PCRE_MAKETABLES(3)

💖 PCRE_MAKETABLES 💖

ok so this is a page from the Library Functions Manual, bestie — it's PCRE_MAKETABLES(3) and it's all about building character tables. yes, literally. let's go 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

PCRE — Perl-compatible regular expressions 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <pcre.h>

const unsigned char *pcre_maketables(void);

const unsigned char *pcre16_maketables(void);

const unsigned char *pcre32_maketables(void);

like. three whole functions. all of them taking zero arguments. iconic behaviour tbh 👑

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so this function builds a set of character tables for character values less than 256. that's the whole gig. character values. under 256. slay 💖

and what do you do with these tables?? you can pass them to pcre[16|32]_compile() to override PCRE's internal, built-in tables — which, fun fact, were made by pcre[16|32]_maketables() back when PCRE was compiled. so you're basically overriding the tables that were themselves made by the very same family of functions. generational. 🧚

when would you even want to do this?? if you are using a non-standard locale. that's the vibe check right there. non-standard locale = you might wanna swap in your own tables. periodt.

and the function yields a pointer to the tables. so you get a const unsigned char * back. don't lose it. 🎀

ngl there is also a complete description of the PCRE native API in the pcreapi page, and a description of the POSIX API in the pcreposix page. go read those too bestie, they're right there 📚

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• pcreapi — the complete description of the PCRE native API
• pcreposix — the description of the POSIX API

ok that's the whole page, no cap. 💜

and for the cute sign-off: this lil masterpiece is from PCRE 8.30, dated 24 June 2012, and it lives in the Library Functions Manual — so shoutout to the manual page PCRE_MAKETABLES(3), we love her, we respect her, bye bestie 🫶🌸