[boost] [soc][regex] multiple existing practices for named sub-expressions

From: Hugh Wimberly (hugh.wimberly_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-06-04 16:43:15

Part of my GSoC project (and probably the easiest part) is to implement
named sub-expressions in Boost.Regex. Right now, most regex engines have
this capability, but there are two camps for how the named sub-expressions
match up with the numbers used for backreferences. A very useful overview of
the two possibilities can be found at
http://www.regular-expressions.info/named.html

Essentially, .NET numbers all the named captures after all the unnamed
captures, and everybody else simply numbers them all in order from left to
right. My personal opinion is that the Boost.Regex implementation should
follow Python's and PCRE's practice instead of the .NET syntax or an amalgam
of the two, but this is a decision for the boost community, not for me.
Thoughts?

-Hugh