Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!bellcore!faline!thumper!ulysses!andante!alice!andrew
From: andrew@alice.UUCP (Andrew Hume)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: what should egrep '|root' /etc/passwd print? (Everything)
Summary: i give in.
Message-ID: <8264@alice.UUCP>
Date: 4 Oct 88 05:42:10 GMT
References: <44414@beno.seismo.CSS.GOV> <8492@smoke.ARPA> <855@yunexus.UUCP> <12599@ncoast.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill NJ
Lines: 11



for what it is worth, i give in and will support a null regular
expression which matches the inter-character null string.
thus, so will gre. of course, programs which use my libraries are
free to intercept empty expressions and substitute the last expression
etc.

i thank several correspondants who convinced me of this but due
to the HOPELESS STUPID WRETCHED CRAPPY netnews/mail black hole of despair
i couldn't reply directly so i have to broadcast my thanks.