From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Emanuel Berg Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: How to grok a complicated regex? Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2015 02:05:06 +0100 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server Message-ID: <87d2447a2l.fsf@debian.uxu> References: <87twxo1pnr.fsf@debian.uxu> <874mpo1b8z.fsf@debian.uxu> <87twxoyyr1.fsf@debian.uxu> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1426813524 28341 80.91.229.3 (20 Mar 2015 01:05:24 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2015 01:05:24 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Fri Mar 20 02:05:23 2015 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1YYlNK-0000Cl-RG for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 20 Mar 2015 02:05:22 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:41911 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1YYlNJ-00024r-Sk for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Thu, 19 Mar 2015 21:05:21 -0400 Original-Path: usenet.stanford.edu!news.tele.dk!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!news-2.dfn.de!news.dfn.de!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!news2.arglkargh.de!news.mixmin.net!aioe.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 58 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: feB02bRejf23rfBm51Mt7Q.user.speranza.aioe.org Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@aioe.org User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.4 (gnu/linux) X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.8.2 Cancel-Lock: sha1:phnUHeMmHs0f8sizNnHdtdlKq2s= Mail-Copies-To: never Original-Xref: usenet.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:210941 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:103220 Archived-At: Thien-Thi Nguyen writes: > I notice many times what people say, you respond > with your personal preferences, without > acknowledging in some way the validity of other > people's pov. Maybe that method somehow interferes > w/ your understanding of other people and > their concerns. What do you mean? Aaanyway... For a person to be able to read those regexps that look like comic book insults is not to be expected. If someone is still able to do that congratulations to him/her, unless such an unusual talent comes with drawbacks in other areas of life... For a person who writes and reads such regexps every day, if such a person exists, he or she should acquire the skill to do so seamlessly, like I write, and you read, this English paragraph and ditto Elisp form: (setq fill-nobreak-predicate '(fill-single-char-nobreak-p fill-single-word-nobreak-p)) There should be no need at all of a thought process but instead instant recognition. How will such a person arrive at that skill level? Simple, he/she does it every day! There will be no need for a second representation or even illustrative tools. Such will be at best fun toys (very soon) as the actual representation will be the only one ever considered. For everyone else who perhaps does it now and then the (de/re)construction method like picking apart a math formula or a French MAB Model B pistol is nothing to be ashamed of. Or, for that matter the incremental method of understanding the general purpose and inserting the missing char whenever a problem appears. If anyone is very fond of the regexps and wishes to do them all the time and for this reason thinks of tools and toys as to be able to do that, that's fine, as long as one is aware why it is done (well, maybe that's not necessary come think of it). But if so, then I have an even better idea, namely an Emacs wiki page to which you can e-mail desired regexps, and then the group of regexp lovers can provide those after getting instruction either exactly what it should be, or the general problem to be solved, and then the can deliver it, stainless steel, and everyone is happy. -- underground experts united