fixed pattern regex, fixed pattern AND operation

Makefile

@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ test:
 
 singletest:
 	@echo "Call like this: 'make singletest TEST=TestPrepareColumns MOD=lib'"
-	go test -run $(TEST) github.com/tlinden/tablizer/$(MOD) $(OPTS)
+	go test -run $(TEST) github.com/tlinden/tablizer/$(MOD)
 
 cover-report:
 	go test ./... -cover -coverprofile=coverage.out

README.md

@@ -35,8 +35,6 @@ Output Flags (mutually exclusive):
   -C, --csv                         Enable CSV output
   -A, --ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
   -L, --hightlight-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
-  -y, --yank-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
-                                    space separated
 
 Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
   -a, --sort-age                    sort according to age (duration) string

cfg/config.go

@@ -52,6 +52,12 @@ type Transposer struct {
 	Replace string
 }
 
+type Pattern struct {
+	Pattern   string
+	PatternRe *regexp.Regexp
+	Negate    bool
+}
+
 // internal config
 type Config struct {
 	Debug          bool
@@ -59,13 +65,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	NoHeaders      bool
 	Columns        string
 	UseColumns     []int
-	YankColumns    string
-	UseYankColumns []int
 	Separator      string
 	OutputMode     int
 	InvertMatch    bool
-	Pattern        string
-	PatternR       *regexp.Regexp
+	Patterns       []*Pattern
 	UseFuzzySearch bool
 	UseHighlight   bool
 
@@ -335,15 +338,37 @@ func (conf *Config) ApplyDefaults() {
 	}
 }
 
-func (conf *Config) PreparePattern(pattern string) error {
-	PatternR, err := regexp.Compile(pattern)
+func (conf *Config) PreparePattern(patterns []*Pattern) error {
+	// regex checks if a pattern looks like /$pattern/[i!]
+	flagre := regexp.MustCompile(`^/(.*)/([i!]*)$`)
 
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("regexp pattern %s is invalid: %w", conf.Pattern, err)
+	for _, pattern := range patterns {
+		matches := flagre.FindAllStringSubmatch(pattern.Pattern, -1)
+
+		// we have a regex with flags
+		for _, match := range matches {
+			pattern.Pattern = match[1] // the inner part is our actual pattern
+			flags := match[2]          // the flags
+
+			for _, flag := range flags {
+				switch flag {
+				case 'i':
+					pattern.Pattern = `(?i)` + pattern.Pattern
+				case '!':
+					pattern.Negate = true
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		PatternRe, err := regexp.Compile(pattern.Pattern)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("regexp pattern %s is invalid: %w", pattern.Pattern, err)
+		}
+
+		pattern.PatternRe = PatternRe
 	}
 
-	conf.PatternR = PatternR
-	conf.Pattern = pattern
+	conf.Patterns = patterns
 
 	return nil
 }

cfg/config_test.go

@@ -79,20 +79,55 @@ func TestPrepareSortFlags(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestPreparePattern(t *testing.T) {
 	var tests = []struct {
-		pattern string
-		wanterr bool
+		patterns  []*Pattern
+		name      string
+		wanterr   bool
+		wanticase bool
+		wantneg   bool
 	}{
-		{"[A-Z]+", false},
-		{"[a-z", true},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "[A-Z]+"}},
+			"simple",
+			false,
+			false,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "[a-z"}},
+			"regfail",
+			true,
+			false,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "/[A-Z]+/i"}},
+			"icase",
+			false,
+			true,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "/[A-Z]+/!"}},
+			"negate",
+			false,
+			false,
+			true,
+		},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "/[A-Z]+/!i"}},
+			"negicase",
+			false,
+			true,
+			true,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, testdata := range tests {
-		testname := fmt.Sprintf("PreparePattern-pattern-%s-wanterr-%t",
-			testdata.pattern, testdata.wanterr)
+		testname := fmt.Sprintf("PreparePattern-pattern-%s-wanterr-%t", testdata.name, testdata.wanterr)
 		t.Run(testname, func(t *testing.T) {
 			conf := Config{}
 
-			err := conf.PreparePattern(testdata.pattern)
+			err := conf.PreparePattern(testdata.patterns)
 
 			if err != nil {
 				if !testdata.wanterr {

cmd/root.go

@@ -147,8 +147,6 @@ func Execute() {
 		"Custom field separator")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&conf.Columns, "columns", "c", "",
 		"Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)")
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&conf.YankColumns, "yank-columns", "y", "",
-		"Yank the speficied columns (separated by ,) to the clipboard")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&conf.TransposeColumns, "transpose-columns", "T", "",
 		"Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)")
 

cmd/tablizer.go

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ NAME
 
 SYNOPSIS
         Usage:
-          tablizer [regex] [file, ...] [flags]
+          tablizer [regex,...] [file, ...] [flags]
     
         Operational Flags:
           -c, --columns string              Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ SYNOPSIS
           -C, --csv                         Enable CSV output
           -A, --ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
           -L, --hightlight-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
-          -y, --yank-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
-                                            space separated
 
         Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
           -a, --sort-age                    sort according to age (duration) string
@@ -132,30 +130,43 @@ DESCRIPTION
     for the developer.
 
