* is the repeat operator. It applies to the preceeding
character, character set, subexpression or backreference. It indicates
that the preceeding element can be matched 0 or more times:
bana\(na\)*
matches
bana banana bananana banananana ...
\+ is similar to * except that \+ requires the
preceeding element to be matched at least once. So while:
bana\(na\)*
matches
bana
bana(na\)\+
does not. Both match
banana bananana banananana ...
Thus, bana\(na\)+ is short-hand for banana\(na\)*.
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