RegexMatchTimeoutException Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Text.RegularExpressions

Assembly:

System.Text.RegularExpressions.dll

Source:

RegexMatchTimeoutException.cs

The exception that is thrown when the execution time of a regular expression pattern-matching method exceeds its time-out interval.

public ref class RegexMatchTimeoutException : TimeoutException

public class RegexMatchTimeoutException : TimeoutException

type RegexMatchTimeoutException = class
    inherit TimeoutException
    interface ISerializable

Public Class RegexMatchTimeoutException
Inherits TimeoutException

Inheritance

Object

Exception

SystemException

TimeoutException

RegexMatchTimeoutException

Implements

ISerializable

Examples

The following example illustrates two possible approaches to handling the RegexMatchTimeoutException exception. A constant whose value is two seconds defines the maximum time-out interval. The Regex.IsMatch(String, String, RegexOptions, TimeSpan) method is initially called with a time-out interval of one second. Each RegexMatchTimeoutException exception causes the time-out interval to be increased by one second and results in another call to the Regex.IsMatch method if the current time-out interval is less than the maximum time-out interval. However, if the current time-out interval exceeds the maximum time-out interval, the exception handler writes information to the event log and abandons the processing of the regular expression.

using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Security;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
using System.Threading;

public class Example
{
   const int MaxTimeoutInSeconds = 2;
   
   public static void Main()
   {
      TimeSpan timeout = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1);
      string input = "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa>";
      if (ValidateInput(input, timeout))
         // Perform some operation with valid input string.
         Console.WriteLine("'{0}' is a valid string.", input); 
   } 

   private static bool ValidateInput(string input, TimeSpan timeout)
   {
      string pattern = "(a+)+$";      
      try {
         return Regex.IsMatch(input, pattern, 
                              RegexOptions.IgnoreCase, timeout);
      }
      catch (RegexMatchTimeoutException e) {
         // Increase the timeout interval and retry.
         timeout = timeout.Add(new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1));
         Console.WriteLine("Changing the timeout interval to {0}", 
                           timeout); 
         if (timeout.TotalSeconds <= MaxTimeoutInSeconds) {
            // Pause for a short period.
            Thread.Sleep(250);
            return ValidateInput(input, timeout);
         }   
         else {
            Console.WriteLine("Timeout interval of {0} exceeded.", 
                              timeout);
            // Write to event log named RegexTimeouts
            try {
               if (! EventLog.SourceExists("RegexTimeouts"))
                  EventLog.CreateEventSource("RegexTimeouts", "RegexTimeouts");

               EventLog log = new EventLog("RegexTimeouts");
               log.Source = "RegexTimeouts";
               string msg = String.Format("Timeout after {0} matching '{1}' with '{2}.",
                                          e.MatchTimeout, e.Input, e.Pattern);
               log.WriteEntry(msg, EventLogEntryType.Error);
            }
            // Do nothing to handle the exceptions.
            catch (SecurityException) { }
            catch (InvalidOperationException) { }
            catch (Win32Exception) { }
            return false;
         }   
      }
   }
}
// The example writes to the event log and also displays the following output:
//       Changing the timeout interval to 00:00:02
//       Changing the timeout interval to 00:00:03
//       Timeout interval of 00:00:03 exceeded.

Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Diagnostics
Imports System.Security
Imports System.Text.RegularExpressions
Imports System.Threading

Module Example
   Const MaxTimeoutInSeconds As Integer = 2
   
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim timeout As TimeSpan = New TimeSpan(0, 0, 1)
      
      Dim input As String = "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa>"
      If ValidateInput(input, timeout) Then
         ' Perform some operation with valid input string.
         Console.WriteLine("'{0}' is a valid string.", input) 
      End If
   End Sub 

   Private Function ValidateInput(input As String, 
                                  timeout As TimeSpan) As Boolean
      Dim pattern As String = "(a+)+$"      
      Try
         Return Regex.IsMatch(input, pattern, 
                              RegexOptions.IgnoreCase, timeout)
      Catch e As RegexMatchTimeoutException
         ' Increase the timeout interval and retry.
         timeout = timeout.Add(New TimeSpan(0, 0, 1))
         Console.WriteLine("Changing the timeout interval to {0}", 
                           timeout) 
         If timeout.TotalSeconds <= MaxTimeoutInSeconds Then
            ' Pause for a short interval.
            Thread.Sleep(250)
            Return ValidateInput(input, timeout)
         Else
            Console.WriteLine("Timeout interval of {0} exceeded.", 
                              timeout)
            ' Write to event log named RegexTimeouts
            Try
               If Not EventLog.SourceExists("RegexTimeouts") Then
                  EventLog.CreateEventSource("RegexTimeouts", "RegexTimeouts")
               End If   
               Dim log As New EventLog("RegexTimeouts")
               log.Source = "RegexTimeouts"
               Dim msg As String = String.Format("Timeout after {0} matching '{1}' with '{2}.",
                                                 e.MatchTimeout, e.Input, e.Pattern)
               log.WriteEntry(msg, EventLogEntryType.Error)
            ' Do nothing to handle the exceptions.
            Catch ex As SecurityException

