[#BloombergLP-bdlpcre-RegEx-pattern]
= xref:BloombergLP.adoc[BloombergLP]::xref:BloombergLP/bdlpcre.adoc[bdlpcre]::xref:BloombergLP/bdlpcre/RegEx.adoc[RegEx]::pattern
:relfileprefix: ../../../
:mrdocs:

Return a reference to the non&hyphen;modifiable pattern held by this regular&hyphen;expression object&period; The behavior is undefined unless `isPrepared() &equals;&equals; true`&period;

== Synopsis

Declared in `&lt;bdlpcre&lowbar;regex&period;h&gt;`

[source,cpp,subs="verbatim,replacements,macros,-callouts"]
----
xref:bsl/string.adoc[bsl::string] const&
pattern() const;
----

== Return Value

non&hyphen;modifiable reference to the pattern


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