Regular Expressions
What is it 4? Text searching & replacing Sequence searching (input, DNA) Sequence Tracking Machine Operation logic machines that are not quite computers - ex: some control circuitry
Why learn it? Powerful for Searching Simplistic and TIME SAVING Extremely fast Repeating characters, case control, optional character sets, alternate patterns Find multiple sub-strings
Why learn it? To put it on a resume Be more productive working with text documents: code, xml, databases, etc. Easy maintenance Easier to understand (than alternative) Smaller Code
Why learn it? Standardized (somewhat) Editors, IDEs(vi, grep, php, Eclipse) CS Concepts
“Regular Expression” grep patterns = “Regular Expression” Pattern matching, such as: Searching text - WILDCARDS++ Replacing parts of the found text Multiple-FILE search & replace!
Learning Use a Text Editor that supports RegExp or Grep Patterns (best use Perl Library: PCRE) Use the Regular Expression Play Pen webpage (class website) Experiment, make notes for future