Re: Bug or feature? s/// and the g option

To those who call this "undefined behavior":

Just because it's not a very useful thing to do, doesn't mean it's not a bug. $1, etc., shouldn't be affected by unsuccessful matches. This is clearly spelled out in $& (which suffers the same bug as $1) even if $<_digits_> is for some reason missing the "successful" qualification.

Comment on Re: Bug or feature? s/// and the g option

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Re^2: Bug or feature? s/// and the g option by Cop (Initiate) on Oct 14, 2007 at 22:20 UTC
Especially don't call it a feature. Some people might try to categorize this as hidden feature. My thought: although not stated itself, hidden feature cannot violate what's stated, i.e. must be logically consistent with the rest. The best way to verify whether something is a feature, obviously is to ask the creators, but if that's not feasible, my above logic applies.	[reply]