From: "M. Edward (Ed) Borasky" <znmeb@...>
Date: 2007-10-01T23:26:27+09:00
Subject: Re: Can you please help to make decision?

James Edward Gray II wrote:
> On Sep 30, 2007, at 8:47 AM, 7stud -- wrote:
> 
>> Ruby also relies heavily on regex's, and regex's are never going to be
>> easy to read for anyone.  regex's are not beginner friendly, and that
>> might be a big barrier for a beginner trying to learn ruby.  There are
>> lots of people who just can't learn regex's.
> 
> I'm staying out of the Ruby vs. Python debate, but the above is just 
> plain wrong and I wish people would stop saying things like this.
> 
> For some reason, regular expressions are surrounded in this aura of 
> mystery.  Perhaps their syntax heavy nature makes them seem odd to 
> people unfamiliar with them at first glance, but for some reason many, 
> many people believe things like the comment posted about.  That's a real 
> shame.
> 
> Regular expression is a simple pattern language anyone can learn quite 
> easily.  I once taught them to my wife in the space of evening, to help 
> with a work project.  She's an above average skill-level computer user, 
> but definitely not a programmer.  She had no trouble grasping the 
> concepts and still uses regular expression to this day.
> 
> Please, sit down and really try learning regular expression before 
> adding to the fear factor surrounding them.  I promise, it's time well 
> spent.
> 
> James Edward Gray II
> 
> 
+1

BTW ... I *still* hate them, but I use them. ;)