what does the with-regex=php option do when compiling php?

Question

I am installing PHP 5.3.6 and the instructions I am using as a reference uses --with-regex=php. I have done some research into this option but am unable to find a detailed answer. Can someone please explain to me what this option exactly does and why one would use it? Thanks!

Answer 1

The configure --help option is quite clear on that:

--with-regex=TYPE       regex library type: system, php. [TYPE=php]
                        WARNING: Do NOT use unless you know what you are doing!

It tells autoconf which type of regular expression library it should use. Default is PHP's own, which is a good thing as you want PHP programs to be portable. So, just forget about this option and you are fine.