Regular expressions (RegEx) are the unsung heroes of the software development world.
A regular expression engine is a program that interprets and matches a regular expression (RegEx) against text data.
When you're working with tools like sed or gawk, it's crucial to understand which engine they use, as this will determine the syntax and features available for pattern matching.
In gawk, you have full access to POSIX ERE syntax.
One of the most powerful features of regular expressions is the ability to match patterns, regardless of the surrounding text.
The dot is another essential feature in regular expressions.
Character classes allow you to specify a set of characters to match.
POSIX Regular Expressions offer a number of predefined character classes.
In POSIX Extended Regular Expressions (ERE), you can use parentheses () to group parts of your pattern.
One of the most powerful features in POSIX Extended Regular Expressions is the use of curly braces {} to specify repetitions.