Introduction to Regular Expressions

Regular expressions are a cross-platform, cross-language set of tools for finding, extracting, and replacing text patterns. Regular expressions are supported by Java, .NET, Visual Basic, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, ColdFusion, and most other modern programming languages. In this course, attendees master the fundamentals of regular expressions in a fun, hands-on environment.

REGULAR EXPRESSIONS TRAINING OBJECTIVES

• To discover how to efficiently write complex regular expressions using a step-by-step process
• To master using regular expressions to find, extract, and replace string patterns
• To learn how to make your regular expressions even more flexible by embedding conditions

REGULAR EXPRESSIONS TRAINING PREREQUISITES

No prior experience is presumed.

REGULAR EXPRESSIONS TRAINING MATERIALS

All Regular Expressions training students receive a copy of Sam’s Teach Yourself Regular Expressions in 10 Minutes and related courseware.

SOFTWARE NEEDED FOR EACH PC:

• Accelebrate will provide regular expression tools for use during the class.
• If desired, we can customize the course to use your specific language or tools.
• For classes delivered online, all participants need either dual monitors or a separate device logged into the online session so that they can do their work on one screen and watch the instructor on the other. A separate computer connected to a projector or large screen TV would be another way for students to see the instructor’s screen simultaneously with working on their own.

REGULAR EXPRESSIONS TRAINING OUTLINE

• Introducing Regular Expressions
  • Understanding the Need
  • How Regular Expressions Are Used
  • So What Exactly Is a Regular Expression?
  • Using Regular Expressions
  • Before You Get Started
• Matching-Single Characters
  • Matching Literal Text
  • Matching Any Characters
  • Matching Special Characters
  • Matching Sets of Characters
  • Matching One of Several Characters
  • Using Character Set Ranges
  • “Anything But” Matching
• Using Metacharacters
  • Escaping Revisited
  • Matching Whitespace Characters
  • Matching Specific Character Types
  • Using POSIX Character Classes
• Repeating Matches
  • How Many Matches?
  • Using Intervals
  • Preventing Over Matching
• Position Matching
  • Using Boundaries
  • Using Word Boundaries
  • Defining String Boundaries
• Using Subexpressions
  • Understanding Subexpressions
  • Grouping with Subexpressions
  • Nesting Subexpressions
• Using Backreferences
  • Understanding Backreferences
  • Matching with Backreferences
  • Performing Replace Operations
• Looking Ahead and Behind.
  • Introducing Lookaround
  • Looking Ahead
  • Looking Behind
  • Combining Lookahead and Lookbehind
  • Negating Lookaround
• Embedding Conditions
  • Why Embed Conditions?
  • Using Conditions
• Conclusion