pyt...@bdurham.com wrote: > Is there any way to time out a regular expression in Python 2.6.4? > > Motiviation: Our application allows users to enter regular expressions > as validation criteria. If a user enters a pathological regular > expression, we would like to timeout the evaluation of this expression > after a short period of time. > Python itself does not contain any mechanism to terminate an operation if it takes too much time.
One approach would be to run the regex in a subprocess, and apply process limits to terminate that subprocess if it ran too long. This group being what it is you are likely to receive other, better suggestions too. regards Steve -- Steve Holden +1 571 484 6266 +1 800 494 3119 PyCon is coming! Atlanta, Feb 2010 http://us.pycon.org/ Holden Web LLC http://www.holdenweb.com/ UPCOMING EVENTS: http://holdenweb.eventbrite.com/ -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list