[MacPorts] #45500: ctags @5.8_1: --regex- flags don't work with some regular expressions that work on Linux

[MacPorts]

#45500: ctags @5.8_1: --regex- flags don't work with some regular expressions that
work on Linux
-----------------------+--------------------------------
  Reporter:  mvgrimes  |      Owner:  macports-tickets@…
      Type:  defect    |     Status:  reopened
  Priority:  Normal    |  Milestone:
 Component:  ports     |    Version:  2.3.2
Resolution:            |   Keywords:
      Port:  ctags     |
-----------------------+--------------------------------

Comment (by saj):

 Ah, you beat me. :)  Yes, this is all documented in `re_format(7)`.  IMO,
 the original report is invalid.  `\w` and `\s` are not portable.  I always
 avoid them for that reason.

 `re_format(7)` does offer a `REG_ENHANCED` mode that might be another way
 forward if people really want `\w` and `\s`.  This would not require a new
 library dependency.  However:

 > these additional features may conflict with the IEEE Std 1003.2
 (“POSIX.2”) standards in some ways

 I don't think `REG_ENHANCED` should be built by default.  If built by
 default, it would be hard to interoperate with other people on different
 platforms.  (People often share development scripts with `ctags ...`
 argument vectors embedded within.)  May be suitable as a variant that is
 not built by default for users who do not care about portability.

 (Sorry, I had misread this bug report.  In retrospect, it was a mistake to
 reference this bug report from the most recent patch.  The problem I
 encountered, on macOS 15, was that all the `+regex` functionality had been
 disabled at configure time.  `+regex` did not appear in the output from
 `ctags --version`.  `ctags` presented an error message when executed with
 `--regex` flags.  It was this problem that was resolved, on macOS 15, by
 the most recent patch.  I expect the same problem would also have been
 encountered on macOS 26 and 27, but I do not use these releases.)

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/45500#comment:9>
MacPorts <https://www.macports.org/>
Ports system for macOS