Advanced Regular Expressions: The Dark Arts

Warning: what you are about to learn may cause permanent damage to your sanity. Proceed with caution.

Mastering the Regex

Regular expressions can be a powerful tool in the world of text processing, but only for those brave enough to wield them.

Matching the Unmatchable

Escaping the Ordinary

The art of escaping characters in regex is an exercise in futility. Just when you thought you were done, you realize you've only just begun...

Groups and Greed

Using groups in regex can be like trying to grasp a greased pig. It's all about the slipperiness of the beast.

Lookahead and Lookbehind: The Double Vision

Flags and Options: The Fine Print A Tale of Two Lookaheads

A Tale of Two Lookaheads

You've been here before, haven't you? The Lookahead and Lookbehind sections. It's a bit of a mind warp, really.

We've all been there. Trying to wrap our heads around the concept of positive and negative lookaheads. The thrill of matching a pattern, only to realize it's been matched before.

So, let's try this another time. A tale of two lookaheads: one that looks ahead, and one that looks behind.

Which one will you fall for first? The Lookahead's charm of forward thinking, or the Lookbehind's cunning deceit?

There's only one way to find out...

Further Reading:

Regex and the Illusion of Control

Regex and the Illusion of Choice