◄Up► ◄Contents► ◄Index► ◄Back► ─────Programmer's WorkBench───────────────────────────────────────────────── The type of non-UNIX matching method is significant only when you use a find-and-replace command. The matching method refers to the technique used to match repeated expressions. For example, does 'a*' match as few or as many characters as it can? The answer depends on the matching method. PWB supports two matching methods: ■ "Minimal matching" matches as few characters as possible to find a match. Minimal matching is specified by the '*' and '+' characters. For example, 'a+' matches only the first character in 'aaaaa'. However, 'ba+b' matches the entire string 'baaaab' because it is necessary to match every 'a' to match both occurrences of 'b'. ■ "Maximal matching" matches as many characters as possible. Maximal matching is specified by the '@' and '#' characters. For example, 'a#' matches the entire string 'aaaaaa'. Example If 'a+' (minimal matching plus) is the search string and 'EE' is the replacement string, PWB replaces 'aaaaa' with 'EEEEEEEEEE' because at each occurrence of 'a', PWB immediately replaces it with 'EE'. However, if 'a#' (maximal matching plus) is the search string, PWB replaces the same string with 'EE' because it matches the entire string 'aaaaa' at once and replaces that string with 'EE'. -♦-