How to search a whole word in emacs?

How to search a whole word in emacs?

[webinfinite]

I need to search  a whole word in a big file. For example, I need to
search "Machine" but I don't need to know anything like
"machine_state", "running_machine_state" etc. The search shall be case
sensitive.

I've tried C-s ret C-w Machine but it returns every word with
"Machine" in it. I just need the exact word.

Thank you for your help.

Re: How to search a whole word in emacs?

[Amy Templeton]

"webinfinite@gmail.com" <webinfinite@gmail.com> wrote:
> I need to search a whole word in a big file. For example, I need to search
> "Machine" but I don't need to know anything like "machine_state",
> "running_machine_state" etc. The search shall be case sensitive.

> I've tried C-s ret C-w Machine but it returns every word with "Machine" in
> it. I just need the exact word.

Dear Web,

The following should do the trick, searching for the word "machine" either
at the beginning of a line and followed by a space, surrounded by spaces, or
preceded by a space and at the end of a line. Type the following (not the
bit with the dashes, though):

-----------------|CODE|-----------------
M-x re-search-forward RET
\(^\|[ \t]\)machine\([ \t]\|$\)
----------------------------------------

It's probably more constructive to copy the regexp than to type it all in.
This will place your cursor at the *end* of whatever it finds.

For more information, the section in the Info system on regexps is useful.

Amy

-- 
A day without orange juice is like a day without orange juice.

Re: How to search a whole word in emacs?

[Eric Hanchrow]

    I need to search  a whole word in a big file. For example, I need to
    search "Machine" but I don't need to know anything like
    "machine_state", "running_machine_state" etc. The search shall be case
    sensitive.

    I've tried C-s ret C-w Machine but it returns every word with
    "Machine" in it. I just need the exact word.

You want either 

        M-C-s \ b M a c h i n e \ b

or perhaps

        M-x word-search-forward RET Machine RET

-- 
Asking the Iraqi people to assume Saddam's debts
is rather like telling a man who has been shot in the head
that he has to pay for the bullet.
        -- James Surowiecki

Re: How to search a whole word in emacs?

[David Hansen]

On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:08:24 -0700 Eric Hanchrow wrote:

>         M-x word-search-forward RET Machine RET

aka C-s RET

RE: How to search a whole word in emacs?

[Drew Adams]

>     I need to search  a whole word in a big file. For example, I need to
>     search "Machine" but I don't need to know anything like
>     "machine_state", "running_machine_state" etc. The search shall be case
>     sensitive.
>
>     I've tried C-s ret C-w Machine but it returns every word with
>     "Machine" in it. I just need the exact word.

Assuming that "ret" means hit the Enter key (usually written RET), that
should work fine (assuming you also follow it by another RET). It should not
find "Machine" in the middle of other words; it should find it only as a
whole word. It is a non-incremental search, however, which is usually less
convenient than incremental search.

> You want either M-C-s \ b M a c h i n e \ b

That's incremental and works fine, but can be a bit hard to remember.

> or perhaps M-x word-search-forward RET Machine RET

Aother way to do incremental word search (also a bit hard to remember):

 C-s M-e C-w  M a c h i n e  C-s

Starting with Emacs 22, this is documented in the Emacs manual (node Word
Search).

Another way, if you use Isearch+
(http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/IsearchPlus):

 C-s M-w  M a c h i n e

This (`isearch-toggle-word') is from Juri Linkov, BTW. I thought it was
going to be added to Emacs a year ago, but it looks like it never was. Too
bad. An advantage is that `M-w' is a toggle between word and non-word
search - use it at any time.

Re: How to search a whole word in emacs?

[Johan Bockgård]

"webinfinite@gmail.com" <webinfinite@gmail.com> writes:

> I need to search a whole word in a big file. For example, I need to
> search "Machine" but I don't need to know anything like
> "machine_state", "running_machine_state" etc. The search shall be case
> sensitive.
>
> I've tried C-s ret C-w Machine but it returns every word with
> "Machine" in it. I just need the exact word.

