cre

Cython based high performance alternative to Python (re) module for doing basic pattern matching on large data-set.

Using this module execution time can be significantly reduced by splitting search task across multiple threads. GIL (Global Interpretor Lock) is released during pattern match, allowing multiple threads to run simultaneously on multiple CPU cores.

Pattern matching is implemented in C utilizing GLib PCRE (Perl-compatible regular expressions) support.

Notes:

• Application would be responsible for creating threads and splitting pattern matching task across them.
• Unlike Python (re) module, 'match' and 'search' methods do not raise exception if provided regular-expression is incorrect. Explicit compilation using 'compile' method does raise exception if regular expression is incorrect.
• Strings are encoded using 'utf-8' before processing.
• Patterns are not implicitly compiled and cached internally. If required application has to explicitly compile pattern using 'compile' method.
• Searched patterns must comply with PCRE (Perl-compatible regular expressions) standard.

Usage

API is similar to Python (re) module

import cre as re

# search pattern
re.match('pattern', 'String containing pattern')

# search using compiled pattern
p = re.compile('pattern')
p.search('String containing pattern')

Compatibility

• cre should work with Python 2.7.x and 3.3+.
• Compilation has been tested with Cython 0.29.13.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Development package of Python.
• GLib 2.0 development package.
• pkg-config utility.
• Cython (Optional)

If Cython is installed (.pyx) file is converted to (.c) file during installation, otherwise pre-packaged (.c) file is compiled.

Install From Source

• Checkout the repo.

• Install module

    pip install ./cre/
  

Demonstration

Run provided 'demo.py' script.