   PATTERNS AND FILTERING
-    You can reduce the rows being displayed by using a regular expression
-    pattern. The regexp is PCRE compatible, refer to the syntax cheat sheet
-    here: <https://github.com/google/re2/wiki/Syntax>. If you want to read a
-    more comprehensive documentation about the topic and have perl installed
-    you can read it with:
+    You can reduce the rows being displayed by using one or more regular
+    expression patterns. The regexp language being used is the one of
+    GOLANG, refer to the syntax cheat sheet here:
+    <https://pkg.go.dev/regexp/syntax>.
+
+    If you want to read a more comprehensive documentation about the topic
+    and have perl installed you can read it with:
 
         perldoc perlre
 
-    Or read it online: <https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>.
+    Or read it online: <https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>. But please note
+    that the GO regexp engine does NOT support all perl regex terms,
+    especially look-ahead and look-behind.
 
-    A note on modifiers: the regexp engine used in tablizer uses another
-    modifier syntax:
+    If you want to supply flags to a regex, then surround it with slashes
+    and append the flag. The following flags are supported:
 
-        (?MODIFIER)
-
-    The most important modifiers are:
-
-    "i" ignore case "m" multiline mode "s" single line mode
+        i => case insensitive
+        ! => negative match
 
     Example for a case insensitive search:
 
-        kubectl get pods -A | tablizer "(?i)account"
+        kubectl get pods -A | tablizer "/account/i"
 
-    You can use the experimental fuzzy search feature by providing the
+    If you use the "!" flag, then the regex match will be negated, that is,
+    if a line in the input matches the given regex, but "!" is supplied,
+    tablizer will NOT include it in the output.
+
+    For example, here we want to get all lines matching "foo" but not "bar":
+
+        cat table | tablizer foo '/bar/!'
+
+    This would match a line "foo zorro" but not "foo bar".
+
+    The flags can also be combined.
+
+    You can also use the experimental fuzzy search feature by providing the
     option -z, in which case the pattern is regarded as a fuzzy search term,
     not a regexp.
 
@@ -269,18 +280,6 @@ DESCRIPTION
     markdown which prints a Markdown table, yaml, which prints yaml encoding
     and CSV mode, which prints a comma separated value file.
 
-  PUT FIELDS TO CLIPBOARD
-    You can let tablizer put fields to the clipboard using the option "-y".
-    This best fits the use-case when the result of your filtering yields
-    just one row. For example:
-
-        cloudctl cluster ls | tablizer -yid matchbox
-
-    If "matchbox" matches one cluster, you can immediately use the id of
-    that cluster somewhere else and paste it. Of course, if there are
-    multiple matches, then all id's will be put into the clipboard separated
-    by one space.
-
   ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
     tablizer supports certain environment variables which use can use to
     influence program behavior. Commandline flags have always precedence
@@ -406,7 +405,7 @@ AUTHORS
 var usage = `
 
 Usage:
-  tablizer [regex] [file, ...] [flags]
+  tablizer [regex,...] [file, ...] [flags]
 
 Operational Flags:
   -c, --columns string              Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -430,8 +429,6 @@ Output Flags (mutually exclusive):
   -C, --csv                         Enable CSV output
   -A, --ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
   -L, --hightlight-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
-  -y, --yank-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
-                                    space separated
 
 Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
   -a, --sort-age                    sort according to age (duration) string

go.mod

@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ go 1.22
 require (
 	github.com/alecthomas/repr v0.4.0
 	github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de
-	github.com/atotto/clipboard v0.1.4
 	github.com/gookit/color v1.5.4
 	github.com/hashicorp/hcl/v2 v2.23.0
 	github.com/lithammer/fuzzysearch v1.1.8
@@ -23,10 +22,8 @@ require (
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.16 // indirect
 	github.com/mitchellh/go-wordwrap v0.0.0-20150314170334-ad45545899c7 // indirect
-	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 // indirect
 	github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5 // indirect
-	github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.2-0.20250126153310-fcc1f95408cf // indirect
 	github.com/xo/terminfo v0.0.0-20220910002029-abceb7e1c41e // indirect
 	github.com/zclconf/go-cty v1.13.3 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/mod v0.18.0 // indirect

