codemirror search/replace issues with backslash escape character

[haraldschilly]

The issue is motivated by search+replace of \latexcommand in latex code, but it is in general about any backslashes in search strings when used for replacing text. The core issue seems to be that at some point an escaped backslash is getting removed. Steps to reproduce:

1. enter in a *.md document something like:

   
   test \foo

test \foo foo

test foo \foo baz

2. the goal is to replace all `\foo` by `\abc`
3. searching for `\foo` requires to escape the backslash: `\\foo`
4. it finds one, good. But then, when clicking on the search/replace button **again**, it is only `\foo` and therefore it will find plain `foo` in the text, and replace it.

So, the question is, is it strictly necessary to escape the backslash in (3.) or should it be done automatically? Or, in step (4.), should it be escaped again? Somewhere there the escaped backslash is lost.

[haraldschilly]

There is also another problem: in a file where somewhere is /tmp/cocalc, and searching for /tmp/cocalc, only gives tmp. Maybe it automatically translates this into a regex? Oh yes, it does! So, maybe that should be an optional flag...

[williamstein]

Oh yes, it does! So, maybe that should be an optional flag...

This is not our code; it's an upstream CodeMirror plugin -- https://codemirror.net/5/demo/search.html

WORKAROUNDS:

• Personally, I use Sublime bindings and (1) do a search, then (2) duplicate the cursor to all matches I want, and (3) use multiple cursors to do replace... I never ever use global automatic search/replace -- I just don't trust it; I want to see every spot where the search/replace will happen.

• If I am doing a genuinely global search/replace, I use sed in the terminal, sometimes with the assistance of AI. I then use git to see exactly what changed to make sure it is correct...