hyperscan

Hyperscan is a high-performance regular expression matching library developed by Intel. It is designed to efficiently scan large streams of data for patterns defined by regular expressions. The core innovation of Hyperscan lies in its ability to compile multiple regular expressions into a single, highly optimized finite automaton. This allows for simultaneous matching of all patterns against the input data, significantly outperforming traditional regex engines that process patterns sequentially.

The library supports a rich set of regular expression features, including character classes, repetition, alternation, and grouping. It is particularly well-suited for applications that require real-time pattern matching on high-volume data, such as network intrusion detection systems (NIDS), malware analysis, and log analysis. Hyperscan's architecture leverages SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) instructions to accelerate pattern matching, making it very fast on modern processors.

Hyperscan is open-source and available under a BSD-style license. It provides a C API for integration into various applications. Developers can compile their regex patterns into a Hyperscan "database," which is then used for efficient scanning. The library handles the complexities of multi-pattern matching and optimization internally, allowing users to focus on defining their search criteria. Its design prioritizes throughput and low latency, making it a powerful tool for demanding data processing tasks.