >
+
bool regex_search( const CharT* str,
bool regex_search( const std::basic_string<CharT,STraits,SAlloc>& s,
+
                   std::match_results<const CharT*, Alloc>& m,
                   std::match_results<
+
                      typename std::basic_string<CharT,STraits,SAlloc>::const_iterator,
+
                      Alloc
+
                  >& m,
+
 
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
 
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags {{=}}
+
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
}}
 
}}
{{ddcl list item | num=4 | notes={{mark since c++11}} | 1=
+
{{dcl|num=4|since=c++11|1=
template< class BidirIt,
+
          class CharT, class Traits >
+
bool regex_search( BidirIt first, BidirIt last,
+
                  const std::basic_regex<CharT,Traits>& e,
+
                  std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags {{=}}
+
                      std::regex_constants::match_default );
+
}}
+
{{ddcl list item | num=5 | notes={{mark since c++11}} | 1=
+
 
template< class CharT, class Traits >
 
template< class CharT, class Traits >
bool regex_search( const CharT* str,
+
bool regex_search( const CharT* str, const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                  const std::basic_regex<CharT,Traits>& e,
+
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags {{=}}
+
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
}}
 
}}
{{ddcl list item | num=6 | notes={{mark since c++11}} | 1=
+
{{dcl|num=5|since=c++11|1=
template< class STraits, class SAlloc,
+
template< class STraits, class SAlloc, class Alloc,
 
           class CharT, class Traits >
 
           class CharT, class Traits >
bool regex_search( const std::basic_string<CharT,STraits,SAlloc>& s,
+
bool regex_search
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT,Traits>& e,
+
    ( const std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>& s,
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =  
+
      std::match_results
 +
          <typename std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>::const_iterator,
 +
          Alloc>& m,
 +
      const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
 +
      std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
 +
          std::regex_constants::match_default );
 +
}}
 +
{{dcl|num=6|since=c++11|1=
 +
template< class STraits, class SAlloc, class CharT, class Traits >
 +
bool regex_search( const std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>& s,
 +
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
 +
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
 
}}
 
}}
{{ddcl list end}}
+
{{dcl|num=7|since=c++11|1=
 +
template< class STraits, class SAlloc, class Alloc,
 +
          class CharT, class Traits >
 +
bool regex_search
 +
    ( const std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>&&,
 +
      std::match_results
 +
          <typename std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>::const_iterator,
 +
          Alloc>&,
 +
      const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>&,
 +
      std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
 +
          std::regex_constants::match_default ) = delete;
 +
}}
 +
{{dcl end}}
  
1) Determines if there is a match between the regular express {{tt|e}} and some subsequence in the target character sequence {{tt|[first,last)}}.   Match results are returned in {{tt|m}}.
+
Determines if there is a match between the regular expression {{c|e}} and some subsequence in the target character sequence. The detailed match result is stored in {{c|m}} (if present).
  
2) Returns std::regex_search(str, str + std::char_traits<charT>::length(str), m, e, flags).
+
@1,2@ The target character sequence is represented by the range {{range|first|last}}.
 +
{{rev begin}}
 +
{{rev|until=c++23|
 +
If {{tt|BidirIt}} does not satisfy the requirements of {{named req|BidirectionalIterator}}, the behavior is undefined.
 +
}}
 +
{{rev|since=c++23|
 +
If {{tt|BidirIt}} does not model {{lconcept|bidirectional_iterator}}, the behavior is undefined.
 +
}}
 +
{{rev end}}
  
3) Returns std::regex_search(s.begin(), s.end(), m, e, flags).
+
@3,4@ The target character sequence is represented by the range {{range|str|str + std::char_traits<CharT>::length(str)}}.
  
4) The same as (1), omitting the match results.
+
@5,6@ The target character sequence is represented by the string {{c|s}}.
  
5) Returns std::regex_search(str, str + std::char_traits<charT>::length(str), e, flags).
+
@7@ The target character sequence cannot be represented by a {{lc|std::string}} rvalue.
  