go.sum

@@ -8,8 +8,6 @@ github.com/apparentlymart/go-textseg/v15 v15.0.0 h1:uYvfpb3DyLSCGWnctWKGj857c6ew
 github.com/apparentlymart/go-textseg/v15 v15.0.0/go.mod h1:K8XmNZdhEBkdlyDdvbmmsvpAG721bKi0joRfFdHIWJ4=
 github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de h1:FxWPpzIjnTlhPwqqXc4/vE0f7GvRjuAsbW+HOIe8KnA=
 github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de/go.mod h1:DCaWoUhZrYW9p1lxo/cm8EmUOOzAPSEZNGF2DK1dJgw=
-github.com/atotto/clipboard v0.1.4 h1:EH0zSVneZPSuFR11BlR9YppQTVDbh5+16AmcJi4g1z4=
-github.com/atotto/clipboard v0.1.4/go.mod h1:ZY9tmq7sm5xIbd9bOK4onWV4S6X0u6GY7Vn0Yu86PYI=
 github.com/cpuguy83/go-md2man/v2 v2.0.4/go.mod h1:tgQtvFlXSQOSOSIRvRPT7W67SCa46tRHOmNcaadrF8o=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
@@ -34,8 +32,6 @@ github.com/mitchellh/go-wordwrap v0.0.0-20150314170334-ad45545899c7 h1:DpOJ2HYzC
 github.com/mitchellh/go-wordwrap v0.0.0-20150314170334-ad45545899c7/go.mod h1:ZXFpozHsX6DPmq2I0TCekCxypsnAUbP2oI0UX1GXzOo=
 github.com/olekukonko/tablewriter v0.0.5 h1:P2Ga83D34wi1o9J6Wh1mRuqd4mF/x/lgBS7N7AbDhec=
 github.com/olekukonko/tablewriter v0.0.5/go.mod h1:hPp6KlRPjbx+hW8ykQs1w3UBbZlj6HuIJcUGPhkA7kY=
-github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 h1:FEBLx1zS214owpjy7qsBeixbURkuhQAwrK5UwLGTwt4=
-github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1/go.mod h1:bwawxfHBFNV+L2hUp1rHADufV3IMtnDRdf1r5NINEl0=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.1.0/go.mod h1:J6wj4VEh+S6ZtnVlnTBMWIodfgj8LQOQFoIToxlJtxc=
@@ -53,10 +49,6 @@ github.com/stretchr/objx v0.1.0/go.mod h1:HFkY916IF+rwdDfMAkV7OtwuqBVzrE8GR6GFx+
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4 h1:CcVxjf3Q8PM0mHUKJCdn+eZZtm5yQwehR5yeSVQQcUk=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4/go.mod h1:sz/lmYIOXD/1dqDmKjjqLyZ2RngseejIcXlSw2iwfAo=
-github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.1 h1:nddQ5DsEnKW0KdzTILhbLpSq3e9y2dkJXEOtsMs6H7A=
-github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.1/go.mod h1:kXtjJBIMimZaGbxmcKZ8+JqK+acSNf5tAJiChlZBOr8=
-github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.2-0.20250126153310-fcc1f95408cf h1:csb/+rmJBAtOP6OP+9soTnwJVuhlUpedjb5dPlNZasY=
-github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.2-0.20250126153310-fcc1f95408cf/go.mod h1:kXtjJBIMimZaGbxmcKZ8+JqK+acSNf5tAJiChlZBOr8=
 github.com/xo/terminfo v0.0.0-20220910002029-abceb7e1c41e h1:JVG44RsyaB9T2KIHavMF/ppJZNG9ZpyihvCd0w101no=
 github.com/xo/terminfo v0.0.0-20220910002029-abceb7e1c41e/go.mod h1:RbqR21r5mrJuqunuUZ/Dhy/avygyECGrLceyNeo4LiM=
 github.com/yuin/goldmark v1.4.13/go.mod h1:6yULJ656Px+3vBD8DxQVa3kxgyrAnzto9xy5taEt/CY=

lib/filter.go

@@ -27,15 +27,46 @@ import (
 )
 
