Clean up usage of if(... MATCHES regex) followed string(REGEX REPLACE regex)

The matches have already been calculated and can simply be taken from
CMAKE_MATCH_n variables. This avoids multiple compilations of the same or very
similar regular expressions.

24 files changed, 76 insertions, 105 deletions

diff --git a/Modules/CMakeDetermineCompilerABI.cmake b/Modules/CMakeDetermineCompilerABI.cmake
index 5d35ce378b..a8c89a4ba3 100644
--- a/Modules/CMakeDetermineCompilerABI.cmake
+++ b/Modules/CMakeDetermineCompilerABI.cmake
@@ -53,10 +53,10 @@ function(CMAKE_DETERMINE_COMPILER_ABI lang src)
       file(STRINGS "${BIN}" ABI_STRINGS LIMIT_COUNT 2 REGEX "INFO:[^[]*\\[")
       foreach(info ${ABI_STRINGS})
         if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:sizeof_dptr\\[0*([^]]*)\\].*")
-          string(REGEX REPLACE ".*INFO:sizeof_dptr\\[0*([^]]*)\\].*" "\\1" ABI_SIZEOF_DPTR "${info}")
+          set(ABI_SIZEOF_DPTR "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
         endif()
         if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:abi\\[([^]]*)\\].*")
-          string(REGEX REPLACE ".*INFO:abi\\[([^]]*)\\].*" "\\1" ABI_NAME "${info}")
+          set(ABI_NAME "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
         endif()
       endforeach()
 