6) Returns std::regex_search(s.begin(), s.end(), e, flags).
+
If a match does not exist, the following expressions involving {{c|m}} (if exists) should yield the specified values:
 +
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
 +
!{{nbsp}}Expression{{nbsp}}
 +
!{{nbsp}}Value{{nbsp}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/ready}}{{c/core|()}}}}
 +
|{{c|true}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/size}}{{c/core|()}}}}
 +
|{{c|0}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/empty}}{{c/core|()}}}}
 +
|{{c|true}}
 +
|}
  
Note that {{tt|regex_search}} can successfully match any subsequence of the given sequence, whereas {{c|std::regex_match}} will only return {{c|true}} if the regular expression matches the ''entire'' sequence.
+
If a match exists, given any integer in {{open range|​0|m.size()}} as {{c|n}}, the following expressions involving {{c|m}} should yield the specified values for each overload listed below:
 +
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
 +
!rowspan=2|{{nbsp|6}}Expression{{nbsp|6}}
 +
!colspan=3|Value
 +
|-
 +
!{{nbsp|11}}Overload {{v|1}}{{nbsp|11}}
 +
!{{nbsp|11}}Overload {{v|3}}{{nbsp|11}}
 +
!{{nbsp|11}}Overload {{v|5}}{{nbsp|11}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/ready}}{{c/core|()}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|{{c|true}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/size}}{{c/core|()}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|{{box|{{c/core|1 + e.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/basic_regex/mark_count}}{{c/core|()}}}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/empty}}{{c/core|()}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|{{c|false}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/prefix}}{{c/core|().first}}}}
 +
|{{c|first}}
 +
|{{c|str}}
 +
|{{c|s.begin()}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/prefix}}{{c/core|().second}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|{{c|m[0].first}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/prefix}}{{c/core|().matched}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|{{c|1=m.prefix().first != m.prefix().second}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/suffix}}{{c/core|().first}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|{{c|m[0].second}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/suffix}}{{c/core|().second}}}}
 +
|{{c|last}}
 +
|<span style="text-align: start;">{{c multi|std::char_traits<CharT>::|    length(str) + str}}</span>
 +
|{{c|s.end()}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m.}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/suffix}}{{c/core|().matched}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|{{c|1=m.suffix().first != m.suffix().second}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/operator at|[0]}}{{c/core|.first}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|the start of the sequence that matched {{c|e}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/operator at|[0]}}{{c/core|.second}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|the end of the sequence that matched {{c|e}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/operator at|[0]}}{{c/core|.matched}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|{{c|true}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/operator at|[n]}}{{c/core|.first}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|
 +
* {{c|last}} if [[cpp/regex/ecmascript#Sub-expressions|marked sub-expression]] {{c|n}} did not participate in the match
 +
* the start of the sequence otherwise matching sub-expression {{c|n}} otherwise
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/operator at|[n]}}{{c/core|.second}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|
 +
* {{c|last}} if [[cpp/regex/ecmascript#Sub-expressions|marked sub-expression]] {{c|n}} did not participate in the match
 +
* the end of the sequence otherwise matching sub-expression {{c|n}} otherwise
 +
|-
 +
|{{box|{{c/core|m}}{{ltt|cpp/regex/match_results/operator at|[n]}}{{c/core|.matched}}}}
 +
|colspan=3|
 +
* {{c|false}} if [[cpp/regex/ecmascript#Sub-expressions|marked sub-expression]] {{c|n}} did not participate in the match
 +
* {{c|true}} otherwise
 +
|}
  
 
===Parameters===
 
===Parameters===
{{param list begin}}
+
{{par begin}}
{{param list item | first, last | the target character range}}
+
{{par|first, last|the target character range}}
{{param list item | m | the match results}}
+
{{par|str|the target null-terminated C-style string}}
{{param list item | str | a target character null-terminated C-style string}}
+
{{par|s|the target {{lc|std::basic_string}}}}
{{param list item | s | a target character std::basic_string}}
+
{{par|m|the match results}}
{{param list item | e | the std::regex}}
+
{{par|e|the regular expression}}
{{param list item | flags | the match flags}}
+
{{par|flags|flags used to determine how the match will be performed}}
{{param list hreq}}
+
{{par end}}
{{param list req concept | BidirIt | BidirectionalIterator}}
+
{{param list req concept | Alloc | Allocator}}
+
{{param list end}}
+
  
 
===Return value===
 
===Return value===
Returns {{c|true}} if a match exists, {{c|false}} otherwise. In either case, the object {{tt|m}} is updated, as follows:
+
Returns {{c|true}} if a match exists, {{c|false}} otherwise.
  
