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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

 
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 
Well, as direct as I could come up with anyway. Makes use of unsafe to enable pointer arithmetic. Unfortunately, because fixed is required to prevent the GC from moving the pointers, I had to change it to use increment indexers instead of directly manipulating the pointers. Alternatively, you could use stackalloc to instantiate two native char[]'s and copy the values, but that seems contrary to this function's low-memory footprint, high performance goals.

Has been tested against every test case presented in the comments section as well as some additional cases I threw in.

public unsafe static bool GlobCompare( string glob, string path )
{
fixed ( char* pGlob = glob, pPath = path )
{
int pGlobInc = 0;
int pPathInc = 0;

int mp = 0;
int cp = 0;

while ( ( *( pPath + pPathInc ) != 0 ) && ( *( pGlob + pGlobInc ) != '*' ) )
{
if ( ( *( pGlob + pGlobInc ) != *( pPath + pPathInc ) ) && ( *( pGlob + pGlobInc ) != '?' ) )
{
return false;
}
pGlobInc++;
pPathInc++;
}

while ( *( pPath + pPathInc ) != 0 )
{
if ( *( pGlob + pGlobInc ) == '*' )
{
if ( 0 == *( pGlob + ++pGlobInc ) )
{
return true;
}
mp = pGlobInc;
cp = pPathInc + 1;
}
else if ( ( *( pGlob + pGlobInc ) == *( pPath + pPathInc ) ) || ( *( pGlob + pGlobInc ) == '?' ) )
{
pGlobInc++;
pPathInc++;
}
else
{
pGlobInc = mp;
pPathInc = cp++;
}
}

while ( *( pGlob + pGlobInc ) == '*' )
{
pGlobInc++;
}
return ( 0 == *( pGlob + pGlobInc ) );
}
}
General...and yet another C# port [modified] Pin
DVF27-Aug-10 16:59
DVF27-Aug-10 16:59 
GeneralRe: ...and yet another C# port Pin
Vladimir Svyatski21-Sep-10 11:22
professionalVladimir Svyatski21-Sep-10 11:22 
GeneralUsing in Artistic Style Pin
jimp023-Apr-08 4:43
jimp023-Apr-08 4:43 
GeneralGeez... Pin
larryfr5-Mar-08 9:39
larryfr5-Mar-08 9:39 
QuestionConvert to a replace? Pin
williaps20-Mar-07 8:31
williaps20-Mar-07 8:31 
GeneralC# RexExp version Pin
spinsane4-Nov-06 6:30
spinsane4-Nov-06 6:30 
GeneralKudos Pin
quantumred14-Oct-06 4:37
quantumred14-Oct-06 4:37 
GeneralRe: Kudos Pin
milkplus24-Feb-10 11:19
milkplus24-Feb-10 11:19 
Generalwildcmp(&quot;*&amp;lt;*&amp;gt;&quot;, &quot;&amp;lt;field1&amp;gt;&amp;lt;field2&amp;gt;&quot;) not working [modified] Pin
Daniel B.6-Sep-06 13:14
Daniel B.6-Sep-06 13:14 
GeneralRe: wildcmp(&quot;*&amp;lt;*&amp;gt;&quot;, &quot;&amp;lt;field1&amp;gt;&amp;lt;field2&amp;gt;&quot;) not working Pin
radboudp16-Feb-07 0:35
radboudp16-Feb-07 0:35 
Generalreturn value type Pin
wdx048-Jan-06 15:49
wdx048-Jan-06 15:49 

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