

VerbalExpressions – JavaScript library that helps construct regular expressions - shadeless
https://github.com/jehna/VerbalExpressions#

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__david__
That's cute and on one hand I like the concept, but on the other hand I find
that's exactly how normal terse regexs read to me anyway...

    
    
        ^https?://(?:www\.)?[^ ]*$
    

is way more succinct and just as easy to read as:

    
    
                .startOfLine()
                .then( "http" )
                .maybe( "s" )
                .then( "://" )
                .maybe( "www." )
                .anythingBut( " " )
                .endOfLine();
    

Well... assuming you know regular expressions. Which you should if you are a
programmer.

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xtrumanx
I kind of know regular expressions but every time I have to write one I head
off to regexpal to write it. For instance, off the top of my head, I have no
idea what the "?" in the parenthesis does. Usually expect a character to
precede a "?", "." or "*".

I also don't use them often enough to commit all the rules to memory.

However, given VerbalExpressions, I don't think I'd have a problem building
regular expressions. For a newbie, startOfLine and endOfLine is far more
memorable than "^" and "$".

> Which you should if you are a programmer.

You can be pretty productive programmer without knowing regular expressions.
Depends on the kind of programming you do really.

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nahname
I have always struggled writing a regular expressions. Even after being
successful in writing one, I could not retain what it did once I returned to
it. This library is definitely for people like me.

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peteratt
Damn, this is so simple yet so powerful I can't believe it's the first time
anyone has thought about it.

~~~
DavidBradbury
> I can't believe it's the first time anyone has thought about it.

Implying this is?

~~~
peteratt
Not implying that, but haven't seen something as similar and high-level
before.

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hsmyers
As a diabetic, I try and not over-dose on syntactic sugar...

