A regular expression is a template specifying a class of strings. A regular expression matcher is an tool that determines whether a string belongs to a class specified by a regular expression. This is a common task of a user input validation code, and the use of regular expressions can GREATLY simplify and speed up development of such code. As an example, here is how to verify that a string is a valid hexadecimal number in Smalltalk notation, using this matcher package:
aString matchesRegex: '16r[[:xdigit:]]+'
(Coding the same ``the hard way'' is an exercise to a curious reader).
This matcher is offered to the Smalltalk community in hope it will be useful. It is free in terms of money, and to a large extent--in terms of rights of use. Refer to `Boring Stuff' section for legalese.
The 'What's new in this release' section describes the functionality introduced in 1.1 release.
The `Syntax' section explains the recognized syntax of regular expressions.
The `Usage' section explains matcher capabilities that go beyond what String>>matchesRegex: method offers.
The `Implementation notes' sections says a few words about what is under the hood.
Happy hacking,
--Vassili Bykov
<vassili@objectpeople.com> <vassili@magma.ca>
August 6, 1996
April 4, 1999
Updated on 2002-03-10