Regex support for watch module #266

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2026-10-05T04:08:45+02:00

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:45 +02:00

Feature request
Some form of regular expression support in the watch module would be useful, and is a feature some other bouncers support. I'm not sure what the best way would be to support it while also supporting the old format, or how to add the current nick into the pattern.

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Feature request Some form of regular expression support in the watch module would be useful, and is a feature some other bouncers support. I'm not sure what the best way would be to support it while also supporting the old format, or how to add the current nick into the pattern. ## <bountysource-plugin> --- Want to back this issue? **[Post a bounty on it!](https://www.bountysource.com/issues/987629-regex-support-for-watch-module?utm_campaign=plugin&utm_content=tracker%2F1759&utm_medium=issues&utm_source=github)** We accept bounties via [Bountysource](https://www.bountysource.com/?utm_campaign=plugin&utm_content=tracker%2F1759&utm_medium=issues&utm_source=github). </bountysource-plugin>

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:46 +02:00

Regex would either require a dependency or a dependency on c++11 to use the new regex library.

Regex would either require a dependency or a dependency on c++11 to use the new regex library.

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:47 +02:00

It would be really useful, though.

It would be really useful, though.

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:48 +02:00

This is now achievable that we use C++11. A pull request would be appreciated 👌.

This is now achievable that we use C++11. A pull request would be appreciated :ok_hand:.

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:48 +02:00

Ooh, nice. I'll see if I can take a look.

Ooh, nice. I'll see if I can take a look.

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:49 +02:00

Notice that the regex support is very limited in any GCC version earlier than 4.9.

Notice that the regex support is very limited in any GCC version earlier than 4.9.

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:50 +02:00

Well that's frustrating. My ZNC server is on EL7 which uses GCC 4.8.3.

Well that's frustrating. My ZNC server is on EL7 which uses GCC 4.8.3.

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:50 +02:00

4.8.2 is the default on Ubuntu 14.04, 4.9.x is default on Ubuntu 14.10 and later (15.04). However, this is going to pose problems for older versions. Not sure if a similar issue will be seen in Debian as well.

4.8.2 is the default on Ubuntu 14.04, 4.9.x is default on Ubuntu 14.10 and later (15.04). However, this is going to pose problems for older versions. Not sure if a similar issue will be seen in Debian as well.

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:51 +02:00

Maybe it would make sense to use PCRE, then? That's fairly likely to be on most systems due to its wide use in other projects (e.g. Apache).

Maybe it would make sense to use PCRE, then? That's fairly likely to be on most systems due to its wide use in other projects (e.g. Apache).

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:52 +02:00

Alternatively, libc includes regex support, though I don't know how well that works. Also, last time I checked (admittedly a while ago), libc's regex support was dog slow. Maybe that's changed?

Edit: Took another look and it looks like the libc regex stuff is fast now, so maybe that's the way to go.

Alternatively, libc includes regex support, though I don't know how well that works. Also, last time I checked (admittedly a while ago), libc's regex support was dog slow. Maybe that's changed? **Edit**: Took another look and it looks like the libc regex stuff is fast now, so maybe that's the way to go.

adam commented

2026-10-05 04:08:52 +02:00

just found someone on irc who wanted this so I've put up again the fork of watch I did some time ago (this time on git instead of hg which nobody ever accessed :D), though will need merge of the translateable strings (should work on 1.6.5 without those anyway), if I do that, how likely is this to get accepted somewhere more public than personal repo? https://gitlab.ourcloud.cz/ghormoon/znc-additions/tree/master (but yeah, it uses boost which you might dislike. but at least who needs it, can use it from here :))

just found someone on irc who wanted this so I've put up again the fork of watch I did some time ago (this time on git instead of hg which nobody ever accessed :D), though will need merge of the translateable strings (should work on 1.6.5 without those anyway), if I do that, how likely is this to get accepted somewhere more public than personal repo? https://gitlab.ourcloud.cz/ghormoon/znc-additions/tree/master (but yeah, it uses boost which you might dislike. but at least who needs it, can use it from here :))

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Reference: adam/znc#266