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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

 
QuestionLicence Question Pin
randommark23-Nov-10 0:33
randommark23-Nov-10 0:33 
AnswerAnother C# version, with a twist Pin
Thomas Levesque29-Jun-10 14:50
professionalThomas Levesque29-Jun-10 14:50 
GeneralObscurity Pin
Chuck O'Toole25-Apr-10 18:18
Chuck O'Toole25-Apr-10 18:18 
AnswerMy C# contribution - recursive, of course! Pin
RenniePet26-Mar-10 5:21
RenniePet26-Mar-10 5:21 
GeneralRe: My C# contribution - recursive, of course! Pin
Erwin de GRoot29-Mar-10 1:58
Erwin de GRoot29-Mar-10 1:58 
GeneralDepends on whether you need to optimize the last few nanoseconds out of it... Pin
RenniePet29-Mar-10 7:45
RenniePet29-Mar-10 7:45 
GeneralSorry - revised numbers Pin
RenniePet29-Mar-10 8:35
RenniePet29-Mar-10 8:35 
GeneralRe: Depends on whether you need to optimize the last few nanoseconds out of it... Pin
Erwin de GRoot29-Mar-10 8:37
Erwin de GRoot29-Mar-10 8:37 
GeneralYet another version - 25% faster, I think [modified] Pin
RenniePet1-Apr-10 8:24
RenniePet1-Apr-10 8:24 
GeneralRe: Yet another version - 25% faster, I think Pin
aleks1k21-Sep-11 2:47
aleks1k21-Sep-11 2:47 
QuestionI used this function but I how I can catch variables from the * ??? Pin
moh.hijjawi20-Oct-09 1:55
moh.hijjawi20-Oct-09 1:55 
AnswerRe: I used this function but I how I can catch variables from the * ??? Pin
RenniePet1-Apr-10 11:27
RenniePet1-Apr-10 11:27 
Questionany updates ? Pin
kiquenet.com2-Jul-09 5:12
professionalkiquenet.com2-Jul-09 5:12 
GeneralImproved matching with end-of-text Pin
Anders Heie11-May-09 15:20
Anders Heie11-May-09 15:20 
GeneralRe: Improved matching with end-of-text: some cases don't work properly! Pin
roadrunner31412-Aug-09 3:35
roadrunner31412-Aug-09 3:35 
GeneralRe: Improved matching with end-of-text: some cases don't work properly! Pin
sdiazdiaz20-Jun-13 1:50
sdiazdiaz20-Jun-13 1:50 
QuestionPathMatchSpec instead? Pin
kintz25-Mar-09 8:55
kintz25-Mar-09 8:55 
AnswerRe: PathMatchSpec instead? Pin
MandatoryDefault31-Aug-09 10:39
MandatoryDefault31-Aug-09 10:39 
Questionwchar_t version? Pin
rmorales8729-Nov-08 20:16
rmorales8729-Nov-08 20:16 
AnswerRe: wchar_t version? Pin
razvar31-Mar-11 21:49
razvar31-Mar-11 21:49 
Generalwildcmp in XBLite Pin
stormydaniels27-Nov-08 13:56
stormydaniels27-Nov-08 13:56 
GeneralWildcard string compare in C# Pin
Sần Hải Quang10-Nov-08 22:15
Sần Hải Quang10-Nov-08 22:15 
GeneralRe: Wildcard string compare in C# Pin
Sần Hải Quang3-Aug-09 22:22
Sần Hải Quang3-Aug-09 22:22 
GeneralC# Direct Port Pin
hempels23-Sep-08 15:10
hempels23-Sep-08 15:10 
General...and yet another C# port [modified] Pin
DVF27-Aug-10 16:59
DVF27-Aug-10 16:59 

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