diff --git a/Modules/CMakeDetermineCompilerId.cmake b/Modules/CMakeDetermineCompilerId.cmake
index 067892ddba..f977639962 100644
--- a/Modules/CMakeDetermineCompilerId.cmake
+++ b/Modules/CMakeDetermineCompilerId.cmake
@@ -360,28 +360,23 @@ function(CMAKE_DETERMINE_COMPILER_ID_CHECK lang file)
         if(COMPILER_ID)
           set(COMPILER_ID_TWICE 1)
         endif()
-        string(REGEX REPLACE ".*INFO:compiler\\[([^]]*)\\].*" "\\1"
-          COMPILER_ID "${info}")
+        set(COMPILER_ID "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
       endif()
       if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:platform\\[([^]\"]*)\\].*")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE ".*INFO:platform\\[([^]]*)\\].*" "\\1"
-          PLATFORM_ID "${info}")
+        set(PLATFORM_ID "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
       endif()
       if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:arch\\[([^]\"]*)\\].*")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE ".*INFO:arch\\[([^]]*)\\].*" "\\1"
-          ARCHITECTURE_ID "${info}")
+        set(ARCHITECTURE_ID "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
       endif()
       if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:compiler_version\\[([^]\"]*)\\].*")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE ".*INFO:compiler_version\\[([^]]*)\\].*" "\\1" COMPILER_VERSION "${info}")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "^0+([0-9])" "\\1" COMPILER_VERSION "${COMPILER_VERSION}")
+        string(REGEX REPLACE "^0+([0-9])" "\\1" COMPILER_VERSION "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
         string(REGEX REPLACE "\\.0+([0-9])" ".\\1" COMPILER_VERSION "${COMPILER_VERSION}")
       endif()
       if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:simulate\\[([^]\"]*)\\].*")
         set(SIMULATE_ID "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
       endif()
       if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:simulate_version\\[([^]\"]*)\\].*")
-        set(SIMULATE_VERSION "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "^0+([0-9])" "\\1" SIMULATE_VERSION "${SIMULATE_VERSION}")
+        string(REGEX REPLACE "^0+([0-9])" "\\1" SIMULATE_VERSION "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
         string(REGEX REPLACE "\\.0+([0-9])" ".\\1" SIMULATE_VERSION "${SIMULATE_VERSION}")
       endif()
       if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:qnxnto")
diff --git a/Modules/CMakeParseImplicitLinkInfo.cmake b/Modules/CMakeParseImplicitLinkInfo.cmake
index 4724a8c7b4..bfcf455823 100644
--- a/Modules/CMakeParseImplicitLinkInfo.cmake
+++ b/Modules/CMakeParseImplicitLinkInfo.cmake
@@ -64,10 +64,9 @@ function(CMAKE_PARSE_IMPLICIT_LINK_INFO text lib_var dir_var fwk_var log_var obj
           string(REGEX REPLACE "^-L" "" dir "${arg}")
           list(APPEND implicit_dirs_tmp ${dir})
           set(log "${log}    arg [${arg}] ==> dir [${dir}]\n")
-        elseif("${arg}" MATCHES "^-l[^:]")
+        elseif("${arg}" MATCHES "^-l([^:].*)$")
           # Unix library.
-          string(REGEX REPLACE "^-l" "" lib "${arg}")
-          list(APPEND implicit_libs_tmp ${lib})
+          list(APPEND implicit_libs_tmp ${CMAKE_MATCH_1})
           set(log "${log}    arg [${arg}] ==> lib [${lib}]\n")
         elseif("${arg}" MATCHES "^(.:)?[/\\].*\\.a$")
           # Unix library full path.
@@ -97,11 +96,10 @@ function(CMAKE_PARSE_IMPLICIT_LINK_INFO text lib_var dir_var fwk_var log_var obj
         endif()
       endforeach()
       break()
-    elseif("${line}" MATCHES "LPATH(=| is:? )")
+    elseif("${line}" MATCHES "LPATH(=| is:? *)(.*)$")
       set(log "${log}  LPATH line: [${line}]\n")
       # HP search path.
-      string(REGEX REPLACE ".*LPATH(=| is:? *)" "" paths "${line}")
-      string(REPLACE ":" ";" paths "${paths}")
+      string(REPLACE ":" ";" paths "${CMAKE_MATCH_2}")
       list(APPEND implicit_dirs_tmp ${paths})
       set(log "${log}    dirs [${paths}]\n")
     else()
diff --git a/Modules/CheckTypeSize.cmake b/Modules/CheckTypeSize.cmake
index d4651b94ca..ad3b6b5425 100644
--- a/Modules/CheckTypeSize.cmake
+++ b/Modules/CheckTypeSize.cmake
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ function(__check_type_size_impl type var map builtin language)
     foreach(info ${strings})
       if("${info}" MATCHES "${regex_size}")
         # Get the type size.
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "${regex_size}" "\\1" size "${info}")
+        set(size "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
         if(first)
           set(${var} ${size})
