To
match a character that has a special meaning in regular expressions (example:
+), you need to use the backslash \ escape character. For example,
to match string C/C++, use the expression C\/C\+\+.
Sometimes,
you have to add many escape characters to your expression (example:
C\/C\+\+). In this situation, enclose the string C/C++ in double-quotes
(example: .REG "C/C++") then the new expression is equivalent to
the old one. Characters (except \ which is an escape character)
within double-quotes are literal. The following are some examples:
| Expression | Description |
| "C/C++" | Match string C/C++ (does not include double-quotes) |
| "Regular\x20Expression" | Match string Regular Expression (does not include double-quotes), where \x20 means the space character. |
| "[xyz]\"foo" | Match the literal string: [xyz]"foo |
Change the adjacent <space> to "\x20" for
the following in a regular expression:
-
.AND.
-
.OR.
-
.NOT.
-
.WILD.