The zero-width assertions \` \' \b \B were parsed in a sloppy way so
that a following postfix repetition operator could yield surprising
results. For instance, "\\b*" would act as "\\b\\*", and "xy\\b*"
would act as "\\(?:xy\\b\\)*".
Except for \` and ^, any following postfix operator now applies to the
zero-width assertion itself only, which is predictable and consistent
with other assertions, if useless in practice.
For historical compatibility, an operator character following \` and ^
always becomes a literal. (Bug#64128)
* src/regex-emacs.c (regex_compile):
Set `laststart` appropriately for each zero-width assertion instead
of leaving it with whatever value it had before.
Remove a redundant condition.
* test/src/regex-emacs-tests.el
(regexp-tests-zero-width-assertion-repetition): New test.
* doc/lispref/searching.texi (Regexp Special):
Say that repetition operators are not special after \`,
and that they work as expected after other backslash escapes.
* etc/NEWS: Announce.
be91192ecb