         elseif(NOT "${size}" STREQUAL "${${var}}")
diff --git a/Modules/ExternalData.cmake b/Modules/ExternalData.cmake
index 1e2698c10c..ee206935ec 100644
--- a/Modules/ExternalData.cmake
+++ b/Modules/ExternalData.cmake
@@ -292,8 +292,7 @@ function(ExternalData_expand_arguments target outArgsVar)
       foreach(piece IN LISTS pieces)
         if("x${piece}" MATCHES "^x${data_regex}$")
           # Replace this DATA{}-piece with a file path.
-          string(REGEX REPLACE "${data_regex}" "\\1" data "${piece}")
-          _ExternalData_arg("${target}" "${piece}" "${data}" file)
+          _ExternalData_arg("${target}" "${piece}" "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}" file)
           set(outArg "${outArg}${file}")
         else()
           # No replacement needed for this piece.
@@ -428,10 +427,9 @@ function(_ExternalData_arg target arg options var_file)
   set(associated_files "")
   set(associated_regex "")
   foreach(opt ${options})
-    if("x${opt}" MATCHES "^xREGEX:[^:/]+$")
-      # Regular expression to match associated files.
-      string(REGEX REPLACE "^REGEX:" "" regex "${opt}")
-      list(APPEND associated_regex "${regex}")
+    # Regular expression to match associated files.
+    if("x${opt}" MATCHES "^xREGEX:([^:/]+)$")
+      list(APPEND associated_regex "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
     elseif(opt STREQUAL ":")
       # Activate series matching.
       set(series_option "${opt}")
diff --git a/Modules/ExternalProject.cmake b/Modules/ExternalProject.cmake
index 3ba91de760..f587985386 100644
--- a/Modules/ExternalProject.cmake
+++ b/Modules/ExternalProject.cmake
@@ -201,11 +201,11 @@ file(STRINGS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_FILE}" lines
      LIMIT_COUNT ${_ep_documentation_line_count}
      REGEX "^#  (  \\[[A-Z0-9_]+ [^]]*\\] +#.*$|[A-Za-z0-9_]+\\()")
 foreach(line IN LISTS lines)
-  if("${line}" MATCHES "^#  [A-Za-z0-9_]+\\(")
+  if("${line}" MATCHES "^#  ([A-Za-z0-9_]+)\\(")
     if(_ep_func)
       set(_ep_keywords_${_ep_func} "${_ep_keywords_${_ep_func}})$")
     endif()
-    string(REGEX REPLACE "^#  ([A-Za-z0-9_]+)\\(.*" "\\1" _ep_func "${line}")
+    set(_ep_func "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
     #message("function [${_ep_func}]")
     set(_ep_keywords_${_ep_func} "^(")
     set(_ep_keyword_sep)
@@ -907,7 +907,8 @@ function(_ep_write_initial_cache target_name script_filename args)
   set(regex "^([^:]+):([^=]+)=(.*)$")
   set(setArg "")
   foreach(line ${args})
-    if("${line}" MATCHES "^-D")
+    if("${line}" MATCHES "^-D(.*)")
+      set(line "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
       if(setArg)
         # This is required to build up lists in variables, or complete an entry
         set(setArg "${setArg}${accumulator}\" CACHE ${type} \"Initial cache\" FORCE)")
@@ -915,9 +916,7 @@ function(_ep_write_initial_cache target_name script_filename args)
         set(accumulator "")
         set(setArg "")
       endif()
-      string(REGEX REPLACE "^-D" "" line ${line})
       if("${line}" MATCHES "${regex}")
-        string(REGEX MATCH "${regex}" match "${line}")
         set(name "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
         set(type "${CMAKE_MATCH_2}")
         set(value "${CMAKE_MATCH_3}")
diff --git a/Modules/FindBISON.cmake b/Modules/FindBISON.cmake
index 9ca428e98e..ec3ee78e85 100644
--- a/Modules/FindBISON.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindBISON.cmake
@@ -92,16 +92,13 @@ if(BISON_EXECUTABLE)
     message(SEND_ERROR "Command \"${BISON_EXECUTABLE} --version\" failed with output:\n${BISON_version_error}")
   else()
     # Bison++
-    if("${BISON_version_output}" MATCHES "^bison\\+\\+")
-      string(REGEX REPLACE "^bison\\+\\+ Version ([^,]+).*" "\\1"
-        BISON_VERSION "${BISON_version_output}")
+    if("${BISON_version_output}" MATCHES "^bison\\+\\+ Version ([^,]+)")
+      set(BISON_VERSION "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
     # GNU Bison
-    elseif("${BISON_version_output}" MATCHES "^bison[^+]")
-      string(REGEX REPLACE "^bison \\(GNU Bison\\) ([^\n]+)\n.*" "\\1"
-        BISON_VERSION "${BISON_version_output}")
-    elseif("${BISON_version_output}" MATCHES "^GNU Bison ")
-      string(REGEX REPLACE "^GNU Bison (version )?([^\n]+).*" "\\2"
-        BISON_VERSION "${BISON_version_output}")
+    elseif("${BISON_version_output}" MATCHES "^bison \\(GNU Bison\\) ([^\n]+)\n")
+      set(BISON_VERSION "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
+    elseif("${BISON_version_output}" MATCHES "^GNU Bison (version )?([^\n]+)")
+      set(BISON_VERSION "${CMAKE_MATCH_2}")
     endif()
   endif()
 
