this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2023
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I still don't understand regex at all
My guess is, that someone started with a small share of features to find a simple solution for the problem, but the complexity of the problem got waaaay out of hand.
Regexes are actually used in formal computer science (if that's the right term), i.e. "proof that this and that algorithm won't deadlock" or something like that.
They're actually really elegant and can cover a lot. But you'll have to learn them by using them.
You are probably thinking of Temporal logic which allows us to model if algorithms and programs terminate etc! It can be represented by using state machines tho!
It's been a while, so I'm quite rusty, especiallyeon the terminology, but I think we modelled feasible sequences of finite and infinite state machines using regexes.
That's how I was forced to learn 'em in uni. ;)
Ohhh I must be confusing the two! But yea, Regex is just NDAs in text form! The course I have had on it is one of my favorites! Really fun stuff