Unlock the power of regular expressions: Investigate the mechanics of expression processing

Regular expressions are an extremely powerful tool for manipulating text and data that has become a standard feature in a wide range of languages and popular tools, including Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, VB.NET and C# (and any language using the .NET Framework), PHP, and MySQL. Regular expressions allow you to code complex and subtle text processing that you may not have imagined could be automated, they can save you time and aggravation, and they can be used to craft elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Yet despite their wide availability, flexibility, and unparalleled power, regular expressions are frequently underutilized. Investigate the mechanics of expression processing in this sample chapter from Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition. Learning how the regular expression (regex) engine works is valuable because the type most commonly used works in such a way that how you craft your expression can influence whether it can match a particular string, where in the string it matches, and how quickly it finds the match or reports the failure.

Title: Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition
Author: Jeffrey E. F. Friedl
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Chapter 4: The Mechanics of Expression Processing
ISBN: 0596528124; Copyright © 2006, 2002, 1997 O'Reilly Media. All rights reserved.
Used with permission from the publisher. Available from booksellers or direct from O'Reilly Media

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