<FONT face="Default Sans Serif, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2><DIV>><FONT face="OCR A Extended">> * explicitly use /s in regexps by default<BR><BR>> Unless you habitully work with multiline input or...</FONT><BR><BR><DIV>Now, from the Owl book (Friedl "Mastering Regular Expressions"), I've learned the /s can be called 'single mode' in that it affects a single RE metachar, to wit the '.' With "/s" the '.' will match the \n char. That's it. The "/m" can be called "multi mode" in that it affects 2 (aka "multiple") RE metachars, the caret and dollar sign. In "/m" they match on either side of a normal 'line' (the $/ (er, $\?) char, normally \n) so that in a /g situation, for example, they'll match more than once if you have multi-line input. In the "/m" case \A and \Z can be used to match the absolute string begin/string end - otherwise "^" is the same as "\A" and "$" is the same as "\Z"</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>I inject this here, only because its taken many, many rereads of that section and I still have the sinking feeling I've not got it right yet. I'm closer, maybe but ...</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>a<br><br>Andy Bach, Sys. Mangler<br>Internet: andy_bach@wiwb.uscourts.gov <br>VOICE: (608) 261-5738 FAX 264-5932<br><br>"Whereof we cannot speak, thereof we should remain silent." L. Wittgenstein<BR></DIV></DIV></FONT>