Using JMP • Formula Functions Reference • Character Pattern Functions

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Character Pattern Functions
These functions provide powerful pattern matching abilities. Pattern matching is a flexible method for searching and manipulating strings, and regular expressions are also supported. When you create these formulas, note that:
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First, you define a pattern with one more of the character patterns.
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Then, you use Pat Match to compare a string to the pattern.
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Pat Match returns True (1) if the pattern is found in the string, or it returns False (0) if the pattern was not found in the string.
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To use regular expressions instead of patterns, use Regex Match.
For examples, see Pattern Matching in the Scripting Guide.
Pat Any
Constructs a pattern that matches a single character in the argument.
Pat Not Any
Constructs a pattern that matches a single character that is not in the argument.
Pat Break
Constructs a pattern that matches zero or more characters that are not in its argument; it stops or breaks on a character in its argument. It fails if a character in its argument is not found. In particular, it fails to match if it finds the end of the source string without finding a break character.
Pat Span
Constructs a pattern that matches one or more (not zero) occurrences of characters in its argument. It is greedy; it always matches the longest possible string. It fails rather than matching zero characters.
Pat String
Constructs a pattern that matches its string argument.
Pat Len
Constructs a pattern that matches n characters.
Pat Pos
Constructs patterns that match the null string if the current position is int from the left end of the string, and fail otherwise.
Pat R Pos
Constructs patterns that match the null string if the current position is int from the right end of the string, and fails otherwise.
Pat Tab
Constructs a pattern that matches forward to position int in the source string. It can match 0 or more characters. It fails if it would have to move backwards or beyond the end of the string.
Pat R Tab
Constructs a pattern that matches up to position n from the end of the string. It can match 0 or more characters. It fails if it would have to move backwards or beyond the end of the string.
Pat Test
Constructs a pattern that succeeds and matches the null string if expr is not zero and fails otherwise.
Pat At
Constructs a pattern that matches the null string and stores the current position in the source string into the specified JSL variable (varName). The assignment is immediate, and the variable can be used with expr() to affect the remainder of the match.
Pat Rem
Constructs a pattern that matches the remainder of the string. It is equivalent to patRTab(0).
Pat Arb
Constructs a pattern that matches an arbitrary string. Initially it matches the null string. It matches one additional character each time the pattern matcher backs into it.
Pat Succeed
Constructs a pattern that always succeeds, even when the matcher backs into it. It matches the null string.
Pat Fail
Constructs a pattern that fails whenever the matcher attempts to move forward through it. The matcher backs up and tries different alternatives. If and when there are no alternatives left, the match fails and Pat Match returns 0.
Pat Abort
Constructs a pattern that immediately cancels the pattern match. The matcher does not back up and retry any alternatives. Conditional assignments are not made. Immediate assignments that were already made are kept.
Pat Fence
Constructs a pattern that succeeds and matches the null string when the matcher moves forward through it, but fails when the matcher tries to back up through it. It is a one-way trap door that can be used to optimize some matches.
Pat Arb No
Constructs a pattern that matches zero or more copies of pattern.
Pat Repeat
Matches pattern between minimum and maximum times.
Pat Conditional
Saves the result of the pattern match, if it succeeds, to a variable named as the second argument (type) after the match is finished.
Pat Immediate
Saves the result of the pattern match to a variable named as the second argument (varName) immediately.
Pat Altern
Constructs a pattern that matches any one of the pattern arguments.
Pat Concat
Constructs a pattern that matches each pattern argument in turn.
Pat Regex
Constructs a pattern that matches the regular expression in the quoted string argument.
Pat Match
Pat Match executes a pattern match using the source in the first argument and the pattern in the second argument. The pattern must be constructed first, either inline or by assigning it to a JSL variable elsewhere. A third argument, if present, is the replacement text for the matched characters in the source argument (if the source argument is a variable). Pat Match returns true if the match succeeds. Additional arguments, in any order, are ANCHOR (match must begin at start of source), FULLSCAN (turn off some optimizations for special situations), and MATCHCASE (by default, A == a).
Pat Match returns true or false rather than a string, so Pat Match is somewhat difficult to use in a formula. You might find the Regex function (Regex) easier to use when you are adding pattern-matching formulas in the Formula Editor.
Regex Match
Regex Match is similar to Pat Match. Regex Match executes a pattern match using the source in the first argument and the pattern in the second argument. Regex Match uses a regular expression for the second argument and returns a list of information about the result of the match.
A simpler function, Regex (Regex), is also available. Regex returns a string value rather than a list, so Regex is usually easier to use in the Formula Editor than RegEx Match.

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Help created on 3/19/2020