Posted by Michael Fesser on 01/09/07 13:00

..oO(Tim Streater)

>In article <4587dc54$0$18460$e4fe514c@dreader31.news.xs4all.nl>,
>
>This is complete rubbish.

No.

>Regular expressions may be very clever but
>lead to unreadable code.

Unreadable would be the code that you would have to use for some
particular problems if you would not use regexps. It's the power of them
that lets you solve many problems with a single line of code.

>They no doubt can be useful but the fact that a
>never-ending stream of people seek help with them in this and other
>groups indicates how bad they are.

They are not bad, just a bit difficult to understand at first.

>As does the fact that many people
>also ask about programs to generate them.

Just because some people don't understand a technique doesn't mean that
the technique itself is bad. If you want to use a particular tool then
you have to learn how to use it. You can't blame the tool for your lack
of knowledge.

>I grasp the *concept* with no trouble at all. I have no intention of
>ever using them, however, as I like to be able to maintain the code I
>write.

Me too. That's why I use regexps, when it comes to pattern matching.

Micha

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