diff --git a/Modules/FindBoost.cmake b/Modules/FindBoost.cmake
index d4026afc81..e894ba45a8 100644
--- a/Modules/FindBoost.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindBoost.cmake
@@ -631,12 +631,12 @@ if(NOT Boost_INCLUDE_DIR)
     set(_boost_BOOSTIFIED_VERSION)
 
     # Transform 1.35 => 1_35 and 1.36.0 => 1_36_0
-    if(_boost_VER MATCHES "[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "([0-9]+)\\.([0-9]+)\\.([0-9]+)" "\\1_\\2_\\3"
-          _boost_BOOSTIFIED_VERSION ${_boost_VER})
-    elseif(_boost_VER MATCHES "[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "([0-9]+)\\.([0-9]+)" "\\1_\\2"
-          _boost_BOOSTIFIED_VERSION ${_boost_VER})
+    if(_boost_VER MATCHES "([0-9]+)\\.([0-9]+)\\.([0-9]+)")
+        set(_boost_BOOSTIFIED_VERSION
+          "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}_${CMAKE_MATCH_2}_${CMAKE_MATCH_3}")
+    elseif(_boost_VER MATCHES "([0-9]+)\\.([0-9]+)")
+        set(_boost_BOOSTIFIED_VERSION
+          "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}_${CMAKE_MATCH_2}")
     endif()
 
     list(APPEND _boost_PATH_SUFFIXES
diff --git a/Modules/FindCUDA/parse_cubin.cmake b/Modules/FindCUDA/parse_cubin.cmake
index 94be7e2cbf..a42ccabf09 100644
--- a/Modules/FindCUDA/parse_cubin.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindCUDA/parse_cubin.cmake
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ if (${file_text} MATCHES ".+")
 
         # Extract kernel names.
         if (${entry} MATCHES "[^g]name = ([^ ]+)")
-          string(REGEX REPLACE ".* = ([^ ]+)" "\\1" entry ${entry})
+          set(entry "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
 
           # Check to see if the kernel name starts with "_"
           set(skip FALSE)
@@ -76,19 +76,19 @@ if (${file_text} MATCHES ".+")
 
           # Registers
           if (${entry} MATCHES "reg([ ]+)=([ ]+)([^ ]+)")
-            string(REGEX REPLACE ".*([ ]+)=([ ]+)([^ ]+)" "\\3" entry ${entry})
+            set(entry "${CMAKE_MATCH_3}")
             message("Registers: ${entry}")
           endif()
 
           # Local memory
           if (${entry} MATCHES "lmem([ ]+)=([ ]+)([^ ]+)")
-            string(REGEX REPLACE ".*([ ]+)=([ ]+)([^ ]+)" "\\3" entry ${entry})
+            set(entry "${CMAKE_MATCH_3}")
             message("Local:     ${entry}")
           endif()
 
           # Shared memory
           if (${entry} MATCHES "smem([ ]+)=([ ]+)([^ ]+)")
-            string(REGEX REPLACE ".*([ ]+)=([ ]+)([^ ]+)" "\\3" entry ${entry})
+            set(entry "${CMAKE_MATCH_3}")
             message("Shared:    ${entry}")
           endif()
 
