buffer. They are meant for use in programs, but you may call them
interactively. If you do so, they prompt for the search string; the
arguments @var{limit} and @var{noerror} are @code{nil}, and @var{repeat}
-is 1.
+is 1. For more details on interactive searching, @pxref{Search,,
+Searching and Replacement, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}.
These search functions convert the search string to multibyte if the
buffer is multibyte; they convert the search string to unibyte if the
@end group
@end example
-The argument @var{limit} specifies the upper bound to the search. (It
-must be a position in the current buffer.) No match extending after
+The argument @var{limit} specifies the bound to the search, and should
+be a position in the current buffer. No match extending after
that position is accepted. If @var{limit} is omitted or @code{nil}, it
defaults to the end of the accessible portion of the buffer.
error is signaled. If @var{noerror} is @code{t}, @code{search-forward}
returns @code{nil} and does nothing. If @var{noerror} is neither
@code{nil} nor @code{t}, then @code{search-forward} moves point to the
-upper bound and returns @code{nil}. (It would be more consistent now to
-return the new position of point in that case, but some existing
-programs may depend on a value of @code{nil}.)
+upper bound and returns @code{nil}.
+@c I see no prospect of this ever changing, and frankly the current
+@c behavior seems better, so there seems no need to mention this.
+@ignore
+(It would be more consistent now to return the new position of point
+in that case, but some existing programs may depend on a value of
+@code{nil}.)
+@end ignore
The argument @var{noerror} only affects valid searches which fail to
find a match. Invalid arguments cause errors regardless of
@group
(word-search-forward "Please find the ball, boy.")
- @result{} 35
+ @result{} 36
---------- Buffer: foo ----------
He said "Please! Find
If @var{repeat} is non-@code{nil}, then the search is repeated that many
times. Point is positioned at the end of the last match.
+
+@findex word-search-regexp
+Internal, @code{word-search-forward} and related functions use the
+function @code{word-search-regexp} to convert @var{string} to a
+regular expression that ignores punctuation.
@end deffn
@deffn Command word-search-forward-lax string &optional limit noerror repeat
This command is identical to @code{word-search-forward}, except that
-the end of @code{string} need not match a word boundary unless it ends
+the end of @var{string} need not match a word boundary, unless @var{string} ends
in whitespace. For instance, searching for @samp{ball boy} matches
@samp{ball boyee}, but does not match @samp{aball boy}.
@end deffn
@deffn Command word-search-backward-lax string &optional limit noerror repeat
This command is identical to @code{word-search-backward}, except that
-the end of @code{string} need not match a word boundary unless it ends
+the end of @var{string} need not match a word boundary, unless @var{string} ends
in whitespace.
@end deffn
@code{case-fold-search} to @code{nil}. Then all letters must match
exactly, including case. This is a buffer-local variable; altering the
variable affects only the current buffer. (@xref{Intro to
-Buffer-Local}.) Alternatively, you may change the default value of
-@code{case-fold-search}.
+Buffer-Local}.) Alternatively, you may change the default value.
+In Lisp code, you will more typically use @code{let} to bind
+@code{case-fold-search} to the desired value.
Note that the user-level incremental search feature handles case
distinctions differently. When the search string contains only lower
case letters, the search ignores case, but when the search string
contains one or more upper case letters, the search becomes
case-sensitive. But this has nothing to do with the searching
-functions used in Lisp code.
+functions used in Lisp code. @xref{Incremental Search,,, emacs,
+The GNU Emacs Manual}.
@defopt case-fold-search
This buffer-local variable determines whether searches should ignore
case. If the variable is @code{nil} they do not ignore case; otherwise
-they do ignore case.
+(and by default) they do ignore case.
@end defopt
@defopt case-replace
-This variable determines whether the higher level replacement
+This variable determines whether the higher-level replacement
functions should preserve case. If the variable is @code{nil}, that
means to use the replacement text verbatim. A non-@code{nil} value
means to convert the case of the replacement text according to the
/* String search routines for GNU Emacs.
- Copyright (C) 1985-1987, 1993-1994, 1997-1999, 2001-2012
- Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+Copyright (C) 1985-1987, 1993-1994, 1997-1999, 2001-2012
+ Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This file is part of GNU Emacs.
Set point to the beginning of the occurrence found, and return point.
Unlike `word-search-backward', the end of STRING need not match a word
-boundary unless it ends in whitespace.
+boundary, unless STRING ends in whitespace.
An optional second argument bounds the search; it is a buffer position.
The match found must not extend before that position.
Set point to the end of the occurrence found, and return point.
Unlike `word-search-forward', the end of STRING need not match a word
-boundary unless it ends in whitespace.
+boundary, unless STRING ends in whitespace.
An optional second argument bounds the search; it is a buffer position.
The match found must not extend after that position.
HCoop / bpt / emacs.git / commitdiff