If the match does not exist:
+
===Notes===
{{dcl list begin}}
+
In order to examine all matches within the target sequence, {{tt|std::regex_search}} may be called in a loop, restarting each time from {{c|m[0].second}} of the previous call. {{lc|std::regex_iterator}} offers an easy interface to this iteration.
{{dcl list item | {{c|1=m.ready() == true}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|1=m.empty() == true}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|1=m.size() == 0}} }}
+
{{dcl list end}}
+
 
+
If the match exists:
+
{{dcl list begin}}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.ready()}} | {{c|true}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.empty()}} | {{c|false}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.size()}}  | number of subexpressions plus 1, that is, {{c|1+e.mark_count()}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.prefix().first}} | {{tt|first}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.prefix().second}} | {{c|m[0].first}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.prefix().matched}} | {{c|m.prefix().first !{{=}} m.prefix().second}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.suffix().first}} | {{c|m[0].second}}}}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.suffix().second}} | {{tt|last}}}}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m.suffix().matched}} | {{c|m.suffix().first !{{=}} m.suffix().second}} }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m[0].first}} | the start of the matching sequence }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m[0].second}} | the end of the matching sequence }}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|m[0].matched}} | {{c|true}} if a match was found, {{c|false}} otherwise}}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|1=m[n].first}} | the start of the sequence that matched sub-expression n, or {{tt|last}} if the subexpression did not participate in the match}}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|1=m[n].second}} | the end of the sequence that matched sub-expression n, or {{tt|last}} if the subexpression did not participate in the match}}
+
{{dcl list item | {{c|1=m[n].matched}} | {{c|true}} if sub-expression n participated in the match, {{c|false}} otherwise}}
+
{{dcl list end}}
+
  
 
===Example===
 
===Example===
 
{{example
 
{{example
| code=
+
|code=
| output=
+
#include <cstddef>
 +
#include <iostream>
 +
#include <regex>
 +
#include <string>
 +
 
 +
int main()
 +
{
 +
    std::string lines[] = {"Roses are #ff0000",
 +
                          "violets are #0000ff",
 +
                          "all of my base are belong to you"};
 +
   
 +
    std::regex color_regex("#([a-f0-9]{2})"
 +
                            "([a-f0-9]{2})"
 +
                            "([a-f0-9]{2})");
 +
   
 +
    // simple match
 +
    for (const auto& line : lines)
 +
        std::cout << line << ": " << std::boolalpha
 +
                  << std::regex_search(line, color_regex) << '\n';
 +
    std::cout << '\n';
 +
   
 +
    // show contents of marked subexpressions within each match
 +
    std::smatch color_match;
 +
    for (const auto& line : lines)
 +
        if (std::regex_search(line, color_match, color_regex))
 +
        {
 +
            std::cout << "matches for '" << line << "'\n";
 +
            std::cout << "Prefix: '" << color_match.prefix() << "'\n";
 +
            for (std::size_t i = 0; i < color_match.size(); ++i)
 +
                std::cout << i << ": " << color_match[i] << '\n';
 +
            std::cout << "Suffix: '" << color_match.suffix() << "\'\n\n";
 +
        }
 +
   
 +
    // repeated search (see also std::regex_iterator)
 +
    std::string log(R"(
 +
        Speed: 366
 +
        Mass: 35
 +
        Speed: 378
 +
        Mass: 32
 +
        Speed: 400
 +
Mass: 30)");
 +
    std::regex r(R"(Speed:\t\d*)");
 +
    for (std::smatch sm; regex_search(log, sm, r);)
 +
    {
 +
        std::cout << sm.str() << '\n';
 +
        log = sm.suffix();
 +
    }
 +
   
 +
    // C-style string demo
 +
    std::cmatch cm;
 +
    if (std::regex_search("this is a test", cm, std::regex("test")))
 +
        std::cout << "\nFound " << cm[0] << " at position "
 +
                  << cm.prefix().length() << '\n';
 +
}
 +
|output=
 +
Roses are #ff0000: true
 +
violets are #0000ff: true
 +
all of my base are belong to you: false
 +
 
