approximative regular expressions shareware DLL Windows

YGrep Search Engine library/DLL for approximative and regular expressions


News

Unlimited upgrades

Some customers have asked for the possibility to get a lifetime upgrade capability (paying once in order to get all subsequent upgardes). This is now possible. For a fee (695 USD or 680 Euros), you can get this lifetime upgradability of your YGrep Search Engine.

New version is now protected against very long regular expressions

The new version 7.01 comes to add some protection against memory overwriting in the case of exceptionnally long regular expressions.

Euro: A new currency

To celebrate the apparition of the Euro as a new currency, I am pleased to announce that I will now be accepting all direct payements in Euro on the basis of 1 Euro = 6.55957 French Francs.

The payment servers that may be accetping this will be reflecting it in the near future. The help files (registration directly from me) will also reflect this in version 7.01 (and later).

New site addresses

You had certainly some difficulties reaching recently this site at the old http://ygrep.home.ml.org/. This address ceased its operation. Please now use the following new addresses (we expanded to several virtual servers instead of only one in order to improve the quality of this support site):

YGrep Search Engine

http://ygrep.cjb.net/

http://i.am/ygrep/

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Yves_Roumazeilles/ygrep.htm

My home site

http://roumazeilles.cjb.net/

http://i.am/roumazeilles/

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Yves_Roumazeilles/

Compuserve is discontinuing its registration services

I am sorry to say that it is no longer possible to register directly through the SWREG forum of Compuserve. This service may be maintained during a few days, but CSi informed me that they were discontinuing it before the end of the year. If you wish to register, you will have to do it online with the other servers.

I have also updated a few links to registration sevrers in order to ease your life.

At the last moment, I hear that they may be returning in a few weeks. I'll tell you more later. Feel free to mail me if you want to use their service.

Year-2000 statement

As it is not at all handling any date information, the YGrep Search Engine is trivially year-2000 compliant.

This half a joke (at first, I could not imagine any need for stating this), half a need (this Y2K problem starts to become important to my eyes (as a customer, too)). So it may be a little funny, but I confirm that the YGrep Search Engine is Y2K-compliant!

YGrep is rated 3 star (***)

The YGrep Search Engine has been rated 3 stars by ZDnet

But, even nicer, ZDnet of South Africa (in its software library) has awarded its hot file of the day award to the YGrep Search Engine. Even better, they kept it from September to now as you can see here! Thanks to them.


Features

The YGrep Search Engine is a text search library to be used with any kind of Windows application. It provides such unusual features as:

  • Approximative search based on Baeza-Yates algorithm to find a pattern which is only partly known (also known as search with erroneous patterns). An error is a character replacement. For example, you can search for pattern with 1 error (at most) and it will match pattern, pittern and Pattern while stepping over lantern (2 errors).
  • Regular expression search modelled on the Unix utility named GREP. It is particularly useful for complex searching with the help of its specific search "language" to describe the pattern you look for. For example, you can search for ^pattern to look for pattern at the beginning of a line; or for [pl]a[nt]tern to look for either pattern or lantern. Look into the Help file for an extensive description of the pattern language. Or go to the online definition of regular expression syntax.
  • Soundex-based search where text is matched against patterns following a presupposed law helping in recognizing very poorly written english words (more simply put: by collapsing similar sounds into common sonorities, Keller and Keiler are identified as sounding similar).

    The YGrep Search Engine is also greatly improved other most similar tools by providing outstanding features like:

  • Both search and replace functions (most libraries only provide search capability)
  • Support of many languages including C/C++, Delphi, but also FoxPro, and Visual Basic
  • Simple file operations for immediate application
  • Combined search operation (Boolean operators) for the power user/programmer
  • Optional error messages/dialog-boxes for high-end applications
  • Free bonus YFind search application (similar to grep(1) from Unix)

    Applications

    Based upon the features just described, the YGrep Search Engine appears as a needed library for all those that are developing:

  • Internet/Intranet search engines,
  • Sort-filter-and-store machines, like E-mail filters,
  • Database searching tools,
  • Text editors.

    The YGrep Search Engine will improve them to a level that most end-users will find very useful but that the developer may fear to implement because of the complexity of the algorithms involved.

    All those applications can benefit from the addition of the search capability of the YGrep Search Engine (and specifically of the regular expressions).

    Benefits

    Better quality

    The YGrep Search Engine is truly tested software. It has been widely available and used since 1993. This means that you get a mature library in a stable state rather than a quick-and-dirty bunch of minimal features. Notably, several of the most widely available source code library are bug-ridden to a point that may appear surprising to most programmers.

    Faster development

    While some of the capabilties of the YGrep Search Engine may be written by most C/C++ developers, it is often overkill to re-invent the wheel (we have a full set of wheels ready for you :-). Furthermore, you certainly do not want to spend time debugging all this automaton code that you did not look into since you graduated out of the Computer Science course.

