pcre, bifs, drivers and ports

[Ernie Makris]

Hello Erlangers,

One thing I wanted to start a discussion on is getting pcre style
regexps in erlang. The question
I pose to the list is: What would be the best way to integrate the pcre
library into erlang.
The possible approaches I've seen so far are:
- create a linked in driver
- create a port program
- create new bifs (I'd really like this)

My obvious concerns are:
- How stable is the C pcre library for long running servers
- Stability implies:
    - Memory leaks
    - SIGSEGVs

I would love the library calls in erlang to be bifs. Are there any
external examples, aside from just looking at the source that
demonstrate how to cleanly add a new bif?

Thanks
Ernie