 +
matches for 'Roses are #ff0000'
 +
Prefix: 'Roses are '
 +
0: #ff0000
 +
1: ff
 +
2: 00
 +
3: 00
 +
Suffix: ''
 +
 
 +
matches for 'violets are #0000ff'
 +
Prefix: 'violets are '
 +
0: #0000ff
 +
1: 00
 +
2: 00
 +
3: ff
 +
Suffix: ''
 +
 
 +
Speed: 366
 +
Speed: 378
 +
Speed: 400
 +
 
 +
Found test at position 10
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
===Defect reports===
 +
{{dr list begin}}
 +
{{dr list item|wg=lwg|dr=2205|std=C++11|before={{c|n}} could be zero in the postcondition|after=can only be positive}}
 +
{{dr list item|wg=lwg|dr=2329|std=C++11|before=overload {{v|5}} accepted {{tt|basic_string}} rvalues,<br>which could result in dangling iterators|after=rejected via deleted overload {{v|7}}}}
 +
{{dr list end}}
  
 
===See also===
 
===See also===
{{dcl list begin}}
+
{{dsc begin}}
{{dcl list template | cpp/regex/dcl list basic_regex}}
+
{{dsc inc|cpp/regex/dsc basic_regex}}
{{dcl list template | cpp/regex/dcl list match_results}}
+
{{dsc inc|cpp/regex/dsc match_results}}
{{dcl list template | cpp/regex/dcl list regex_match}}
+
{{dsc inc|cpp/regex/dsc regex_match}}
{{dcl list end}}
+
{{dsc end}}
  
[[de:cpp/regex/regex search]]
+
{{langlinks|de|es|fr|it|ja|pt|ru|zh}}
[[es:cpp/regex/regex search]]
+
[[fr:cpp/regex/regex search]]
+
[[it:cpp/regex/regex search]]
+
[[ja:cpp/regex/regex search]]
+
[[pt:cpp/regex/regex search]]
+
[[ru:cpp/regex/regex search]]
+
[[zh:cpp/regex/regex search]]
+

Latest revision as of 21:38, 14 November 2024

Defined in header <regex>
template< class BidirIt, class Alloc, class CharT, class Traits >

bool regex_search( BidirIt first, BidirIt last,
                   std::match_results<BidirIt, Alloc>& m,
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =

                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
(1) (since C++11)
template< class BidirIt, class CharT, class Traits >

bool regex_search( BidirIt first, BidirIt last,
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =

                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
(2) (since C++11)
template< class CharT, class Alloc, class Traits >

bool regex_search( const CharT* str,
                   std::match_results<const CharT*, Alloc>& m,
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =

                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
(3) (since C++11)
template< class CharT, class Traits >

bool regex_search( const CharT* str, const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =

                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
(4) (since C++11)
template< class STraits, class SAlloc, class Alloc,

          class CharT, class Traits >
bool regex_search
    ( const std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>& s,
      std::match_results
          <typename std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>::const_iterator,
           Alloc>& m,
      const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
      std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =

          std::regex_constants::match_default );
(5) (since C++11)
template< class STraits, class SAlloc, class CharT, class Traits >

bool regex_search( const std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>& s,
                   const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>& e,
                   std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =

                       std::regex_constants::match_default );
(6) (since C++11)
template< class STraits, class SAlloc, class Alloc,

          class CharT, class Traits >
bool regex_search
    ( const std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>&&,
      std::match_results
          <typename std::basic_string<CharT, STraits, SAlloc>::const_iterator,
           Alloc>&,
      const std::basic_regex<CharT, Traits>&,
      std::regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =

          std::regex_constants::match_default ) = delete;
(7) (since C++11)

Determines if there is a match between the regular expression e and some subsequence in the target character sequence. The detailed match result is stored in m (if present).

1,2) The target character sequence is represented by the range [firstlast).

If BidirIt does not satisfy the requirements of LegacyBidirectionalIterator, the behavior is undefined.

(until C++23)

If BidirIt does not model bidirectional_iterator, the behavior is undefined.

(since C++23)
3,4) The target character sequence is represented by the range [strstr + std::char_traits<CharT>::length(str)).
5,6) The target character sequence is represented by the string s.
7) The target character sequence cannot be represented by a std::string rvalue.

