NAME Tie::RegexpHash - Use regular expressions as hash keys SYNOPSIS use Tie::RegexpHash; my %hash; tie %hash, 'Tie::RegexpHash'; $hash{ qr/^5(\s+|-)?gal(\.|lons?)?/i } = '5-GAL'; $hash{'5 gal'}; # returns "5-GAL" $hash{'5GAL'}; # returns "5-GAL" $hash{'5 gallon'}; # also returns "5-GAL" my $rehash = Tie::RegexpHash->new(); $rehash->add( qr/\d+(\.\d+)?/, "contains a number" ); $rehash->add( qr/s$/, "ends with an \`s\'" ); $rehash->match( "foo 123" ); # returns "contains a number" $rehash->match( "examples" ); # returns "ends with an `s'" DESCRIPTION This module allows one to use regular expressions for hash keys, so that values can be associated with anything that matches the key. Hashes can be operated on using the standard tied hash interface in Perl, as described in the SYNOPSIS, or using an object-oriented interface described below. Methods new my $obj = Tie::RegexpHash->new() Creates a new "RegexpHash" (Regular Expression Hash) object. add $obj->add( $key, $value ); Adds a new key/value pair to the hash. *$key* can be a Regexp or a string (which is compiled into a Regexp). If *$key* is already defined, the value will be changed. If $key matches an existing key (but is not the same), a warning will be shown if warnings are enabled. match $value = $obj->match( $quasikey ); Returns the value associated with *$quasikey*. (*$quasikey* can be a string which matches an existing Regexp or an actual Regexp.) Returns 'undef' if there is no match. Regexps are matched in the order they are defined. match_exists if ($obj->match_exists( $quasikey )) ... Returns a true value if there exists a matching key. remove $value = $obj->remove( $quasikey ); Deletes the key associated with *$quasikey*. If *$quasikey* matches an existing key (but is not the same), a warning will be shown. Returns the value associated with the key. clear $obj->clear(); Removes all key/value pairs. AUTHOR Alastair McGowan-Douglas Acknowledgments Robert Rothenberg , previous maintainer. Russell Harrison for patches adding support for serialization. Simon Hanmer & Bart Vetters for pointing out a bug in the logic of the _find() routine in v0.10 BUGS Please report bugs on the github issues tracker . Request Tracker tickets will probably go unseen. LICENSE Copyright (c) 2014-2015 Alastair McGowan-Douglas. Copyright (c) 2001-2002, 2005-2006 Robert Rothenberg. All rights reserved. Portions Copyright (c) 2006 Russell Harrison. All rights reserved. This program is free software. You can redistribute it under the same terms as Perl itself; specifically the Artistic Licence or GPL . SEE ALSO Tie::Hash::Regex is a module with a complementary function. Rather than a hash with Regexps as keys that match against fetches, it has standard keys that are matched by Regexps in fetches. Regexp::Match::Any matches many Regexps against a variable. Regexp::Match::List is similar, but supports callbacks and various optimizations.