RE: Regex reference

["Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

Aloha.

> Aloha all,
> 
> I'm able to use regular expressions in LISP strings fairly regularly 
> for simple situations.  I'd like to get better at this, so that it is 
> easier for me to conceptualize possible solutions to more complex 
> problems.   Can anyone offer either print or on-line references that 
> might help me think about regular expressions in LISP strings more 
> effectively?  I need something more than a concise 
> description of each character, something that will help me find the
> right frame of mind (so to speak).

This might help:

http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/RegularExpression#LearningRegexps

The more you use regexps in Emacs, the more you will learn about them. Using
them interactively is a great way to practice. 

Many Emacs commands let you use regexps. You can get used to using regexps in
Emacs commands by starting with simple patterns. The important thing is to get
in the practice of using them. And remember that an ordinary string of chars
that does not have any regexp special chars is itself a (very simple) regexp.

If you want to learn more about regexps, including some of the theory, some
background on implementation and algorithms, and some comparison of regexp
features and syntax in different languages, I know of no better book than this -
I (and many others) recommend it strongly.

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781565922570

Have fun.