You have to source [wiki:roelkluin/cvars cvars] to use these tools and run these commands in your git Linux kernel directory. = gg = gg does something like {{{ git grep -n -E [other_options] "$(bli2 "$1")" }}} = bli2 = bli2() parses a string and transforms it into a more complex extended regexp, which it simply echoes. To understand how it parses things try these: {{{ bli2 "@V" bli2 "@d" bli2 " " bli2 " " }}} Note that @V will catch the identifier of a simple local variable, @d will catch a number (even if it's a hex or 1ull), spaces are squeezed and parsed to match optional spaces. || bli2 pattern || description of what is echoed || echoed string (literally) || number of back-references || || any space || optional space || {{{[[:space:]]*}}} || - || || \! || exclamation mark (because bash otherwise bangs) || ! || - || || @S || obligatory space || {{{[[:space:]]+}}} || - || || @V || identifier || {{{[[:alpha:]_]+[[:alnum:]_]*}}} || - || || @K || identifier in only uppercases || {{{[[:upper:]_]+[[:upper:][:digit:]_]*}}} || - || || @Q || a non-alnumeric || {{{[^[:alnum:]_]}}} || - || || @Q2 || a non-alnumeric or extension to the left of a variable|| {{{[^[:alnum:]_>.]}}} || - || || @w || (pointer) member, array || see `bli2 "@w"' || 1 || || @d || any number || see `bli2 "@d"' || 1 || || @n || any number of lines, subsequent matches on the beginning of the next line || ([^\n]*\n)* || 1 || || \(...\) || up to 2 nested parentheses || see `bli2 "\(...\)"' || 2 || || \{...\} || up to 2 nested curly brackets || see `bli2 "\{...\}"' || 2 || || \[...\] || up to 2 nested square brackets || see `bli2 "\[...\]"' || 2 || || \(-..\) || characters optionally followed by up to 2 nested parentheses || see `bli2 "\(-..\)"' || 3 || || \{-..\} || characters optionally followed by up to 2 nested curly brackets || see `bli2 "\{-..\}"' || 3 || || \{.8.\} || up to 8 nested curly brackets || see `bli2 "\(.8.\)"' || 8 || = gres = I wrote this to do a multiline (git-)grep lets say we want to search for an erroneous pattern like this: {{{ for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {} ... if (i > n) ... }}} This is wrong because at the end of the loop i equals n and cannot be greater than n. The most simple way to match this is: {{{ gres -A40 "^ for \(" \ "for \( (@V) = @d ; \1 < @d ; \1 \+\+ \) \{.8.\} @n if \( \1 > \3 \)" }}} Also, @d has parentheses, that's why we have to use \3, not \2 for back-reference to match the second @d. For me - I currently have kernel version 2.6.33-rc2 - this results after about 10 seconds in a match (simplified here): {{{ ---[ vi drivers/mmc/host/s3cmci.c +1209 ]--- /* Set clock */ for (mci_psc = 0; mci_psc < 255; mci_psc++) { ... } if (mci_psc > 255) mci_psc = 255; ... }}} Quite harmless so I left it. So how does it work? gres does something in the order of: {{{ git grep -E -n -other_opts "$(bli2 "$1")" -- '*.c' '*.h' | sed -n -r "$(ecsed2 "${@:2})" }}} The {{{`}}}-B1' and {{{`}}}-A40' are passed to git-grep, bli2() parses the first pattern and subsequent patterns are passed to ecsed2(). = ecsed2 = ecsed2() parses the `git grep' output and prints only the ones of which the last passed pattern matches, prior patterns (if any) are excluded. More in detail, the first of the {{{`}}}path/to/filename.c-301-' is transformed into a vi command, the remainder are removed. Until an end-of-function- or end-of-match-pattern occurs, lines are extended. Any comments are removed. For each match that `git grep' piped to sed, (parsed) matches are displayed '''if''' no exclusion pattern matched and the last pattern matched. Let's extend the example, similar errors will occur with: {{{ for (i = 0; i != MAX; i++) {} ... if (i <= MAX) ... }}} To catch such errors we could use a pattern like this: {{{ gres -A40 "^ for \(" \ "for \( (@V) = (@d|@K) ; \1 (<|\!=) (@d|@K) ; (\+\+ \1|\1 \+\+|\1 = \1 \+ 1|\1 = 1 \+ \1) \) \{.8.\} @n if \( \1 (>|<=) \5 \)" }}} The @K matches definitions. This did not result in more errors in this kernel version, so lets extend it even more. Similar problems may occur when we have a pattern like: {{{ while (foo() && ++i < MAX && bar()) {} ... if (baz() || i > MAX) ... }}} This can be matched by: {{{ gres -A40 "^ (for|while) \(" \ "(for \([^;]*;|while \() (\(-..\)[&|])* \+* (@V) (<|\!=) (@d|@w) ([&|]\(-..\))* (; (\+\+ \6|\6 \+\+|\6 = \6 \+ 1|\6 = 1 \+ \6))? \) \{.8.\} @n if \( (\(-..\)[&|])* \6 (>|<=) \8 ([&|]\(-..\))* \)" }}} This results (after about half a minute on my computer) in the additional matches: {{{ ---[ vi arch/sparc/mm/init_64.c +786 ]--- ... start += PAGE_SIZE; while (start < end) { ... if (...) break; start += PAGE_SIZE; } if (start > end) start = end; ... ---[ vi drivers/atm/horizon.c +626 ]--- while (...) ... ... if (...) ... ... while (div < CR_MAXD) { div++; if (...) { ... goto got_it; } } got_it: if (div > CR_MAXD || ...) ... }}} The second one was difficult to see in the output due to a prior while loop. The first one, in contrast, is a false positive: the addition of PAGE_SIZE can cause {{{`}}}start' to be bigger than {{{`}}}end'. In the case of a while loop the chosen pattern with {{{`}}}\+*' allows a postfix increment, but does not ensure that an increment occurs, an addition can occur just as well. We can exclude the false positive by adding an exclusion pattern: {{{ gres -A40 "^ (for|while) \(" \ "while \( (\(-..\)[&|])* (@V) (<|\!=) (@d|@w) ([&|]\(-..\))* \) (\{\{-..\} \n)? \5 ([+*|]=|= \5 \+)@n if \( (\(-..\)[&|])* \5 (>|<=) \7 ([&|]\(-..\))* \)" \ "(for \([^;]*;|while \() (\(-..\)[&|])* \+* (@V) (<|\!=) (@d|@w) ([&|]\(-..\))* (; (\+\+ \6|\6 \+\+|\6 = \6 \+ 1|\6 = 1 \+ \6))? \) \{.8.\} @n if \( (\(-..\)[&|])* \6 (>|<=) \8 ([&|]\(-..\))* \)" }}}