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<H2><A NAME="SECTION006220000000000000000"></A>
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4.2.2 Matching vs. Searching 
</H2>

<P>
<b>XXX This section is still incomplete!</b>

<P>
Python offers two different primitive operations based on regular
expressions: match and search.  If you are accustomed to Perl's
semantics, the search operation is what you're looking for.  See the
<tt class=function>search()</tt> function and corresponding method of compiled
regular expression objects.

<P>
Note that match may differ from search using a regular expression
beginning with "<tt class=character>^</tt>":  "<tt class=character>^</tt>" matches only at the start
of the string, or in <tt class=constant>MULTILINE</tt> mode also immediately
following a newline.  "match" succeeds only if the pattern matches at
the start of the string regardless of mode, or at the starting
position given by the optional <var>pos</var> argument regardless of
whether a newline precedes it.

<P>
<dl><dd><pre class=verbatim>
re.compile("a").match("ba", 1)           # succeeds
re.compile("^a").search("ba", 1)         # fails; 'a' not at start
re.compile("^a").search("\na", 1)        # fails; 'a' not at start
re.compile("^a", re.M).search("\na", 1)  # succeeds
re.compile("^a", re.M).search("ba", 1)   # fails; no preceding \n
</pre></dl>

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