Regular Expression Pocket Reference: Regular Expressions for Perl, Ruby, PHP, Python, C, Java and .NET (Pocket Reference (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)

by Tony Stubblebine (Author)
Key Phrases: regex metacharacters, shell tools, thany times, Sequence Meaning, Regular Expression Pocket Reference Table, Class Meaning (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This handy little book offers programmers a complete overview of the syntax and semantics of regular expressions that are at the heart of every text-processing application. Ideal as a quick reference, Regular Expression Pocket Reference covers the regular expression APIs for Perl 5.8, Ruby (including some upcoming 1.9 features), Java, PHP, .NET and C#, Python, vi, JavaScript, and the PCRE regular expression libraries.

This concise and easy-to-use reference puts a very powerful tool for manipulating text and data right at your fingertips. Composed of a mixture of symbols and text, regular expressions can be an outlet for creativity, for brilliant programming, and for the elegant solution. Regular Expression Pocket Reference offers an introduction to regular expressions, pattern matching, metacharacters, modes and constructs, and then provides separate sections for each of the language APIs, with complete regex listings including:

• Supported metacharacters for each language API
• Regular expression classes and interfaces for Ruby, Java, .NET, and C#
• Regular expression operators for Perl 5.8
• Regular expression module objects and functions for Python
• Pattern-matching functions for PHP and the vi editor
• Pattern-matching methods and objects for JavaScript
• Unicode Support for each of the languages

With plenty of examples and other resources, Regular Expression Pocket Reference summarizes the complex rules for performing this critical text-processing function, and presents this often-confusing topic in a friendly and well-organized format. This guide makes an ideal on-the-job companion.

About the Author
Tony Stubblebine is an Internet consultant, entrepreneur, and blogger. He's also the author of Regular Expression Pocket Reference, former Engineering Director for Odeo.com and former Engineering Lead for O'Reilly Media. He posts regular updates to his blog, StubbleBlog and regularly releases small websites such as Gem Jack, a repository of documentation for Ruby gems, Rate My Dance Moves, a YouTube mashup, and I Heart Quotes, the Unix fortune program re-imagined for the web.

Product Details

• Paperback: 126 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 2 edition (July 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596514271
• ISBN-13: 978-0596514273
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,130 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The O'Reilly Pocket Guides Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A review of "Regular Expression Pocket Reference", July 12, 2005

By	G. Roush (Des Moines, IA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Regular Expression Pocket Reference (Paperback)

One of the most difficult things when working with regular expressoins -- at least for me -- is dealing with different implementations (i.e., Perl, Java, Python, PHP, UNIX tools, etc.) The basics of regexes and pattern matching don't vary all that much, but each implementation is just different enough that the smae line of code can yield different results. If you work with more than one of these implementations, keeping track of differences in metacharacters and metasequences can be nearly impossible. This is especially true when -- as is the case with me -- you deal with regexes somewhat intermittently.

This is one of the main reasons why the "Regular Expression Pocket Reference"
was written and this is why I keep it close at hand. This book will not really teach you how to use regexes, nor will it tell you how to use, say, Perl. If, however, you use Perl and you know how to use regexes but just can't remember whether you can disallow backtracking for text matched by a subpattern, then this book will save you quite a bit of time and effort.

If you're wondering what it means to "disallow backtracking for text matched by a subpattern," or when you would want to use it, buy "Mastering Regular Expressions" or a similar title. The "Regular Expression Pocket Reference" is designed to be a quick reference tool, and it serves this purpose very well. I would recommend it especially for those who work with regular expressions intermittently or who work with several different implementations.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reference, but not a tutorial, November 20, 2003

By	David C. Veeneman (Lincolnshire, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Regular Expression Pocket Reference (Paperback)

The editorial blurb on this book suggests that it can be used as a tutorial by those new to regular expressions. That's not the case. This book is strictly a reference, albeit a very good one. I bought O'Reilly's "Mastering Regular Expressions" to learn the area, and I use this book as a quick reference. It serves that purpose very well.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many implementations covered, December 15, 2003

By	"mark_seattle" (Kirkland, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Regular Expression Pocket Reference (Paperback)

I love this series of books (the C#, C++ and STL pocket refs are my favorite), but the Regular Expression pocket ref tries to cover too many implementations. You only get about 10 pages for each language so, unless you use multiple implementations (e.g. C#/.NET, Perl, JavaScript, etc), this just isn't good value for money. I returned my copy and printed out a quick reference from one of the many Internet programming sites.