diff --git a/Modules/FindCups.cmake b/Modules/FindCups.cmake
index 61353caf91..51eb7c58e7 100644
--- a/Modules/FindCups.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindCups.cmake
@@ -52,9 +52,8 @@ if (CUPS_INCLUDE_DIR AND EXISTS "${CUPS_INCLUDE_DIR}/cups/cups.h")
     unset(CUPS_VERSION_STRING)
     foreach(VPART MAJOR MINOR PATCH)
         foreach(VLINE ${cups_version_str})
-            if(VLINE MATCHES "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+CUPS_VERSION_${VPART}")
-                string(REGEX REPLACE "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+CUPS_VERSION_${VPART}[\t ]+([0-9]+)$" "\\1"
-                       CUPS_VERSION_PART "${VLINE}")
+            if(VLINE MATCHES "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+CUPS_VERSION_${VPART}[\t ]+([0-9]+)$")
+                set(CUPS_VERSION_PART "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
                 if(CUPS_VERSION_STRING)
                     set(CUPS_VERSION_STRING "${CUPS_VERSION_STRING}.${CUPS_VERSION_PART}")
                 else()
diff --git a/Modules/FindEXPAT.cmake b/Modules/FindEXPAT.cmake
index 6183af8ad6..653094cd32 100644
--- a/Modules/FindEXPAT.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindEXPAT.cmake
@@ -38,9 +38,8 @@ if (EXPAT_INCLUDE_DIR AND EXISTS "${EXPAT_INCLUDE_DIR}/expat.h")
     unset(EXPAT_VERSION_STRING)
     foreach(VPART MAJOR MINOR MICRO)
         foreach(VLINE ${expat_version_str})
-            if(VLINE MATCHES "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+XML_${VPART}_VERSION")
-                string(REGEX REPLACE "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+XML_${VPART}_VERSION[\t ]+([0-9]+)$" "\\1"
-                       EXPAT_VERSION_PART "${VLINE}")
+            if(VLINE MATCHES "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+XML_${VPART}_VERSION[\t ]+([0-9]+)$")
+                set(EXPAT_VERSION_PART "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
                 if(EXPAT_VERSION_STRING)
                     set(EXPAT_VERSION_STRING "${EXPAT_VERSION_STRING}.${EXPAT_VERSION_PART}")
                 else()
diff --git a/Modules/FindFLTK.cmake b/Modules/FindFLTK.cmake
index b87bc7fb79..76f702e2b6 100644
--- a/Modules/FindFLTK.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindFLTK.cmake
@@ -285,9 +285,7 @@ endif()
           OUTPUT_VARIABLE FLTK_IMAGES_LDFLAGS)
         set(FLTK_LIBS_EXTRACT_REGEX ".*-lfltk_images (.*) -lfltk.*")
         if("${FLTK_IMAGES_LDFLAGS}" MATCHES "${FLTK_LIBS_EXTRACT_REGEX}")
-          string(REGEX REPLACE "${FLTK_LIBS_EXTRACT_REGEX}" "\\1"
-            FLTK_IMAGES_LIBS "${FLTK_IMAGES_LDFLAGS}")
-          string(REGEX REPLACE " +" ";" FLTK_IMAGES_LIBS "${FLTK_IMAGES_LIBS}")
+          string(REGEX REPLACE " +" ";" FLTK_IMAGES_LIBS "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
           # The EXEC_PROGRAM will not be inherited into subdirectories from
           # the file that originally included this module.  Save the answer.
           set(FLTK_IMAGES_LIBS "${FLTK_IMAGES_LIBS}" CACHE INTERNAL
diff --git a/Modules/FindFLTK2.cmake b/Modules/FindFLTK2.cmake
index 4deffda93a..930accabf5 100644
--- a/Modules/FindFLTK2.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindFLTK2.cmake
@@ -226,9 +226,7 @@ if(FLTK2_DIR)
           OUTPUT_VARIABLE FLTK2_IMAGES_LDFLAGS)
         set(FLTK2_LIBS_EXTRACT_REGEX ".*-lfltk2_images (.*) -lfltk2.*")
         if("${FLTK2_IMAGES_LDFLAGS}" MATCHES "${FLTK2_LIBS_EXTRACT_REGEX}")
-          string(REGEX REPLACE "${FLTK2_LIBS_EXTRACT_REGEX}" "\\1"
-            FLTK2_IMAGES_LIBS "${FLTK2_IMAGES_LDFLAGS}")
-          string(REGEX REPLACE " +" ";" FLTK2_IMAGES_LIBS "${FLTK2_IMAGES_LIBS}")
+          string(REGEX REPLACE " +" ";" FLTK2_IMAGES_LIBS "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
           # The EXEC_PROGRAM will not be inherited into subdirectories from
           # the file that originally included this module.  Save the answer.
           set(FLTK2_IMAGES_LIBS "${FLTK2_IMAGES_LIBS}" CACHE INTERNAL
diff --git a/Modules/FindFreetype.cmake b/Modules/FindFreetype.cmake
index f0f9fe15fa..1779b788c1 100644
--- a/Modules/FindFreetype.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindFreetype.cmake
@@ -117,9 +117,8 @@ if(FREETYPE_INCLUDE_DIR_freetype2 AND FREETYPE_H)
     unset(FREETYPE_VERSION_STRING)
     foreach(VPART MAJOR MINOR PATCH)
         foreach(VLINE ${freetype_version_str})
-            if(VLINE MATCHES "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+FREETYPE_${VPART}")
-                string(REGEX REPLACE "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+FREETYPE_${VPART}[\t ]+([0-9]+)$" "\\1"
-                       FREETYPE_VERSION_PART "${VLINE}")
+            if(VLINE MATCHES "^#[\t ]*define[\t ]+FREETYPE_${VPART}[\t ]+([0-9]+)$")
+                set(FREETYPE_VERSION_PART "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
                 if(FREETYPE_VERSION_STRING)
                     set(FREETYPE_VERSION_STRING "${FREETYPE_VERSION_STRING}.${FREETYPE_VERSION_PART}")
                 else()
diff --git a/Modules/FindGettext.cmake b/Modules/FindGettext.cmake
index 6a1e36e2bd..7ab867bc6a 100644
--- a/Modules/FindGettext.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindGettext.cmake
@@ -71,8 +71,8 @@ if(GETTEXT_MSGMERGE_EXECUTABLE)
                   OUTPUT_VARIABLE gettext_version
                   ERROR_QUIET
                   OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
