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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
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 
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 
GeneralRe: great code, but ... Pin
Anonymous19-Mar-03 23:13
Anonymous19-Mar-03 23:13 
GeneralNice Pin
Chris Richardson16-Jan-03 10:58
Chris Richardson16-Jan-03 10:58 

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