incremental regexp search string

incremental regexp search string

[Robert J. Chassell]

Searching for   \[\[ [0-9]+

Currently, when I write to another person telling him of an
incremental regexp search expression with some special constructs used
as ordinary characters, it appears I must say the expression in words:

    two left square brackets followed by a space and a number between 0
    and 9.

and he must type   [[ [0-9]+

On the other hand, for `occur' interactively, I can suggest  \[\[ [0-9]+
as an argument that he simply copy.

Specifically, when I try to tell my correspondent that he should seek
\[\[ [0-9]+   an incremental regexp search looks for   \\\[\\\[ \[0-9\]\+
which is not what I intend.

An incremental regexp search for   [[ [0-9]+   produces   \[\[ \[0-9\]\+
which is not what I want either.

I can edit   \[\[ \[0-9\]\+   using M-e and the search then succeeds.

Besides editing, is there anything I can do to enable me to send a
message about a specific incremental regexp search?  If so we should
document better.  Or is my quest a lose?

--
    Robert J. Chassell
    bob@rattlesnake.com                         GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
    http://www.rattlesnake.com                  http://www.teak.cc

Re: incremental regexp search string

[Richard M. Stallman]

    Currently, when I write to another person telling him of an
    incremental regexp search expression with some special constructs used
    as ordinary characters, it appears I must say the expression in words:

	two left square brackets followed by a space and a number between 0
	and 9.

    and he must type   [[ [0-9]+

I do not follow you.  
That would not be the correct input for regexp isearch.
It is necessary to type \[\[ [0-9]+
to find such places.

Re: incremental regexp search string

[Robert J. Chassell]

    That would not be the correct input for regexp isearch.

Right.  My mistake.  What I wrote in my note to myself is that when
another copies from a message

     [[ [0-9]+   becomes    \[\[ \[0-9\]\+   and you must delete
    the last three backslashes for the incremental regexp search to
    succeed.

and  \[\[ [0-9]+  becomes \\\[\\\[ \[0-9\]\+   which also fails.

Unfortunately, for my message to Emacs, I changed some of the text 
when I discovered that my correspondent can copy   \[\[ [0-9]+    
as an argument to `occur'.

-- 
    Robert J. Chassell                         
    bob@rattlesnake.com                         GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
    http://www.rattlesnake.com                  http://www.teak.cc