Summary
Searches a string for a pattern
Prototype
cap1, cap2, cap3 = string.match (str, pattern, index)
Description
Find the first match of the regular expression "pattern" in "str", starting at position "index".
The starting position (index) is optional, and defaults to 1 (the start of the string).
If found, returns any captures in the pattern. If no captures were specified the entire matching string is returned.
If not found, returns nil.
This is similar to string.find, except that the starting and ending index are not returned.
print (string.match ("You see dogs and cats", "s..")) --> see
See string.find for an explanation of regular expressions.
Note: string.match does not have the option for a "plain" search. If you want to do a search without regular expressions, use string.find.
See Also ...
Lua functions
string.byte - Converts a character into its ASCII (decimal) equivalent
string.char - Converts ASCII codes into their equivalent characters
string.dump - Converts a function into binary
string.find - Searches a string for a pattern
string.format - Formats a string
string.gfind - Iterate over a string (obsolete in Lua 5.1)
string.gmatch - Iterate over a string
string.gsub - Substitute strings inside another string
string.len - Return the length of a string
string.lower - Converts a string to lower-case
string.rep - Returns repeated copies of a string
string.reverse - Reverses the order of characters in a string
string.sub - Returns a substring of a string
string.upper - Converts a string to upper-case
Topics
Lua base functions
Lua bc (big number) functions
Lua bit manipulation functions
Lua coroutine functions
Lua debug functions
Lua io functions
Lua LPEG library
Lua math functions
Lua os functions
Lua package functions
Lua PCRE regular expression functions
Lua script extensions
Lua string functions
Lua syntax
Lua table functions
Lua utilities
Regular Expressions
Scripting
Scripting callbacks - plugins
(Help topic: lua=string.match)