`running_machine_state' usually counts as a symbol consisting of three
words. You need to search for symbol, not word, boundaries (works only
in Emacs >= 22):

    C-M-s \_<Machine\_>

-- 
Johan Bockgård

Re: How to search a whole word in emacs?

[Dieter Wilhelm]

David Hansen <david.hansen@gmx.net> writes:

> On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:08:24 -0700 Eric Hanchrow wrote:
>
>>         M-x word-search-forward RET Machine RET
>
> aka C-s RET

Super! Thanks a lot.

By the way, this is not documented for C-s (isearch-forward).

only in: (info-other-window "(emacs)Special Isearch")



-- 
    Best wishes

    H. Dieter Wilhelm
    Darmstadt, Germany

Re: How to search a whole word in emacs?

[David Combs]

Amy Templeton  <amy.g.templeton@gmail.com> wrote:
...
>
>For more information, the section in the Info system on regexps is useful.
>
>Amy

For *VASTLY* more information, plus examples galore, plus explanations,
etc, don't even think of using regexps without first acquiring the book
(well, "bible"):

   Mastering Regular Expressions, 2nd Edition
   By [54]Jeffrey E. F. Friedl
   2nd Edition July 2002
   0-596-00289-0, Order Number: 2890
   484 pages, $39.95 US $61.95 CA #28.50 UK


Much cheaper (eg 40% off) at www.bookpool.com.

This book is the regexp-bible for the planet -- covers
emacs, perl, php, egrep, java, you name it.

Scan through the book, and you won't understand how you
thought you knew what you were doing before you got the book.

To convince her and others to get it, how about
some comments from those who've got the book?

THANKS!

David

Re: How to search a whole word in emacs?

[Xah Lee]

David Combs wrote:
<<...Mastering Regular Expressions, By Jeffrey E. F. Friedl... To
convince her and others to get it, how about some comments from those
who've got the book?>>

I read it in its entirety in 1999. (first edition)

I think it is a excellent book. However, i don't think it as a
practical, necessary, book, for average professional programers who
works with text a lot (such as web app developers and sys admins).
Because:

* in my extensive use of regexes, daily, since about 1998 working in
the web application industry and sys admin, i only need to use
advanced regex maybe once or twice a year.

* most complex regexes needs, are more practical to be implemented by
breaking down into 2 patterns to test on (as opposed to a single
complex regex).

* when you need advanced regexes, the regex very quickly cannot handle
the job. You need either to break it into several regexes with nested
if statements, or you need a parser.

in the above, by "advanced regexes" i mean non-grouping constructs of
the form (?...), boundary anchors, nested patterns... etc.

-------------------
related articles i've wrote:

* Pyhton Regex Documentation: String Pattern Matching (complete
rewrite of python's re module doc.)
http://xahlee.org/perl-python/python_re-write/lib/module-re.html

* Simple intro to emacs's regex
http://xahlee.org/emacs/emacs_regex.html

* Emacs Lisp regex doc
http://xahlee.org/elisp/Regular-Expressions.html

  Xah
  xah@xahlee.org
\xAD\xF4 http://xahlee.org/



> To convince her and others to get it, how about
> some comments from those who've got the book?

On Nov 22, 4:44 pm, dkco...@panix.com (David Combs) wrote:
> Amy Templeton  <amy.g.temple...@gmail.com> wrote:
> ...
>
>
>
> >For more information, the section in the Info system on regexps is useful.
>
> >Amy
>
> For *VASTLY* more information, plus examples galore, plus explanations,
> etc, don't even think of using regexps without first acquiring the book
> (well, "bible"):
>
>    Mastering Regular Expressions, 2nd Edition
>    By [54]Jeffrey E. F. Friedl
>    2nd Edition July 2002
>    0-596-00289-0, Order Number: 2890
>    484 pages, $39.95 US $61.95 CA #28.50 UK
>
> Much cheaper (eg 40% off) atwww.bookpool.com.
>
> This book is the regexp-bible for the planet -- covers
> emacs, perl, php, egrep, java, you name it.
>
> Scan through the book, and you won't understand how you
> thought you knew what you were doing before you got the book.
>
> To convince her and others to get it, how about
> some comments from those who've got the book?
>
> THANKS!
>
> David