SAS Functions by Example, Second Edition, 2nd Edition

Functions That Locate Text Patterns

Function:   PRXMATCH

Purpose:    To locate the position in a string where a regular expression match is found. PRXMATCH returns the starting position at which the pattern is found. If this pattern is not found, the function returns a 0. (This function is similar to the FIND function, but instead of matching a string of characters, it is matching a pattern described by a regular expression.)

Syntax:      PRXMATCH(pattern-id or regular-expression, string)

pattern-id is the value returned from the PRXPARSE function.

regular-expression is a Perl regular expression, placed in quotation marks (SAS 9.1 and later). Note: If you use pattern-id, you must use the PRXPARSE function first. If you place the regular expression ...