 /*
- * [!]Match a  line, use fuzzy  search for normal pattern  strings and
- * regexp otherwise.
- */
+* [!]Match a  line, use fuzzy  search for normal pattern  strings and
+* regexp otherwise.
+
+		'foo bar'  foo, /bar/!  => false => line contains foo and not (not bar)
+	    'foo nix'  foo, /bar/!  => ture  => line contains foo and (not bar)
+		'foo bar'  foo, /bar/   => true  => line contains both foo and bar
+		'foo nix'  foo, /bar/   => false => line does not contain bar
+		'foo bar'  foo, /nix/   => false => line does not contain nix
+*/
 func matchPattern(conf cfg.Config, line string) bool {
-	if conf.UseFuzzySearch {
-		return fuzzy.MatchFold(conf.Pattern, line)
+	if len(conf.Patterns) == 0 {
+		// any line always matches ""
+		return true
 	}
 
-	return conf.PatternR.MatchString(line)
+	if conf.UseFuzzySearch {
+		// fuzzy search only considers the 1st pattern
+		return fuzzy.MatchFold(conf.Patterns[0].Pattern, line)
+	}
+
+	var match int
+
+	//fmt.Printf("<%s>\n", line)
+	for _, re := range conf.Patterns {
+		patmatch := re.PatternRe.MatchString(line)
+		if re.Negate {
+			// toggle the meaning of match
+			patmatch = !patmatch
+		}
+
+		if patmatch {
+			match++
+		}
+
+		//fmt.Printf("patmatch: %t, match: %d, pattern: %s, negate: %t\n", patmatch, match, re.Pattern, re.Negate)
+	}
+
+	// fmt.Printf("result: %t\n", match == len(conf.Patterns))
+	//fmt.Println()
+	return match == len(conf.Patterns)
 }
 
 /*
@@ -123,8 +154,11 @@ func Exists[K comparable, V any](m map[K]V, v K) bool {
 	return false
 }
 
+/*
+ * Filters the whole input lines, returns filtered lines
+ */
 func FilterByPattern(conf cfg.Config, input io.Reader) (io.Reader, error) {
-	if conf.Pattern == "" {
+	if len(conf.Patterns) == 0 {
 		return input, nil
 	}
 
@@ -136,7 +170,7 @@ func FilterByPattern(conf cfg.Config, input io.Reader) (io.Reader, error) {
 		line := strings.TrimSpace(scanner.Text())
 		if hadFirst {
 			// don't match 1st line, it's the header
-			if conf.Pattern != "" && matchPattern(conf, line) == conf.InvertMatch {
+			if matchPattern(conf, line) == conf.InvertMatch {
 				// by default  -v is false, so if a  line does NOT
 				// match the pattern, we will ignore it. However,
 				// if the user specified -v, the matching is inverted,

lib/filter_test.go

@@ -27,21 +27,21 @@ import (
 
 func TestMatchPattern(t *testing.T) {
 	var input = []struct {
-		name    string
-		fuzzy   bool
-		pattern string
-		line    string
+		name     string
+		fuzzy    bool
+		patterns []*cfg.Pattern
+		line     string
 	}{
 		{
-			name:    "normal",
-			pattern: "haus",
-			line:    "hausparty",
+			name:     "normal",
+			patterns: []*cfg.Pattern{{Pattern: "haus"}},
+			line:     "hausparty",
 		},
 		{
-			name:    "fuzzy",
-			pattern: "hpt",
-			line:    "haus-party-termin",
-			fuzzy:   true,
+			name:     "fuzzy",
+			patterns: []*cfg.Pattern{{Pattern: "hpt"}},
+			line:     "haus-party-termin",
+			fuzzy:    true,
 		},
 	}
 
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func TestMatchPattern(t *testing.T) {
 				conf.UseFuzzySearch = true
 			}
 
-			err := conf.PreparePattern(inputdata.pattern)
+			err := conf.PreparePattern(inputdata.patterns)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("PreparePattern returned error: %s", err)
 			}

lib/helpers.go

@@ -77,14 +77,6 @@ func PrepareColumns(conf *cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) error {
 
 	conf.UseColumns = usecolumns
 
-	// -y columns
-	useyankcolumns, err := PrepareColumnVars(conf.YankColumns, data)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	conf.UseYankColumns = useyankcolumns
-
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -301,12 +293,20 @@ func colorizeData(conf cfg.Config, output string) string {
 
 		return colorized
 
-	case len(conf.Pattern) > 0 && !conf.NoColor && color.IsConsole(os.Stdout):
-		r := regexp.MustCompile("(" + conf.Pattern + ")")
+	case len(conf.Patterns) > 0 && !conf.NoColor && color.IsConsole(os.Stdout):
+		out := output
 