If a match does not exist, the following expressions involving m (if exists) should yield the specified values:

 Expression   Value 
m.ready() true
m.size() 0
m.empty() true

If a match exists, given any integer in (0m.size()) as n, the following expressions involving m should yield the specified values for each overload listed below:

      Expression       Value
           Overload (1)                       Overload (3)                       Overload (5)           
m.ready() true
m.size() 1 + e.mark_count()
m.empty() false
m.prefix().first first str s.begin()
m.prefix().second m[0].first
m.prefix().matched m.prefix().first != m.prefix().second
m.suffix().first m[0].second
m.suffix().second last std::char_traits<CharT>::
    length(str) + str
s.end()
m.suffix().matched m.suffix().first != m.suffix().second
m[0].first the start of the sequence that matched e
m[0].second the end of the sequence that matched e
m[0].matched true
m[n].first
  • last if marked sub-expression n did not participate in the match
  • the start of the sequence otherwise matching sub-expression n otherwise
m[n].second
  • last if marked sub-expression n did not participate in the match
  • the end of the sequence otherwise matching sub-expression n otherwise
m[n].matched

Contents

[edit] Parameters

first, last - the target character range
str - the target null-terminated C-style string
s - the target std::basic_string
m - the match results
e - the regular expression
flags - flags used to determine how the match will be performed

[edit] Return value

Returns true if a match exists, false otherwise.

[edit] Notes

In order to examine all matches within the target sequence, std::regex_search may be called in a loop, restarting each time from m[0].second of the previous call. std::regex_iterator offers an easy interface to this iteration.

[edit] Example

#include <cstddef>
#include <iostream>
#include <regex>
#include <string>
 
int main()
{
    std::string lines[] = {"Roses are #ff0000",
                           "violets are #0000ff",
                           "all of my base are belong to you"};
 
    std::regex color_regex("#([a-f0-9]{2})"
                            "([a-f0-9]{2})"
                            "([a-f0-9]{2})");
 
    // simple match
    for (const auto& line : lines)
        std::cout << line << ": " << std::boolalpha
                  << std::regex_search(line, color_regex) << '\n';
    std::cout << '\n';
 
    // show contents of marked subexpressions within each match
    std::smatch color_match;
    for (const auto& line : lines)
        if (std::regex_search(line, color_match, color_regex))
        {
            std::cout << "matches for '" << line << "'\n";
            std::cout << "Prefix: '" << color_match.prefix() << "'\n";
            for (std::size_t i = 0; i < color_match.size(); ++i) 
                std::cout << i << ": " << color_match[i] << '\n';
            std::cout << "Suffix: '" << color_match.suffix() << "\'\n\n";
        }
 
    // repeated search (see also std::regex_iterator)
    std::string log(R"(
        Speed:	366
        Mass:	35
        Speed:	378
        Mass:	32
        Speed:	400
	Mass:	30)");
    std::regex r(R"(Speed:\t\d*)");
    for (std::smatch sm; regex_search(log, sm, r);)
    {
        std::cout << sm.str() << '\n';
        log = sm.suffix();
    }
 
    // C-style string demo
    std::cmatch cm;
    if (std::regex_search("this is a test", cm, std::regex("test"))) 
        std::cout << "\nFound " << cm[0] << " at position "
                  << cm.prefix().length() << '\n';
}

Output:

Roses are #ff0000: true
violets are #0000ff: true
all of my base are belong to you: false
 
matches for 'Roses are #ff0000'
Prefix: 'Roses are '
0: #ff0000
1: ff
2: 00
3: 00
Suffix: ''
 
matches for 'violets are #0000ff'
Prefix: 'violets are '
0: #0000ff
1: 00
2: 00
3: ff
Suffix: ''
 
Speed:	366
Speed:	378
Speed:	400
 
Found test at position 10

[edit] Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

DR Applied to Behavior as published Correct behavior
LWG 2205 C++11 n could be zero in the postcondition can only be positive
LWG 2329 C++11 overload (5) accepted basic_string rvalues,
which could result in dangling iterators
rejected via deleted overload (7)

[edit] See also

regular expression object
(class template) [edit]
identifies one regular expression match, including all sub-expression matches
(class template) [edit]
attempts to match a regular expression to an entire character sequence
(function template) [edit]