-   if (gettext_version MATCHES "^msgmerge \\(.*\\) [0-9]")
-      string(REGEX REPLACE "^msgmerge \\([^\\)]*\\) ([0-9\\.]+[^ \n]*).*" "\\1" GETTEXT_VERSION_STRING "${gettext_version}")
+   if (gettext_version MATCHES "^msgmerge \\([^\\)]*\\) ([0-9\\.]+[^ \n]*)")
+      set(GETTEXT_VERSION_STRING "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
    endif()
    unset(gettext_version)
 endif()
diff --git a/Modules/FindImageMagick.cmake b/Modules/FindImageMagick.cmake
index 1e7bda51e9..4f0e687dc0 100644
--- a/Modules/FindImageMagick.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindImageMagick.cmake
@@ -221,8 +221,8 @@ if(ImageMagick_mogrify_EXECUTABLE)
                   OUTPUT_VARIABLE imagemagick_version
                   ERROR_QUIET
                   OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
-  if(imagemagick_version MATCHES "^Version: ImageMagick [0-9]")
-    string(REGEX REPLACE "^Version: ImageMagick ([-0-9\\.]+).*" "\\1" ImageMagick_VERSION_STRING "${imagemagick_version}")
+  if(imagemagick_version MATCHES "^Version: ImageMagick ([-0-9\\.]+)")
+    set(ImageMagick_VERSION_STRING "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
   endif()
   unset(imagemagick_version)
 endif()
diff --git a/Modules/FindJava.cmake b/Modules/FindJava.cmake
index a488c461e9..0bd7eb0739 100644
--- a/Modules/FindJava.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindJava.cmake
@@ -128,18 +128,15 @@ if(Java_JAVA_EXECUTABLE)
       # 3. GCJ 1.5
       # 4. Kaffe 1.4.2
       # 5. OpenJDK 1.7.x on OpenBSD
-      if(var MATCHES "java version \"[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_.]+.*\".*")
+      if(var MATCHES "java version \"([0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_.]+.*)\"")
         # This is most likely Sun / OpenJDK, or maybe GCJ-java compat layer
-        string( REGEX REPLACE ".* version \"([0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_.]+.*)\".*"
-                "\\1" Java_VERSION_STRING "${var}" )
-      elseif(var MATCHES "java full version \"kaffe-[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_]+\".*")
+        set(Java_VERSION_STRING "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
+      elseif(var MATCHES "java full version \"kaffe-([0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_]+)\"")
         # Kaffe style
-        string( REGEX REPLACE "java full version \"kaffe-([0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_]+).*"
-                "\\1" Java_VERSION_STRING "${var}" )
-      elseif(var MATCHES "openjdk version \"[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_]+\".*")
+        set(Java_VERSION_STRING "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
+      elseif(var MATCHES "openjdk version \"([0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_]+)\"")
         # OpenJDK ver 1.7.x on OpenBSD
-        string( REGEX REPLACE "openjdk version \"([0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9_]+).*"
-                "\\1" Java_VERSION_STRING "${var}" )
+        set(Java_VERSION_STRING "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
       else()
         if(NOT Java_FIND_QUIETLY)
           message(WARNING "regex not supported: ${var}. Please report")
diff --git a/Modules/FindPNG.cmake b/Modules/FindPNG.cmake
index 873c3dedee..fa04bf0b4a 100644
--- a/Modules/FindPNG.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindPNG.cmake
@@ -56,10 +56,8 @@ if(ZLIB_FOUND)
   list(APPEND PNG_NAMES png libpng)
   unset(PNG_NAMES_DEBUG)
   set(_PNG_VERSION_SUFFIXES 17 16 15 14 12)
-  if (PNG_FIND_VERSION MATCHES "^[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+(\\..*)?$")
-    string(REGEX REPLACE
-        "^([0-9]+)\\.([0-9]+).*" "\\1\\2"
-        _PNG_VERSION_SUFFIX_MIN "${PNG_FIND_VERSION}")
+  if (PNG_FIND_VERSION MATCHES "^([0-9]+)\\.([0-9]+)(\\..*)?$")
+    set(_PNG_VERSION_SUFFIX_MIN "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}${CMAKE_MATCH_2}")
     if (PNG_FIND_VERSION_EXACT)
       set(_PNG_VERSION_SUFFIXES ${_PNG_VERSION_SUFFIX_MIN})
     else ()
diff --git a/Modules/FindPerl.cmake b/Modules/FindPerl.cmake
index 3fd5d8ef6f..70284b6f75 100644
--- a/Modules/FindPerl.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindPerl.cmake
@@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ if(PERL_EXECUTABLE)
       OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
     )
     if(NOT PERL_VERSION_RESULT_VARIABLE AND PERL_VERSION_OUTPUT_VARIABLE MATCHES "This is perl.*[ \\(]v([0-9\\._]+)[ \\)]")
-      string(REGEX REPLACE ".*This is perl.*[ \\(]v([0-9\\._]+)[ \\)].*" "\\1" PERL_VERSION_STRING ${PERL_VERSION_OUTPUT_VARIABLE})
+      set(PERL_VERSION_STRING "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
     elseif(NOT PERL_VERSION_RESULT_VARIABLE AND PERL_VERSION_OUTPUT_VARIABLE MATCHES "This is perl, version ([0-9\\._]+) +")
-      string(REGEX REPLACE ".*This is perl, version ([0-9\\._]+) +.*" "\\1" PERL_VERSION_STRING ${PERL_VERSION_OUTPUT_VARIABLE})
+      set(PERL_VERSION_STRING "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
     endif()
   endif()
 endif()
diff --git a/Modules/FindPkgConfig.cmake b/Modules/FindPkgConfig.cmake
index 83271437cd..d728324a86 100644
--- a/Modules/FindPkgConfig.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindPkgConfig.cmake
@@ -277,10 +277,10 @@ macro(_pkg_check_modules_internal _is_required _is_silent _no_cmake_path _no_cma
       set(_pkg_check_modules_exist_query)
 