-		return r.ReplaceAllStringFunc(output, func(in string) string {
-			return conf.ColorStyle.Sprint(in)
-		})
+		for _, re := range conf.Patterns {
+			if !re.Negate {
+				r := regexp.MustCompile("(" + re.Pattern + ")")
+
+				out = r.ReplaceAllStringFunc(out, func(in string) string {
+					return conf.ColorStyle.Sprint(in)
+				})
+			}
+		}
+
+		return out
 
 	default:
 		return output

lib/io.go

@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@ import (
 const RWRR = 0755
 
 func ProcessFiles(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) error {
-	fd, pattern, err := determineIO(conf, args)
+	fd, patterns, err := determineIO(conf, args)
 
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := conf.PreparePattern(pattern); err != nil {
+	if err := conf.PreparePattern(patterns); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -63,9 +63,9 @@ func ProcessFiles(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func determineIO(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) (io.Reader, string, error) {
+func determineIO(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) (io.Reader, []*cfg.Pattern, error) {
 	var filehandle io.Reader
-	var pattern string
+	var patterns []*cfg.Pattern
 	var haveio bool
 
 	switch {
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ func determineIO(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) (io.Reader, string, error) {
 		fd, err := os.OpenFile(conf.InputFile, os.O_RDONLY, RWRR)
 
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, "", fmt.Errorf("failed to read input file %s: %w", conf.InputFile, err)
+			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to read input file %s: %w", conf.InputFile, err)
 		}
 
 		filehandle = fd
@@ -93,13 +93,15 @@ func determineIO(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) (io.Reader, string, error) {
 	}
 
 	if len(args) > 0 {
-		pattern = args[0]
-		conf.Pattern = args[0]
+		patterns = make([]*cfg.Pattern, len(args))
+		for i, arg := range args {
+			patterns[i] = &cfg.Pattern{Pattern: arg}
+		}
 	}
 
 	if !haveio {
-		return nil, "", errors.New("no file specified and nothing to read on stdin")
+		return nil, nil, errors.New("no file specified and nothing to read on stdin")
 	}
 
-	return filehandle, pattern, nil
+	return filehandle, patterns, nil
 }

lib/parser.go

@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ func parseTabular(conf cfg.Config, input io.Reader) (Tabdata, error) {
 			}
 		} else {
 			// data processing
-			if conf.Pattern != "" && matchPattern(conf, line) == conf.InvertMatch {
+			if matchPattern(conf, line) == conf.InvertMatch {
 				// by default  -v is false, so if a  line does NOT
 				// match the pattern, we will ignore it. However,
 				// if the user specified -v, the matching is inverted,

lib/parser_test.go

@@ -83,36 +83,42 @@ func TestParser(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestParserPatternmatching(t *testing.T) {
 	var tests = []struct {
-		entries [][]string
-		pattern string
-		invert  bool
-		want    bool
+		name     string
+		entries  [][]string
+		patterns []*cfg.Pattern
+		invert   bool
+		want     bool
 	}{
 		{
+			name: "match",
 			entries: [][]string{
 				{"asd", "igig", "cxxxncnc"},
 			},
-			pattern: "ig",
-			invert:  false,
+			patterns: []*cfg.Pattern{{Pattern: "ig"}},
+			invert:   false,
 		},
 		{
+			name: "invert",
 			entries: [][]string{
 				{"19191", "EDD 1", "X"},
 			},
-			pattern: "ig",
-			invert:  true,
+			patterns: []*cfg.Pattern{{Pattern: "ig"}},
+			invert:   true,
 		},
 	}
 
 	for _, inputdata := range input {
 		for _, testdata := range tests {
 			testname := fmt.Sprintf("parse-%s-with-pattern-%s-inverted-%t",
-				inputdata.name, testdata.pattern, testdata.invert)
+				inputdata.name, testdata.name, testdata.invert)
 			t.Run(testname, func(t *testing.T) {
-				conf := cfg.Config{InvertMatch: testdata.invert, Pattern: testdata.pattern,
-					Separator: inputdata.separator}
+				conf := cfg.Config{
+					InvertMatch: testdata.invert,
+					Patterns:    testdata.patterns,
+					Separator:   inputdata.separator,
+				}
 
-				_ = conf.PreparePattern(testdata.pattern)
+				_ = conf.PreparePattern(testdata.patterns)
 
 				readFd := strings.NewReader(strings.TrimSpace(inputdata.text))
 				gotdata, err := Parse(conf, readFd)
@@ -125,7 +131,7 @@ func TestParserPatternmatching(t *testing.T) {
 				} else {
 					if !reflect.DeepEqual(testdata.entries, gotdata.entries) {
 						t.Errorf("Parser returned invalid data (pattern: %s, invert: %t)\nExp: %+v\nGot: %+v\n",
-							testdata.pattern, testdata.invert, testdata.entries, gotdata.entries)
+							testdata.name, testdata.invert, testdata.entries, gotdata.entries)
 					}
 				}
 			})

lib/printer.go

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
-Copyright © 2022-2025 Thomas von Dein
+Copyright © 2022 Thomas von Dein
 
