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Wildcard string compare (globbing)

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4.90/5 (82 votes)
15 Feb 2005 1.2M   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: Great Code Pin
Anonymous4-Dec-03 18:53
Anonymous4-Dec-03 18:53 
Generalwildcmp("fold","??*"); Pin
24-May-01 8:43
suss24-May-01 8:43 
GeneralRe: wildcmp( Pin
Jack Handy29-May-01 10:01
Jack Handy29-May-01 10:01 
GeneralNot DOS compatible Pin
Miroslav Rajcic2-May-01 3:56
Miroslav Rajcic2-May-01 3:56 
GeneralRe: Not DOS compatible Pin
Jack Handy2-May-01 12:03
Jack Handy2-May-01 12:03 
GeneralRe: Not DOS compatible Pin
Miroslav Rajcic6-May-01 23:04
Miroslav Rajcic6-May-01 23:04 
GeneralDOS compatible workaround Pin
5-Jul-01 1:47
suss5-Jul-01 1:47 
GeneralRe: Not DOS compatible Pin
W2k27-Dec-02 13:26
W2k27-Dec-02 13:26 
You're either trying to be funny, or you're just clueless.

The reason a command like "dir *.*" in DOS, or a Windows DOS box, will also yield files that have no extension, is that, well, even without an extension, the dot is still there. You CAN'T have a filename without a dot in it under DOS or Windows, that's just the way the file systems (FAT, NTFS, others) work.

The reason you can still do something like "type bleh" to get the contents of the file "bleh." is because DOS is so clever - it knows that there's supposed to be a dot there, even if the user forgot to type it in.

Illuminating cyberspace since 1983

[ PlanetCPP ][ home of the n00blist ]
QuestionWhy, oh why only? Pin
2-May-01 2:17
suss2-May-01 2:17 
AnswerRe: Why, oh why only? Pin
Simon Capewell2-May-01 2:39
Simon Capewell2-May-01 2:39 
GeneralRe: Why, oh why only? Pin
5-Jul-01 10:27
suss5-Jul-01 10:27 
AnswerRe: Why, oh why only? Pin
Paul McGuire4-Dec-01 4:18
Paul McGuire4-Dec-01 4:18 

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