iOS Easy way to remember Regex operators.

[techwoman]

Hello,

Is there an easy way to remember the regex operators and meta-characters defined in Apple docs? It seems like regex is very useful, but then even after going through apple docs, I hardly understand what the operators and meta-characters stand for.

Is there a way to learn and keep in mind all the operators?

Apple docs for regex - https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/nsregularexpression

 

[MC6800]

Not really... just memorize the basic set, which you'll find in many tutorials. For the rest, keep the reference handy. No point in memorizing them since there are so many variations.

 

[cmaier]

Practice, practice, practice.

The good news is that the same operators used by Apple work pretty much in every other language as well.

 

[Shmanky]

You can use a tool like https://regexr.com to test your regular expressions before you use them in your code. A tool like this one, or others, would also have a reference that you can use to pick what you need.

If someone can recommend a better regular expression tool I would like to hear about it.