 This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
@@ -38,9 +38,6 @@ func printData(writer io.Writer, conf cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) {
 	// by, independently if it's being used for display or not.
 	sortTable(conf, data)
 
-	// put one or more columns into clipboard
-	yankColumns(conf, data)
-
 	// add numbers to headers and remove those we're not interested in
 	numberizeAndReduceHeaders(conf, data)
 

lib/yank.go

@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright © 2022-2025 Thomas von Dein
-
-This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-(at your option) any later version.
-
-This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-GNU General Public License for more details.
-
-You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-*/
-
-package lib
-
-import (
-	"log"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard/clipboard"
-	"github.com/tlinden/tablizer/cfg"
-)
-
-func yankColumns(conf cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) {
-	var yank []string
-
-	if len(data.entries) == 0 || len(conf.UseYankColumns) == 0 {
-		return
-	}
-
-	for _, row := range data.entries {
-		for i, field := range row {
-			for _, idx := range conf.UseYankColumns {
-				if i == idx-1 {
-					yank = append(yank, field)
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	if len(yank) > 0 {
-		cb := clipboard.New(clipboard.ClipboardOptions{Primary: true})
-		if err := cb.CopyText(strings.Join(yank, " ")); err != nil {
-			log.Fatalln("error writing string to clipboard:", err)
-		}
-	}
-}

lib/yank_test.go

@@ -1,72 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright © 2025 Thomas von Dein
-
-This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-(at your option) any later version.
-
-This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-GNU General Public License for more details.
-
-You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-*/
-
-package lib
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"fmt"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard/clipboard"
-	"github.com/tlinden/tablizer/cfg"
-)
-
-var yanktests = []struct {
-	name   string
-	yank   []int // -y$colum,$column... after processing
-	filter string
-	expect string
-}{
-	{
-		name:   "one",
-		yank:   []int{1},
-		filter: "beta",
-	},
-}
-
-func DISABLED_TestYankColumns(t *testing.T) {
-	cb := clipboard.New()
-
-	for _, testdata := range yanktests {
-		testname := fmt.Sprintf("yank-%s-filter-%s",
-			testdata.name, testdata.filter)
-		t.Run(testname, func(t *testing.T) {
-			conf := cfg.Config{
-				OutputMode:     cfg.ASCII,
-				UseYankColumns: testdata.yank,
-				NoColor:        true,
-			}
-
-			conf.ApplyDefaults()
-			data := newData() // defined in printer_test.go, reused here
-
-			var writer bytes.Buffer
-			printData(&writer, conf, &data)
-
-			got, err := cb.PasteText()
-			if err != nil {
-				t.Errorf("failed to fetch yanked text from clipboard")
-			}
-
-			if got != testdata.expect {
-				t.Errorf("not yanked correctly:\n+++ got:\n%s\n+++ want:\n%s",
-					got, testdata.expect)
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}

t/test-multipatterns.txtar

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# filtering
+
+# a AND b
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies invasive imperium
+stdout 'namak'
+! stdout human
+
+# a AND !b
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies invasive '/imperium/!'
+stdout 'human'
+! stdout namak
+
+# a AND !b AND c
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies peaceful '/imperium/!' planetary
+stdout 'kenaha'
+! stdout 'namak|heduu|riedl'
+
+# case insensitive
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies '/REGIONAL/i'
+stdout namak
+! stdout 'human|riedl|heduu|kenaa'
+
+# case insensitive negated
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies '/REGIONAL/!i'
+stdout 'human|riedl|heduu|kenaa'
+! stdout namak
+
+# !a AND !b
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies '/galactic/!' '/planetary/!'
+stdout namak
+! stdout 'human|riedl|heduu|kenaa'
+
+# same case insensitive
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies '/GALACTIC/i!' '/PLANETARY/!i'
+stdout namak
+! stdout 'human|riedl|heduu|kenaa'
+
+# will be automatically created in work dir
+-- testtable.txt --
+SPECIES   TYPE         HOME     STAGE             SPREAD
+human     invasive     earth    brink             planetary
+riedl     peaceful     keauna   civilized         pangalactic
+namak     invasive     namak    imperium          regional
+heduu     peaceful     iu       imperium          galactic
+kenaha    peaceful     kohi     hunter-gatherer   planetary
+

