Java : does regex pattern matcher have a size limit?

Question

My pattern is OR-like : "word1|word2|word3" I have approximately 800 words.

Can it be a problem ?

Answer 1

You're only limited by memory and sanity. :)

Answer 2

You might consider using the Aho–Corasick string searching algorithm. It would be much more efficient than a regex, since it's linear and optimized for your problem. It's also a way to pay respect to our fellows from 1975 !

In particular, there is this Java implementation.