            Catch ex As InvalidOperationException

            Catch ex As Win32Exception

            End Try   
            Return False
         End If   
      End Try
   End Function
End Module
' The example writes to the event log and also displays the following output:
'       Changing the timeout interval to 00:00:02
'       Changing the timeout interval to 00:00:03
'       Timeout interval of 00:00:03 exceeded.

Remarks

The presence of a RegexMatchTimeoutException exception generally indicates one of the following conditions:

• The regular expression engine is backtracking excessively as it attempts to match the input text to the regular expression pattern.

• The time-out interval has been set too low, especially given high machine load.

The way in which an exception handler handles an exception depends on the cause of the exception:

• If the time-out results from excessive backtracking, your exception handler should abandon the attempt to match the input and inform the user that a time-out has occurred in the regular expression pattern-matching method. If possible, information about the regular expression pattern, which is available from the Pattern property, and the input that caused excessive backtracking, which is available from the Input property, should be logged so that the issue can be investigated and the regular expression pattern modified. Time-outs due to excessive backtracking are always reproducible.

• If the time-out results from setting the time-out threshold too low, you can increase the time-out interval and retry the matching operation. The current time-out interval is available from the MatchTimeout property. When a RegexMatchTimeoutException exception is thrown, the regular expression engine maintains its state so that any future invocations return the same result, as if the exception did not occur. The recommended pattern is to wait for a brief, random time interval after the exception is thrown before calling the matching method again. This can be repeated several times. However, the number of repetitions should be small in case the time-out is caused by excessive backtracking.

The example in the next section illustrates both techniques for handling a RegexMatchTimeoutException.

Constructors

RegexMatchTimeoutException()	Initializes a new instance of the RegexMatchTimeoutException class with a system-supplied message.
RegexMatchTimeoutException(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)	Obsolete. Initializes a new instance of the RegexMatchTimeoutException class with serialized data.
RegexMatchTimeoutException(String)	Initializes a new instance of the RegexMatchTimeoutException class with the specified message string.
RegexMatchTimeoutException(String, Exception)	Initializes a new instance of the RegexMatchTimeoutException class with a specified error message and a reference to the inner exception that is the cause of this exception.
RegexMatchTimeoutException(String, String, TimeSpan)	Initializes a new instance of the RegexMatchTimeoutException class with information about the regular expression pattern, the input text, and the time-out interval.

Properties

Data	Gets a collection of key/value pairs that provide additional user-defined information about the exception. (Inherited from Exception)
HelpLink	Gets or sets a link to the help file associated with this exception. (Inherited from Exception)
HResult	Gets or sets HRESULT, a coded numerical value that is assigned to a specific exception. (Inherited from Exception)
InnerException	Gets the Exception instance that caused the current exception. (Inherited from Exception)
Input	Gets the input text that the regular expression engine was processing when the time-out occurred.
MatchTimeout	Gets the time-out interval for a regular expression match.
Message	Gets a message that describes the current exception. (Inherited from Exception)
Pattern	Gets the regular expression pattern that was used in the matching operation when the time-out occurred.
Source	Gets or sets the name of the application or the object that causes the error. (Inherited from Exception)
StackTrace	Gets a string representation of the immediate frames on the call stack. (Inherited from Exception)
TargetSite	Gets the method that throws the current exception. (Inherited from Exception)

Methods

Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object)
GetBaseException()	When overridden in a derived class, returns the Exception that is the root cause of one or more subsequent exceptions. (Inherited from Exception)
GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object)
GetObjectData(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)	Obsolete. When overridden in a derived class, sets the SerializationInfo with information about the exception. (Inherited from Exception)
GetType()	Gets the runtime type of the current instance. (Inherited from Exception)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Creates and returns a string representation of the current exception. (Inherited from Exception)

Events

SerializeObjectState

Obsolete. Occurs when an exception is serialized to create an exception state object that contains serialized data about the exception. (Inherited from Exception)

Explicit Interface Implementations

ISerializable.GetObjectData(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)

Populates a SerializationInfo object with the data needed to serialize a RegexMatchTimeoutException object.

See also

• Backtracking in Regular Expressions
• Best practices for regular expressions in .NET