t/testtable5

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+SPECIES   TYPE         HOME     STAGE
+human     invasive     earth    brink
+riedl     peaceful     keauna   civilized
+namak     invasive     namak    imperium
+heduu     peaceful     iu       imperium
+kenaha    peaceful     kohi     hunter-gatherer

tablizer.1

@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@
 .\" ========================================================================
 .\"
 .IX Title "TABLIZER 1"
-.TH TABLIZER 1 "2025-01-23" "1" "User Commands"
+.TH TABLIZER 1 "2025-01-22" "1" "User Commands"
 .\" For nroff, turn off justification.  Always turn off hyphenation; it makes
 .\" way too many mistakes in technical documents.
 .if n .ad l
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ tablizer \- Manipulate tabular output of other programs
 .IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
 .Vb 2
 \&    Usage:
-\&      tablizer [regex] [file, ...] [flags]
+\&      tablizer [regex,...] [file, ...] [flags]
 \&    
 \&    Operational Flags:
 \&      \-c, \-\-columns string              Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -168,8 +168,6 @@ tablizer \- Manipulate tabular output of other programs
 \&      \-C, \-\-csv                         Enable CSV output
 \&      \-A, \-\-ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
 \&      \-L, \-\-hightlight\-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
-\&      \-y, \-\-yank\-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
-\&                                        space separated
 \&
 \&    Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
 \&      \-a, \-\-sort\-age                    sort according to age (duration) string
@@ -280,38 +278,52 @@ Finally the  \fB\-d\fR option  enables debugging  output which  is mostly
 useful for the developer.
 .SS "\s-1PATTERNS AND FILTERING\s0"
 .IX Subsection "PATTERNS AND FILTERING"
-You can reduce the rows being  displayed by using a regular expression
-pattern.  The  regexp is  \s-1PCRE\s0 compatible, refer  to the  syntax cheat
-sheet here: <https://github.com/google/re2/wiki/Syntax>.  If you want
-to read  a more comprehensive  documentation about the topic  and have
-perl installed you can read it with:
+You can reduce  the rows being displayed by using  one or more regular
+expression patterns.   The regexp  language being used  is the  one of
+\&\s-1GOLANG,\s0     refer    to     the    syntax     cheat    sheet     here:
+<https://pkg.go.dev/regexp/syntax>.
+.PP
+If you  want to  read a more  comprehensive documentation  about the
+topic and have perl installed you can read it with:
 .PP
 .Vb 1
 \&    perldoc perlre
 .Ve
 .PP
-Or read it online: <https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>.
+Or read it online: <https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>. But please note
+that the \s-1GO\s0 regexp engine does \s-1NOT\s0 support all perl regex terms,
+especially look-ahead and look-behind.
 .PP
-A note on  modifiers: the regexp engine used in  tablizer uses another
-modifier syntax:
+If you want to supply flags to a regex, then surround it with slashes
+and append the flag. The following flags are supported:
 .PP
-.Vb 1
-\&    (?MODIFIER)
+.Vb 2
+\&    i => case insensitive
+\&    ! => negative match
 .Ve
 .PP
-The most important modifiers are:
-.PP
-\&\f(CW\*(C`i\*(C'\fR ignore case
-\&\f(CW\*(C`m\*(C'\fR multiline mode
-\&\f(CW\*(C`s\*(C'\fR single line mode
-.PP
 Example for a case insensitive search:
 .PP
 .Vb 1
-\&    kubectl get pods \-A | tablizer "(?i)account"
+\&    kubectl get pods \-A | tablizer "/account/i"
 .Ve
 .PP
-You  can use  the experimental  fuzzy search  feature by  providing the
+If you use the \f(CW\*(C`!\*(C'\fR flag, then the regex match will be negated, that
+is, if a line in the input matches the given regex, but \f(CW\*(C`!\*(C'\fR is
+supplied, tablizer will \s-1NOT\s0 include it in the output.
+.PP
+For example, here we want to get all lines matching \*(L"foo\*(R" but not
+\&\*(L"bar\*(R":
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&    cat table | tablizer foo \*(Aq/bar/!\*(Aq
+.Ve
+.PP
+This would match a line \*(L"foo zorro\*(R" but not \*(L"foo bar\*(R".
+.PP
+The flags can also be combined.
+.PP
+You  can also use  the experimental  fuzzy search  feature by  providing the
 option \fB\-z\fR, in which case the  pattern is regarded as a fuzzy search
 term, not a regexp.
 .PP
@@ -444,20 +456,6 @@ more output modes available: \fBorgtbl\fR  which prints an Emacs org-mode
 table and  \fBmarkdown\fR which prints  a Markdown table,  \fByaml\fR, which
 prints  yaml encoding  and \s-1CSV\s0  mode, which  prints a  comma separated
 value file.
-.SS "\s-1PUT FIELDS TO CLIPBOARD\s0"
-.IX Subsection "PUT FIELDS TO CLIPBOARD"
-You can let tablizer put fields to the clipboard using the option
-\&\f(CW\*(C`\-y\*(C'\fR. This best fits the use-case when the result of your filtering
-yields just one row. For example:
-.PP
-.Vb 1
-\&    cloudctl cluster ls | tablizer \-yid matchbox
-.Ve
-.PP
-If \*(L"matchbox\*(R" matches one cluster, you can immediately use the id of
-that cluster somewhere else and paste it. Of course, if there are
-multiple matches, then all id's will be put into the clipboard
-separated by one space.
 .SS "\s-1ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES\s0"
 .IX Subsection "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
 \&\fBtablizer\fR supports  certain environment variables which  use can use

