Using Sun WorkShop

Special Characters in Patterns

Although you can enter a pattern exactly as it appears in the code, you can also use special characters to specify a set of patterns. You can use the special characters in Table 3-1 in patterns.

Table 3-1 Special Characters in Patterns


Character	Meaning	Example
Period (.)	Matches any character	`l.nes` matches all occurrences of `lanes` or `lines.`
Asterisk (*)	Matches any number of characters, including zero or more consecutive occurrences of the character that precedes it, except when it is the first character in the pattern	`file.()` matches any string that fcontains `file` followed by zero or more characters and `()`, such as `traffic_file_close()` and `file_save_popup`. `file.` matches only strings that begin with `file.`
Circumflex (^)	Constrains the search to match the beginning of a line	`^tr*` finds all lines that begin with `traffic`, `truck`, or any other string beginning with `tr.`
Dollar sign ($)	Constrains the search to match the end of a line	`lanes$` finds all the lines that end with the string `lanes.`

For example, suppose you want to search for window_popup in the code, but only those instances that begin a line. You would type the following query:

^window_popup*

The circumflex (^) tells the browser to look only at those matches that start a line of code, while the asterisk (*) asks for all matches with window_popup, including window_popup_name_objects and window_popup1_objects.

Note -

Surrounding an expression with a circumflex and a dollar sign constrains the search to match the entire line.