I recently learned about named groups in Python regular expressions. Almost all the documentation I've found online explains what they are and give a simple example of how to use them. I was trying to use the variables outside of the original regex, later in the code. Nowhere in the documentation I found after a couple hours of searching was it mentioned that named groups can only be backreferenced _within_ the pattern. In particular, the sections at http://www.amk.ca/python/howto/regex/#SECTION000530000000000000000 and the description of the (?P) behavior at http://docs.python.org/library/re.html could be modified to make it clear that the named capture does not create a variable usable outside of the pattern. I would be happy to alter the documentation appropriately.
That sounds like a good idea, particularly since it is a bit different from Perl. Please do write up the a clarification. Typically, I have either attached a file with the suggested wording, or included it in a comment from which a commiter could cut-and-paste. (If Georg has different preferences on how to submit the patch, they should probably go into a FAQ anyhow.)
Hi Georg! Sorry to be so long in getting back to you. I've attached a suggested patch for the python-2.6.1-docs-text/library/re.txt documentation. Also, in looking over Kuchling's HOWTO, the necessary information is actually there, and I just wasn't paying attention =) Let me know if I should do something else--this is my first 'fix'/submission to Python, and I'm eager for feedback. Thanks! Gratefully, a.