tablizer.pod

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ tablizer - Manipulate tabular output of other programs
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
     Usage:
-      tablizer [regex] [file, ...] [flags]
+      tablizer [regex,...] [file, ...] [flags]
     
     Operational Flags:
       -c, --columns string              Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -29,8 +29,6 @@ tablizer - Manipulate tabular output of other programs
       -C, --csv                         Enable CSV output
       -A, --ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
       -L, --hightlight-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
-      -y, --yank-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
-                                        space separated
 
     Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
       -a, --sort-age                    sort according to age (duration) string
@@ -144,32 +142,44 @@ useful for the developer.
 
 =head2 PATTERNS AND FILTERING
 
-You can reduce the rows being  displayed by using a regular expression
-pattern.  The  regexp is  PCRE compatible, refer  to the  syntax cheat
-sheet here: L<https://github.com/google/re2/wiki/Syntax>.  If you want
-to read  a more comprehensive  documentation about the topic  and have
-perl installed you can read it with:
+You can reduce  the rows being displayed by using  one or more regular
+expression patterns.   The regexp  language being used  is the  one of
+GOLANG,     refer    to     the    syntax     cheat    sheet     here:
+L<https://pkg.go.dev/regexp/syntax>.
+
+If you  want to  read a more  comprehensive documentation  about the
+topic and have perl installed you can read it with:
 
     perldoc perlre
 
-Or read it online: L<https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>.
+Or read it online: L<https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>. But please note
+that the GO regexp engine does NOT support all perl regex terms,
+especially look-ahead and look-behind.
 
-A note on  modifiers: the regexp engine used in  tablizer uses another
-modifier syntax:
+If you want to supply flags to a regex, then surround it with slashes
+and append the flag. The following flags are supported:
 
-    (?MODIFIER)
-
-The most important modifiers are:
-
-C<i> ignore case
-C<m> multiline mode
-C<s> single line mode
+    i => case insensitive
+    ! => negative match
 
 Example for a case insensitive search:
 
-    kubectl get pods -A | tablizer "(?i)account"
+    kubectl get pods -A | tablizer "/account/i"
 
-You  can use  the experimental  fuzzy search  feature by  providing the
+If you use the C<!> flag, then the regex match will be negated, that
+is, if a line in the input matches the given regex, but C<!> is
+supplied, tablizer will NOT include it in the output.
+
+For example, here we want to get all lines matching "foo" but not
+"bar":
+
+    cat table | tablizer foo '/bar/!'
+
+This would match a line "foo zorro" but not "foo bar".
+
+The flags can also be combined.
+
+You  can also use  the experimental  fuzzy search  feature by  providing the
 option B<-z>, in which case the  pattern is regarded as a fuzzy search
 term, not a regexp.
 
@@ -292,19 +302,6 @@ table and  B<markdown> which prints  a Markdown table,  B<yaml>, which
 prints  yaml encoding  and CSV  mode, which  prints a  comma separated
 value file.
 
-=head2 PUT FIELDS TO CLIPBOARD
-
-You can let tablizer put fields to the clipboard using the option
-C<-y>. This best fits the use-case when the result of your filtering
-yields just one row. For example:
-
-    cloudctl cluster ls | tablizer -yid matchbox
-
-If "matchbox" matches one cluster, you can immediately use the id of
-that cluster somewhere else and paste it. Of course, if there are
-multiple matches, then all id's will be put into the clipboard
-separated by one space.
-
 =head2 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
 
 B<tablizer> supports  certain environment variables which  use can use