From: Zachary Ware Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2015 05:32:14 +0000 (-0600) Subject: Rewrite re.VERBOSE section. X-Git-Tag: v2.7.11rc1~33 X-Git-Url: https://granicus.if.org/sourcecode?a=commitdiff_plain;h=77d61d4156d8cd79ba26d0fad4fb083844f94cc0;p=python Rewrite re.VERBOSE section. It now has slightly better rationale and a less awkward wording in the explanation. Inspired by a report of a neither/or conflict by 'animalize' on docs@. --- diff --git a/Doc/library/re.rst b/Doc/library/re.rst index b353c4c67e..c4029c57d5 100644 --- a/Doc/library/re.rst +++ b/Doc/library/re.rst @@ -514,13 +514,15 @@ form. .. data:: X VERBOSE - This flag allows you to write regular expressions that look nicer. Whitespace - within the pattern is ignored, except when in a character class or preceded by - an unescaped backslash, and, when a line contains a ``'#'`` neither in a - character class or preceded by an unescaped backslash, all characters from the - leftmost such ``'#'`` through the end of the line are ignored. - - That means that the two following regular expression objects that match a + This flag allows you to write regular expressions that look nicer and are + more readable by allowing you to visually separate logical sections of the + pattern and add comments. Whitespace within the pattern is ignored, except + when in a character class or when preceded by an unescaped backslash. + When a line contains a ``#`` that is not in a character class and is not + preceded by an unescaped backslash, all characters from the leftmost such + ``#`` through the end of the line are ignored. + + This means that the two following regular expression objects that match a decimal number are functionally equal:: a = re.compile(r"""\d + # the integral part