       # check whether version is given
-      if (_pkg_check_modules_pkg MATCHES ".*(>=|=|<=).*")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "(.*[^><])(>=|=|<=)(.*)" "\\1" _pkg_check_modules_pkg_name "${_pkg_check_modules_pkg}")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "(.*[^><])(>=|=|<=)(.*)" "\\2" _pkg_check_modules_pkg_op   "${_pkg_check_modules_pkg}")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "(.*[^><])(>=|=|<=)(.*)" "\\3" _pkg_check_modules_pkg_ver  "${_pkg_check_modules_pkg}")
+      if (_pkg_check_modules_pkg MATCHES "(.*[^><])(>=|=|<=)(.*)")
+        set(_pkg_check_modules_pkg_name "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
+        set(_pkg_check_modules_pkg_op "${CMAKE_MATCH_2}")
+        set(_pkg_check_modules_pkg_ver "${CMAKE_MATCH_3}")
       else()
         set(_pkg_check_modules_pkg_name "${_pkg_check_modules_pkg}")
         set(_pkg_check_modules_pkg_op)
diff --git a/Modules/FindPythonInterp.cmake b/Modules/FindPythonInterp.cmake
index c41f3a7f61..5e5c7b933e 100644
--- a/Modules/FindPythonInterp.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindPythonInterp.cmake
@@ -138,8 +138,8 @@ if(PYTHON_EXECUTABLE)
             string(REGEX REPLACE " .*" "" PYTHON_VERSION_STRING "${_VERSION}")
             string(REGEX REPLACE "^([0-9]+)\\.[0-9]+.*" "\\1" PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR "${PYTHON_VERSION_STRING}")
             string(REGEX REPLACE "^[0-9]+\\.([0-9])+.*" "\\1" PYTHON_VERSION_MINOR "${PYTHON_VERSION_STRING}")
-            if(PYTHON_VERSION_STRING MATCHES "^[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+.*")
-                string(REGEX REPLACE "^[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.([0-9]+).*" "\\1" PYTHON_VERSION_PATCH "${PYTHON_VERSION_STRING}")
+            if(PYTHON_VERSION_STRING MATCHES "^[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.([0-9]+)")
+                set(PYTHON_VERSION_PATCH "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
             else()
                 set(PYTHON_VERSION_PATCH "0")
             endif()
diff --git a/Modules/FindXMLRPC.cmake b/Modules/FindXMLRPC.cmake
index e855050b44..14917547d0 100644
--- a/Modules/FindXMLRPC.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindXMLRPC.cmake
@@ -77,10 +77,9 @@ if(XMLRPC_FOUND)
     # Look for -I options.
     set(XMLRPC_INCLUDE_DIRS)
     foreach(flag ${XMLRPC_C_CONFIG_CFLAGS})
-      if("${flag}" MATCHES "^-I")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "^-I" "" DIR "${flag}")
-        file(TO_CMAKE_PATH "${DIR}" DIR)
-        set(XMLRPC_INCLUDE_DIRS ${XMLRPC_INCLUDE_DIRS} "${DIR}")
+      if("${flag}" MATCHES "^-I(.+)")
+        file(TO_CMAKE_PATH "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}" DIR)
+        list(APPEND XMLRPC_INCLUDE_DIRS "${DIR}")
       endif()
     endforeach()
   else()
@@ -115,13 +114,11 @@ if(XMLRPC_FOUND)
     set(XMLRPC_LIBRARY_DIRS)
     set(XMLRPC_LIBRARY_NAMES)
     foreach(flag ${XMLRPC_C_CONFIG_LIBS})
-      if("${flag}" MATCHES "^-L")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "^-L" "" DIR "${flag}")
-        file(TO_CMAKE_PATH "${DIR}" DIR)
-        set(XMLRPC_LIBRARY_DIRS ${XMLRPC_LIBRARY_DIRS} "${DIR}")
-      elseif("${flag}" MATCHES "^-l")
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "^-l" "" NAME "${flag}")
-        set(XMLRPC_LIBRARY_NAMES ${XMLRPC_LIBRARY_NAMES} "${NAME}")
+      if("${flag}" MATCHES "^-L(.+)")
+        file(TO_CMAKE_PATH "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}" DIR)
+        list(APPEND XMLRPC_LIBRARY_DIRS "${DIR}")
+      elseif("${flag}" MATCHES "^-l(.+)")
+        list(APPEND XMLRPC_LIBRARY_NAMES "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
       endif()
     endforeach()
 
