Updated: November 2007
These sections introduce the concept of regular expressions and explain how to create and use them.
While each topic stands on its own, it is recommended that you peruse these topics sequentially to develop the best understanding of the material. Many topics rely upon the understanding of a feature or concept that was introduced in a previous topic in the sequence.
In This Section
- Regular Expressions
Explains the concept of regular expressions.
- Early Beginnings
Explains the history of regular expressions.
- Uses for Regular Expressions
Illustrates circumstances that would benefit from the use of regular expressions.
- Regular Expression Syntax
Demonstrates the elements that comprise the regular expression syntax.
- Build a Regular Expression
Explains how you combine elements to produce a regular expression.
- Order of Precedence
Lists the operators and the order in which they are evaluated in a regular expression.
- Ordinary Characters
Explains the concept of ordinary characters that apply to regular expressions.
- Special Characters
Explains the concept of special characters that apply to regular expressions.
- Non-Printable Characters
Lists the non-printing characters that apply to regular expressions.
- Character Matching
Explains how special characters match printing or non-printing characters in regular expressions.
- Quantifiers
Lists the quantifier characters and explains how to use them in regular expressions.
- Anchors
Explains the concept of anchors which allow you to fix a regular expression to either the beginning or end of a line.
- Alternation and Grouping
Explains how to use the '|' character for choices between to alternatives and how grouping effect the outcome of expressions.
- Backreferences
Provides information about how you can store part of a matched pattern for later use.
Related Sections
- JScript User's Guide (Windows Scripting - JScript)
Provides information about how to use JScript and includes a guide to regular expressions.
- VBScript User's Guide
Provides information about how to use VBScript and includes a guide to regular expressions.