These sections introduce the concept of regular expressions and explain how to create and use them.
While each topic stands on its own, it is recommended that you peruse these topics sequentially to develop the best understanding of the material. Many topics rely upon the understanding of a feature or concept that was introduced in a previous topic in the sequence.
In This Section
- Regular Expressions
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Explains the concept of regular expressions.
- Early Beginnings
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Explains the history of regular expressions.
- Uses for Regular Expressions
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Illustrates circumstances that would benefit from the use of regular expressions.
- Regular Expression Syntax
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Demonstrates the elements that comprise the regular expression syntax.
- Build a Regular Expression
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Explains how you combine elements to produce a regular expression.
- Order of Precedence
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Lists the operators and the order in which they are evaluated in a regular expression.
- Ordinary Characters
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Explains the concept of ordinary characters that apply to regular expressions.
- Special Characters
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Explains the concept of special characters that apply to regular expressions.
- Non-Printable Characters
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Lists the non-printing characters that apply to regular expressions.
- Character Matching
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Explains how special characters match printing or non-printing characters in regular expressions.
- Quantifiers
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Lists the quantifier characters and explains how to use them in regular expressions.
- Anchors
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Explains the concept of anchors which allow you to fix a regular expression to either the beginning or end of a line.
- Alternation and Grouping
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Explains how to use the '|' character for choices between to alternatives and how grouping effect the outcome of expressions.
- Backreferences
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Provides information about how you can store part of a matched pattern for later use.
Related Sections
