Re: regexp question: match anything but not a group?

[Thorsten Jolitz <tjolitz@gmail.com>]

"Loris Bennett" <loris.bennett@fu-berlin.de> writes:

> Thorsten Jolitz <tjolitz@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> writes:
>>
>>>> But it still seems valid to protect against greedyness?
>>>                                               ^^^^^^^^^^
>>> AKA greed,
>>
>> I just made it up, but funny enough - it does actually exist (with
>> slightly different spelling)!
>>
>>>From http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/greediness:
>>
>> ,-------------------------------------------------------------------
>> | greediness (ˈɡriːdɪnɪs) 
>> | 
>> | Definitions
>> | 
>> | noun
>> | 
>> |  1. the quality of being greedy
>> | 
>> | greedy (ˈɡriːdɪ Pronunciation for greedy ) 
>> | 
>> | Definitions
>> | 
>> | adjective
>> | 
>> | Word forms:  greedier,  greediest
>> | 
>> |  1. excessively desirous of food or wealth, esp in large amounts;
>> |     voracious
>> |  2. (postpositive) foll by for eager (for)   ⇒ `a man greedy for
>> |     success'
>> | 
>> | Derived Forms
>> | 
>> | ˈgreedily adverb
>> | ˈgreediness noun
>> | 
>> | Word Origin
>> | 
>> | Old English grǣdig; related to Old Norse grāthugr, Gothic grēdags
>> | hungry, Old High German grātac
>> | 
>> | Example Sentences Including 'greediness'
>> | 
>> |     At times his greediness got the better of him but he never let
>> |     his enthusiasm go off the boil.
>> | 
>> | Sun, News of the World (2004)
>> | 
>> |     Broilers consume lots more feed-there's a good chance that
>> |     greediness has been inadvertently selected for.
>> | 
>> | New Scientist (1998)
>> | 
>> |     Mr Carman asked him if he had a `streak of greediness " in him
>> |     for money, expensive cars and Rolex watches.
>> | 
>> | Sun, News of the World (1999)
>> | 
>> |     Thus individuals who do experience strong pulls of greediness
>> |     often go to desperate measures to hide their behaviour.
>> | 
>> | Knowles, Jane Know Your Own Mind
>> `-------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> If I were you, Thorsten, I wouldn't rely on "The Sun and "NOTW" for
> particularly nuanced usage of the English language, even if Collins does
> quote them.  "New Scientist" is in a different category, but I think
> "greed" would be much better in the example given for the following
> reason:
>
> I would say that "greed" is traditionally "a deadly sin", i.e. a moral
> failing, whereas "greediness" is a (normally) non-fatal display of
> overindulgence.  Bankers may be reviled for their greed, but
> sticky-faced children told off for their greediness.
>
> In "Mastering Regular Expressions", Friedl refers to the "greediness"
> aspect of regular expressions, which, given the lack of a moral context,
> seems to me the appropriate choice.

At least nuanced usage of the English language is still a topic. Here in
Germany we are almost back to Martin Luthers free-style phonetic
spelling after decades of so called 'language reforms' ;)

-- 
cheers,
Thorsten