reg expressions do look for every iteration of the search string, right?

[steveryan]

if i have the code:

if (eregi($pattern, $contents, $foundurl))
{
for ($i=0; $i<=count($foundurl); $i++)
echo "$foundurl[$i]";
}
else
{
echo "No URLs found.";
}

where:
$pattern is some pattern
$contents is the HTML of some website i've stored in a variable
$foundurl is used to store anything it matches (note: i am searching for URLs)

I am right in thinking that any URLs it finds will be stored in the $foundurl array, right? It shouldn't stop searching after it finds one URL?

Sorry, I am a mongo when it comes to regular expressions...

Thanks...

[Weedpacket]

No, it will stop after the first one it finds. It returns "true: the pattern did match something in the sting" or "false: there wasn't a match".

To be precise: it starts matching as soon as it possibly can, and then for as long as it possibly can. That's why searching for "<b>.*</b>" to find bold text will likely fail - it will match the first <b> in the text, and continue on for as long as possible - up to the very last </b> in the text - all in a single match.

If you want to find all the occurrences of a pattern, see the manual regarding the use of preg_match_all(). In fact, I use the preg_* functions exclusively: they're faster-running and the syntax is more convenient - not necessarily more powerful, but certainly more convenient. And as a bonus, the manual contains a couple of sections on their regexp syntax.

[tijger]

hey,

yes, the way you wrote it, it will stop after finding 1 URL.
you should use while not if.

greetings, tijger

[steveryan]

appreciate the help 😉