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<h1>22. Virtuoso Functions Guide - regexp_instr</h1>
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<h2>regexp_instr</h2>
<div class="refpurpose">Returns the first position of the occurrence of a regular-expression pattern in a given string.</div>
<div class="funcsynopsis">
<span class="funcdef">integer <span class="function">regexp_instr</span>
</span>
(<span class="paramdef">in <span class="parameter">source_string</span> varchar</span>,
<span class="paramdef">in <span class="parameter">pattern</span> varchar</span>,
<span class="paramdefoptional">[in <span class="optional">start_position</span> integer]</span>,
<span class="paramdefoptional">[in <span class="optional">occurrence</span> integer]</span>,
<span class="paramdefoptional">[in <span class="optional">return_option</span> integer]</span>,
<span class="paramdefoptional">[in <span class="optional">match_parameter</span> integer]</span>);
</div>
<div class="refsect1">
<div class="refsect1title">Description</div>
<p>This function looks for a pattern and returns the first position of the
pattern. Optionally, you can indicate the <span class="computeroutput">start_position</span>
you want to begin the search. The <span class="computeroutput">occurrence</span> parameter
defaults to 1 unless you indicate that you are looking for a subsequent occurrence.
The default value of the <span class="computeroutput">return_option</span> is 0, which returns
the starting position of the pattern; a value of 1 returns the starting position of
the next character following the match. </p>
<p>This function returns the starting position of a pattern, so it works much
like the familiar INSTR function. The main difference between the two functions
is that REGEXP_INSTR lets you specify a pattern instead of a specific search string;
thus providing greater versatility. </p>
</div>
<div class="refsect1">
<div class="refsect1title">Parameters</div>
<div class="refsect2">
<span class="refsect2title">source_string – </span>
The string to search.</div>
<div class="refsect2">
<span class="refsect2title">pattern – </span>
The regular expression to match.</div>
<div class="refsect2">
<span class="refsect2title">start_position – </span>
The position to begin the search from.</div>
<div class="refsect2">
<span class="refsect2title">occurrence – </span>
Defaulting to 1, this parameter describes how many occurrences to look for.</div>
<div class="refsect2">
<span class="refsect2title">return_option – </span>
</div>
<div class="refsect2">
<span class="refsect2title">match_parameter – </span>
The default value of the <span class="computeroutput">return_option</span> is 0, which returns
the starting position of the pattern; a value of 1 returns the starting position of
the next character following the match. </div>
</div>
<div class="refsect1">
<div class="refsect1title">Returns</div>
<p>This function returns the a substring matching the regular expression.</p>
</div>
<div class="refsect1">
<div class="refsect1title">Examples</div>
<a name="ex_regexp_instr" />
<div class="example">
<div class="exampletitle">Examples</div>
<p>
This example uses <span class="computeroutput">REGEXP_INSTR()</span> to return the starting
position of the five-digit zip-code pattern within the string Joe Smith, 10045 Berry
Lane, San Joseph, CA 91234. If the regular expression is written
as :digit:?{5}, you will get the house number's starting position instead of the zip
code's, because 10045 is the first occurrence of five consecutive digits. Therefore,
you must anchor the expression to the end of the line, as indicated with
the $ metacharacter, and the function will display the starting position of
the zip code regardless of the number of digits for the house number. </p>
<div>
<pre class="programlisting">
SELECT REGEXP_INSTR('Joe Smith, 10045 Berry Lane, San Joseph, CA 91234',
'[[:digit:]]{5}\$')
AS rx_instr;
RX_INSTR
----------
45
</pre>
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<div class="refsect1title">See Also</div>
<p>
<a href="fn_regexp_match.html">regexp_match()</a>
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<a href="fn_regexp_like.html">regexp_like()</a>
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<a href="fn_regexp_parse.html">regexp_parse()</a>
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<a href="fn_regexp_replace.html">regexp_replace()</a>
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<a href="fn_regexp_substr.html">regexp_substr()</a>
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