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Wildcard string compare (globbing)

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4.90/5 (82 votes)
15 Feb 2005 1.1M   96   144
Matches a string against a wildcard string such as "*.*" or "bl?h.*" etc. This is good for file globbing or to match hostmasks.

Usage:

This is a fast, lightweight, and simple pattern matching function.

if (wildcmp("bl?h.*", "blah.jpg")) {
  //we have a match!
} else {
  //no match =(
}

Function:

int wildcmp(const char *wild, const char *string) {
  // Written by Jack Handy - <A href="mailto:jakkhandy@hotmail.com">jakkhandy@hotmail.com</A>
  const char *cp = NULL, *mp = NULL;

  while ((*string) && (*wild != '*')) {
    if ((*wild != *string) && (*wild != '?')) {
      return 0;
    }
    wild++;
    string++;
  }

  while (*string) {
    if (*wild == '*') {
      if (!*++wild) {
        return 1;
      }
      mp = wild;
      cp = string+1;
    } else if ((*wild == *string) || (*wild == '?')) {
      wild++;
      string++;
    } else {
      wild = mp;
      string = cp++;
    }
  }

  while (*wild == '*') {
    wild++;
  }
  return !*wild;
}

License

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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralRe: Many thanks, with 1 small gripe .. Pin
Jack Handy6-Oct-04 8:13
Jack Handy6-Oct-04 8:13 
GeneralRe: Many thanks, with 1 small gripe .. Pin
Vic Mackey16-Oct-04 19:33
Vic Mackey16-Oct-04 19:33 
GeneralRe: Many thanks, with 1 small gripe .. Pin
Voja Intermajstor24-Nov-04 23:26
Voja Intermajstor24-Nov-04 23:26 
GeneralNice code... Pin
Voja Intermajstor25-Aug-04 2:30
Voja Intermajstor25-Aug-04 2:30 
GeneralSlight efficiency improvement Pin
GKarRacer9-Jul-04 6:53
GKarRacer9-Jul-04 6:53 
GeneralRe: Slight efficiency improvement Pin
GKarRacer9-Jul-04 7:19
GKarRacer9-Jul-04 7:19 
QuestionPathMatchSpec (shlwapi.h)? Pin
peterchen28-Jun-04 6:56
peterchen28-Jun-04 6:56 
AnswerRe: PathMatchSpec (shlwapi.h)? Pin
Jack Handy13-Feb-05 9:56
Jack Handy13-Feb-05 9:56 
GeneralDoesnt seem to work well.. Pin
bikram singh13-May-04 1:56
bikram singh13-May-04 1:56 
GeneralRe: Doesnt seem to work well.. Pin
Jack Handy21-Jun-04 9:13
Jack Handy21-Jun-04 9:13 
The Windows Explorer search is not a straight wildcard match. It essentially adds *'s to either end of your input string so "b?r" matches "foobar.txt". I take a more literal approach. This function does not presume to be smarter than the caller. It is not only meant for files, it is also very useful for checking hostmasks for example.

If you think my function is producing bad results, can you paste an example of the string along with the wildcard?

Thanks,

Jack


There are 10 types of people in this world, those that understand binary and those who don't.


GeneralCase Insensitive wildcmp Pin
Member 95170316-Mar-04 9:36
Member 95170316-Mar-04 9:36 
GeneralRe: Case Insensitive wildcmp Pin
Neville Franks16-Mar-04 9:52
Neville Franks16-Mar-04 9:52 
GeneralRe: Case Insensitive wildcmp Pin
23-Mar-04 9:33
suss23-Mar-04 9:33 
GeneralRe: Case Insensitive wildcmp Pin
David Crow23-Feb-05 2:24
David Crow23-Feb-05 2:24 
GeneralRe: Case Insensitive wildcmp Pin
Vic Mackey23-Feb-05 8:00
Vic Mackey23-Feb-05 8:00 
GeneralRe: Case Insensitive wildcmp Pin
David Crow23-Feb-05 8:22
David Crow23-Feb-05 8:22 
GeneralRe: Case Insensitive wildcmp Pin
f_randy12-Jun-06 18:13
f_randy12-Jun-06 18:13 
GeneralExcellent code! Pin
Hans Dietrich16-Jul-03 19:40
mentorHans Dietrich16-Jul-03 19:40 
Generalchecking for null Pin
Jack Handy13-Mar-03 20:38
Jack Handy13-Mar-03 20:38 
GeneralRe: checking for null Pin
Anonymous15-Mar-03 20:10
Anonymous15-Mar-03 20:10 
GeneralRe: checking for null Pin
Jack Handy18-Mar-03 13:25
Jack Handy18-Mar-03 13:25 
Generalgreat code, but ... Pin
Anonymous12-Mar-03 3:17
Anonymous12-Mar-03 3:17 
GeneralRe: great code, but ... Pin
Jack Handy13-Mar-03 20:34
Jack Handy13-Mar-03 20:34 
GeneralRe: great code, but ... Pin
Anonymous15-Mar-03 20:08
Anonymous15-Mar-03 20:08 
GeneralRe: great code, but ... Pin
Jack Handy18-Mar-03 13:25
Jack Handy18-Mar-03 13:25 

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