boost::regex segfaults when using capture - c++

Question

I get a seg fault for the simple program below. It seems to be related to the destructor match_results.
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <string>
#include <boost/regex.hpp>
using namespace std;
int main(int argc, char *argv)
{
boost::regex re;
boost::cmatch matches;
boost::regex_match("abc", matches, re.assign("(a)bc"));
return 0;
}
edit: I am using boost 1.39

Answer 1

boost::regex is one of the few components of boost that doesn't exist solely in header files...there is a library module.
It is likely that the library you are using was built with different settings than your application.
Edit: Found an example scenario with this known boost bug, where boost must be built with the same -malign-double flag as your application.
This is one of several possible scenarios where your boost library will not have binary compatibility with your application.

Answer 2

Which version of boost are you using?
I compiled the above example with boost 1.36 and I don't get any seg faults.
If you have multiple boost libraries make sure that at runtime you're picking up the correct version.
Boost regex requires to be compiled against library -lboost_regex-gcc_whatever-is-your- version
In my case:
g++ -c -Wall -I /include/boost-1_36_0 -o main.o main.cpp
g++ -Wall -I /include/boost-1_36_0 -L/lib/boost-1_36_0 -lboost_regex-gcc33-mt main.o -o x
to execute:
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/lib/boost-1_36_0 ./x
You would point to the location of boost include/libs on your system, note the version of gcc and m(ulti) t(hreaded) in library name - it depends on what you have compiled, just look in your boost lib directory and pick one version of regex library from there.

Answer 3

You are using temporary variable from which you want to obtain matches. I think, that your problem will resolved, if instead "abc" you will use following:
string a("abc);
regex_match(a, matches, re.assign("(a)bc"));

Answer 4

I was having the same problem. I tried the solution posted by Drew Dormann, but it didn't work. Then I discovered that I was actually linking against 1.40, but for some reason the headers were for 1.37. Once I downloaded the correct headers (1.40), it stopped segfaulting.
I noticed it when I had compiled with the debugging symbols -g and run a dbg backtrace..
Hope that helps...