Scripting Guide - SAS

576 JSL Syntax Reference Appendix A
Character Pattern Functions
Argument
Two or more patterns.
Pat Conditional(pattern, type)
Description
Saves the result of the pattern match, if it succeeds, to a variable named as the second argument (type)
after the match is finished.
Returns
A pattern.
Arguments
pattern a pattern to match against.
varName the name of a variable to store the result in.
Example
type = "undefined";
rc = Pat Match("green apples", Pat Conditional("red"|"green", type) + "
apples");
show(rc, type);
rc = 1
type = "green"
Pat Fail()
Description
Constructs a pattern that fails whenever the matcher attempts to move forward through it. The matcher
backs up and tries different alternatives. If and when there are no alternatives left, the match fails and
Pat Match returns 0.
Returns
0 when a match fails.
Argument
none
Pat Fence()
Description
Constructs a pattern that succeeds and matches the null string when the matcher moves forward through
it, but fails when the matcher tries to back up through it. It is a one-way trap door that can be used to
optimize some matches.
Returns
1 when the match succeeds, 0 otherwise.
Argument
none