PatternMatcher (Spectator)

```
public interface PatternMatcher
```
Efficient alternative to using Pattern for use cases that just require basic matching. Calling the matches method should be mostly equivalent to calling Matcher.find(). It supports most common capabilities of the normal java regular expressions. Unsupported features are:
- Boundary matchers other than ^ and $
- Predefined horizontal and veritical whitespace classes
- java.lang.Character classes
- Unicode classes
- Back references
- Special constructs other than lookahead
This class is an internal implementation detail only intended for use within spectator. It is subject to change without notice.

Method Summary

All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods Default Methods
Modifier and Type	Method and Description
`default boolean`	`alwaysMatches()` Returns true if this matcher will match any string.
`static PatternMatcher`	`compile(java.lang.String pattern)` Compile a pattern string and return a matcher that can be used to check if string values match the pattern.
`default PatternMatcher`	`ignoreCase()` Returns a new matcher that matches the same pattern only ignoring the case of the input string.
`default boolean`	`isEndAnchored()` Returns true if the pattern is anchored to the end of the string.
`default boolean`	`isStartAnchored()` Returns true if the pattern is anchored to the start of the string.
`boolean`	`matches(java.lang.String str)` Returns true if the passed in string matches the pattern.
`static boolean`	`matches(java.lang.String pattern, java.lang.String value)` Helper function to check if a string value matches the provided pattern.
`default int`	`minLength()` The minimum possible length of a matching string.
`default boolean`	`neverMatches()` Returns true if this matcher will not match any string.
`default java.lang.String`	`prefix()` Returns a fixed string prefix for the pattern if one is available.

- Method Detail
  - matches
```
boolean matches(java.lang.String str)
```
    Returns true if the passed in string matches the pattern.
  - prefix
```
default java.lang.String prefix()
```
    Returns a fixed string prefix for the pattern if one is available. This can be used with indexed data to help select a subset of values that are possible matches. If the pattern does not have a fixed string prefix, then null will be returned.
  - minLength
```
default int minLength()
```
    The minimum possible length of a matching string. This can be used as a quick check to see if there is any way a given string could match.
  - isStartAnchored
```
default boolean isStartAnchored()
```
    Returns true if the pattern is anchored to the start of the string.
  - isEndAnchored
```
default boolean isEndAnchored()
```
    Returns true if the pattern is anchored to the end of the string.
  - alwaysMatches
```
default boolean alwaysMatches()
```
    Returns true if this matcher will match any string. This can be used as a quick check to avoid checking for matches.
  - neverMatches
```
default boolean neverMatches()
```
    Returns true if this matcher will not match any string. This can be used as a quick check to avoid checking for matches.
  - ignoreCase
```
default PatternMatcher ignoreCase()
```
    Returns a new matcher that matches the same pattern only ignoring the case of the input string. Note, character classes will be matched as is and must explicitly include both cases if that is the desired matching criteria.
  - compile
```
static PatternMatcher compile(java.lang.String pattern)
```
    Compile a pattern string and return a matcher that can be used to check if string values match the pattern. Pattern matchers are can be reused many times and are thread safe.
  - matches
```
static boolean matches(java.lang.String pattern,
                       java.lang.String value)
```
    Helper function to check if a string value matches the provided pattern. Note, if matching many values against the same pattern, then it is much more efficient to use compile(String) to get an instance of a matcher that can be reused.
    
    Parameters:
    
    pattern - Pattern to use for creating the matcher instance.
    
    value - Value to check against the pattern.
    
    Returns:
    
    True if the pattern matches the value.

Interface PatternMatcher

Method Summary

Method Detail

matches

prefix

minLength

isStartAnchored

isEndAnchored

alwaysMatches

neverMatches

ignoreCase

compile

matches