e <code>*</code> operator
[instead of the more obvious <code>..</code>]
both because it has
the right priority and because in formal languages it is
common to use a dot for denoting concatenation.)
</p>


<h3><a name="op-pow"></a><code>patt^n</code></h3>
<p>
If <code>n</code> is nonnegative,
this pattern is
equivalent to <em>patt<sup>n</sup> patt*</em>.
It matches at least <code>n</code> occurrences of <code>patt</code>.
</p>

<p>
Otherwise, when <code>n</code> is negative,
this pattern is equivalent to <em