Re: [office-formula] Calculation setting for regular expression language?

[robert_weir@us.ibm.com]

"David A. Wheeler" <dwheeler@dwheeler.com>
wrote on 08/05/2006 11:08:02 PM:

> I suggest that we create a new calculation setting
> to control which regular expression language to use -
> at least for the database criteria, and probably for SEARCH
> as well.  That will allow documents from various locations
> to move into OpenFormula, AND gives more flexibility.
> Anyone care to comment, discuss?
> 
> An alternative would be to have different function names,
> depending on which RE language you used.  For SEARCH, that's
> probably the right thing to do - it's simple to do, and
> very flexible.  But all the database functions
> use a pattern language, and I'm skeptical that we
> really want a number of different database functions, which
> only differ based on the RE language they use.  Particularly
> since over time there may be several in use!  And is it really
> likely that someone would use multiple RE pattern languages
> in the database queries, in the same spreadsheet?
> I think they'd find that very confusing.
> 

Another alternative would be to pick a RE language
and standardize on it for this use.  That's the approach I'd prefer.
 If we make it a mode, then all implementations who wish to be interoperable
will need to support all modes.  And all future implementations will
need to implement all modes.  But if we choose a single one now, then
some implementations will need to change, but it is a one-time hit, and
future implementations are then freed from the burden of supporting multiple
ways of doing the same thing.


-Rob