    High performance and flexibility

    The YGrep Search Engine offers a good compromise between performance and usability, where other products may sacrifice all ease-of-use to absolute performance (how do you get that performance if you have to dig into source code before being able to merely search for a string in a file?).

    Actual support

    Forget about difficulties in understanding the library interface. Registered users receive actual documentation (not only a few Unix cryptic man pages).

    You will also receive actual help direct from the developer using E-mail, phone, or fax at your convenience. You can even reach him on his pager or on his mobile phone.

    Real commitment to customer satisfaction

    As I am listening to your real needs, you can get a real


    Download

    If you want to download it, here are a few FTP servers you can use. I only tried to give as much variety as possible in order to avoid bottlenecks. These will be changed in the future to reflect distribution.

    Get the YGrep Search Engine from the net

    This one is the most recent version for WIN32S, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT v4.0.

    It is available locally at YG700W95.ZIP file on Compuserve. If you can't get to it, use the search engine at www.Shareware.Com to look for all YG700W95 files, or all version 7 YGrep.

    Registration

    The YGrep Search Engine is shareware. It it not Public Domain or Free. See the help file for shareware information and extensive description of the registration steps (including a number of registration sites accepting 800-calls or credit cards). If you cannot find the Help file and its registration forms, use the minimal form file ORDER.DOC and mail it with your payment to the address shown.

    If you find the YGrep Search Engine useful, do the decent thing and register! In return you will receive (for a Single User license):

  • The full YGrep Search Engine (in its latest version), with Windows 32-bit libraries,
  • The reference and user manuals (15000+ words of advice, examples, and information) in Adobe PDF file format,
  • Source code of the help files which can be modified to build your own application help file,
  • Source code for some useful resources that can be included in your own application,
  • Source code for some test programs,
  • A registration number to identify yourself,
  • Support thru Email, Telephone and Fax.

    When you register the full Developper Kit, you will ADDITIONALLY receive:

  • An **UNLIMITED NUMBER** of target licenses,
  • Complete **SOURCE** code of the library, which will allow porting to other Operating Systems (including MS-DOS which is already in the Makefiles),
  • Makefiles for Visual C++ 4.xx, Borland C++ 4.xx, etc.
  • Additional source test code,
  • Free automatic access to all the future minor evolutions of the library including all bug removal,
  • And a 20% reduction on the registration fee for the major evolutions.

    It's time to register!

    My preferred registration means

    Register securely the YGrep Search Engine PsL from the PsL-Web (item #11244).

    Upgrade from a previous versionPsL from the PsL-Web (item #11244).

    Register securely the Developer Kit (item #100162)PsL from ShareIt!

    Register securely the Single User license (item #123) from Ever-Green.

    All the available registration means

    You can now register online. Just pick your one and click on the following links:

    My preferred server is currently the secure one from the Public Software Library (PsL). Just click on the following link:

    Register either license from the PsL-Web (item #11244).

    You can also register online with ShareIt! (secure server). Just click on the following link:

    Register the Single User license (item #100161) from ShareIt!

    Register the Developer Kit (item #100162) from ShareIt!

    You can also register online with Ever-Green (secure server). Just click on the following links:

    Register securely the Single User license (item #123) from Ever-Green.

    Register securely the Developer Kit (item #124) from Ever-Green.

    Register unsecured the Single User license (item #123) from Ever-Green.

    Register unsecured the Developer Kit (item #124) from Ever-Green.

    You can also register online with RegNet - The Registration NetworkRegNet - The Registration Network (secure server). Just click on the following links:

    Register securely the Single User license (item #1201) from RegNet.

    Register securely the Developer Kit (item #1202) from RegNet.


    Special bonuses to all visitors

    As you've been patient enough to read down to here, I want to offer you a special bonus. From time to time, people ask for a specific routine I did not provide in the YGrep Search Engine: expansion of wild-chars in the file names.

    I found this nice public domain and copyrighted package to those of you interested. It must not be used in commercial applications, but it can be useful.

    If you can use it, just grab it (and remember that I do not provide support for it).

    GLOB.ZIP file

    Also, we have been making freely available a description of the syntax of the regular expressions that we are using in the YGrep Search Engine.


    For Delphi 2.0/3.0 users

    Some Delphi users have been asking for a more complete package of test files than initially provided in the YGrep Search Engine.

    Here is the small Delphi project which was the base of the files YGrepTst.PAS and YGrepInf.PAS you can find in the YGrep Search Engine ZIP files.

    If you can use it, just grab it (and remember that I support the Engine, not this specific package).

    DELPHI2.ZIP file

    One caveat:

    A simple comment though. This project was made some time ago and it will be necessary to update it with the newest files extracted from the latest ZIP archive (YGrepTst.Pas, YGrepInf.Pas).



    [E-mail me your comments]

    http://ygrep.cjb.net/ and http://i.am/ygrep/ and http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Yves_Roumazeilles/ygrep.htm

    Copyright (C) 1996-97-98-99 - Yves Roumazeilles (all rights reserved)


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    Last updated on 22-Jan-99Invisible Web Counter