PCRE2_SET_...ERN_LENGTH(3)

🎀 NAME 🎀

PCRE2 - Perl-compatible regular expressions (revised API) 💖

Okay bestie, this is the PCRE2_SET_...ERN_LENGTH(3) page from the PCRE2 Library Functions Manual — yes, the title has that whole ... situation going on, but that's literally the name, iykyk 🫶.

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <pcre2.h>

int pcre2_set_max_pattern_length(pcre2_compile_context *ccontext,
  PCRE2_SIZE value);

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

So pcre2_set_max_pattern_length() sets, in a compile context, the maximum text length — measured in code units — of the pattern that can be compiled. The result is always zero. No cap, no drama, just 0 💅.

If a longer pattern is passed to pcre2_compile(), boom: there is an immediate error return 😭. The default is effectively unlimited, being the largest value a PCRE2_SIZE variable can hold — so it's basically “go off until the type itself runs out of room” ✨.

Not me setting a max pattern length and then immediately passing a longer one to pcre2_compile()... that's an immediate error return, bestie 😭💀.

For the full tea: there is a complete description of the PCRE2 native API in the pcre2api page, and a description of the POSIX API in the pcre2posix page 🧚💜.

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Cute little sign-off: this iconic page is from PCRE2 10.47, dated 05 October 2016, and its title is PCRE2_SET_...ERN_LENGTH(3) 🎀💖. Periodt.