Saved GREP patterns not working in 11.5 (3844)

[Michelle]

HELP!  After updating to BBEdit version 11.5 (3844), the majority of my saved GREP patterns (which I had used on a daily basis literally thousands of times) no longer work.  When I attempt to use any one of them, I get the following error: 

The search cannot proceed, because of a syntax error in the Grep pattern: (application error code: 12170).

 This has completely stopped my ability to work.  Is there a quick fix for this problem or do I need to revert to the previous version?

Thank you!

[Michelle]

FYI, when I use version 11.1.4 (3780), all of my saved GREP patters work perfectly fine again.  So, it's definitely a bug/problem with version 11.5 (3844).

[Rich Siegel]

On Sunday, January 31, 2016, Michelle <essa...@gmail.com> wrote:

> HELP! After updating to BBEdit version 11.5 (3844), the majority of my
> saved GREP patterns (which I had used on a daily basis literally thousands
> of times) no longer work. When I attempt to use any one of them, I get the
> following error:
>
> The search cannot proceed, because of a syntax error in the Grep pattern:
> (application error code: 12170).

From the change notes:

* The internal PCRE library has been updated to the latest
"stable" version of PCRE (8.3 plus maintenance updates; see the
about box for the exact version). There have been changes to the
supported pattern syntax since PCRE 5.x, the previous supported
version. Most patterns should work as-is but there is a
possibility that patterns that previously worked may require
adjustment.

From the list footer:

> This is the BBEdit Talk public discussion group. If you have a
> feature request or would like to report a problem, please email
> "sup...@barebones.com" rather than posting to the group.

Please write to support and we will be happy to assist.

Thanks,

R.
--
Rich Siegel Bare Bones Software, Inc.
<sie...@barebones.com> <http://www.barebones.com/>

Someday I'll look back on all this and laugh... until they sedate me.

[Rich Siegel]

On Monday, February 1, 2016, Rich Siegel <sie...@barebones.com> wrote:

>Please write to support and we will be happy to assist.

p.s. when writing in please also provide some example patterns
which exhibit the symptom you're seeing. If you like, you can
zip and send us the "Grep Patterns.xml" file from Application
Support/BBEdit/Setup/ and let us know which listed patterns are problematic.

[Michelle]

I have done some very hand-on testing.  It is not a "syntax" error.  There now seems to be a much smaller limit to the number of characters/spaces that is allowed in a pattern.  When I try to use any pattern that contains exactly 12,219 or fewer characters/spaces, it works fine.  However, when I add a 1 more character, I get the "syntax error."  So, according to the character count indicated in a BBEdit document containing my pattern, the limit is precisely 12,219 characters (including blank spaces). 

It seems rather coincidental that the error code is "12170."  That's pretty close to 12,219 and 12,220.

I really, really hope that this stricter character limit is a bug; if not, all of my most important and painstakingly-constructed patterns will be rendered useless.  I am emailing this thread to sup...@barebones.com because all pertinent information is right here.

[Michelle]

This seems to have been fixed in 11.5.1 (3874).  Yay!

[Michelle]

Well, now I'm getting "application error code 12158" as the result for some files in multi-file search-and-replace using GREP patterns.

[Michelle]

In the "error popup box," it would be tremendously helpful to everyone if BBEdit were to provide an explanation of each error code (or at least a hyperlink to a Web page that contains an explanation of every error code).  It's very frustrating to receive an error that stops one's work and then have no idea what the error code means or how to potentially fix it.

[Rich Siegel]

I believe you previously received advice from Tech Support on
this issue during 11.5.1 testing; if you did not receive it,
please write to support and we will re-send it.

>It's very frustrating to receive an error that stops one's work
>and then have no idea what the error code means or how to
>potentially fix it.

I understand. We offer unlimited tech support at no charge for
situations that may not have an immediately obvious answer.