skipping comments in code

I'm trying to do searches in CNC G-code files and operate only in the code, skipping over comments. Comments are almost always just a left-paren/right-paren pair on the same line, like these sample lines: N1000 T2 M6 (27/64 JOBBER DR TIN CTD 3.4" EXTEN) (X0 Y0 = C/L OF PART) (Z0 = TOP OF PART) N123 G0 Z-1.1023 (ADJ FACE DEPTH HERE) This is the general way I have been doing it: (search-forward-regexp (concat "\\((\\)\\|" "N" (match-string 4)) nil t) (if (match-string 1) (progn (backward-char) ;go back so you are on the 1st paren (forward-list)) ;skip over comment, going to matching paren --rest of function-- That works to skip over comments, but when the tool description includes a quote " such as: N2000 T12 M6 (3/4" CARB FEM 4 FL 1.0 LOC) forward-list stops at the " and says unbalanced parenthesis. I wonder if there are other characters that will stop forward-list? What way _should_ I be skipping over comments in reg-exes so any characters will be skipped? It would also be handy to find a way to stop when there are malformed comments, 1. such as a ( without a matching ) on the same line 2. or ( then a second ( before a ) 3. or ( then a ) and then another ) that has no right paren to match it on the line. Thanks, Steve Mitchell _______________________________________________ XEmacs-Beta mailing list XEmacs-Beta(a)xemacs.org http://lists.xemacs.org/mailman/listinfo/xemacs-beta