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Regular Expressions (Regex)
Regular expressions, often shortened to regex or regexp, are essentially a special code used to define patterns within text. These patterns can be used for searching, extracting, or replacing text based on specific criteria.
Here's a breakdown of what regex is commonly used for:
Finding text: You can search for specific words, phrases, or even formats like phone numbers or email addresses.
Extracting text: Regex can be used to grab specific parts of a string that matches the pattern.
Replacing text: You can use regex to find and replace text with something different based on the pattern.
Validating text: Regular expressions can be used to ensure that user input follows a certain format, like a valid password or email address.
Regex utilizes a combination of literal characters and special characters to define patterns. Literal characters match themselves, while special characters have specific meanings within the regex language.
Here are some resources to get you started with learning regex:
Regexr regexr.com is a great interactive tool to experiment with building and testing regular expressions.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Regular_expressions provides a detailed explanation of JavaScript's regular expression syntax.
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/write-regular-expressions/ offers a comprehensive regex tutorial.
Regex can be a powerful tool for text manipulation, but it can also have a steep learning curve. Don't hesitate to experiment and practice to get comfortable with this versatile technique.