RexxRE, version 1.0.1

RexxRE provides a Rexx interface to POSIX regular expressions. There is
an analog to each of the POSIX functions, and a `parse' function which
provides functionality similar to the Rexx parse instruction.

Regular expressions are strings which represent classes of strings according
to a formal grammar. They are commonly used in free-form parsing applications.
The POSIX regular expression grammar is provided by most operating systems as
part of their POSIX compatibility efforts. For other systems, package includes
a set of POSIX routines originally by Henry Spencer of the University of
Toronto and enhanced as part of the FreeBSD project.

Note that POSIX regular expressions are not compatible with the regular
expressions provided with Object Rexx, although there are striking
similarities. While it's unfortunate that this library does less to aid
portability from Object Rexx's regular expression class than one might like,
I feel that the best solution is for people to use this library with
Object Rexx.

The package includes documentation in the file rexxre.pdf and pre-built
binaries for Regina on Win32 platforms (win32/rexxre.dll), other interpreters
(rexxtrans/rexxre.dll), and OS/2 (os2/rexxre.dll).

This is version 1.0.1. I will increment the third digit each time I do a
bug-fix release. I will increment the second digit if I ever add a large
number of new functions, however this is not expected. I will increment
the first digit if I add significant new functionality, for instance
other forms of regular expressions. I have no plans to do this.

To compile the library using Microsoft C, type nmake -f Makefile.nt.
To compile it using the MinGW version of gcc, type make -f Makefile.mingw.
On Unix systems, look for the Makefile whose extension matches your
system, and compile using make -f Makefile.x.

See the manual for installation instructions.

-- Patrick TJ McPhee
   ptjm@interlog.com