diff --git a/Modules/FortranCInterface/Detect.cmake b/Modules/FortranCInterface/Detect.cmake
index afeb9c588b..ceb1db4a8c 100644
--- a/Modules/FortranCInterface/Detect.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FortranCInterface/Detect.cmake
@@ -69,9 +69,8 @@ if(FortranCInterface_EXE)
   file(STRINGS "${FortranCInterface_EXE}" _info_strings
     LIMIT_COUNT 8 REGEX "INFO:[^[]*\\[")
   foreach(info ${_info_strings})
-    if("${info}" MATCHES ".*INFO:symbol\\[([^]]*)\\].*")
-      string(REGEX REPLACE ".*INFO:symbol\\[([^]]*)\\].*" "\\1" symbol "${info}")
-      list(APPEND FortranCInterface_SYMBOLS ${symbol})
+    if("${info}" MATCHES "INFO:symbol\\[([^]]*)\\]")
+      list(APPEND FortranCInterface_SYMBOLS ${CMAKE_MATCH_1})
     endif()
   endforeach()
 elseif(NOT _result)
diff --git a/Modules/Qt4Macros.cmake b/Modules/Qt4Macros.cmake
index 23c4fc0656..b1b12d68b0 100644
--- a/Modules/Qt4Macros.cmake
+++ b/Modules/Qt4Macros.cmake
@@ -65,8 +65,8 @@ macro (QT4_MAKE_OUTPUT_FILE infile prefix ext outfile )
   else()
     file(RELATIVE_PATH rel ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${infile})
   endif()
-  if(WIN32 AND rel MATCHES "^[a-zA-Z]:") # absolute path
-    string(REGEX REPLACE "^([a-zA-Z]):(.*)$" "\\1_\\2" rel "${rel}")
+  if(WIN32 AND rel MATCHES "^([a-zA-Z]):(.*)$") # absolute path
+    set(rel "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}_${CMAKE_MATCH_2}")
   endif()
   set(_outfile "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/${rel}")
   string(REPLACE ".." "__" _outfile ${_outfile})