Text processing has been one of the most relevant topics since computer science took its very first baby steps. After a few decades of investigation, we now have one of the most versatile and pervasive tools that exist: regular expressions. Validation, search, extraction, and replacement of text are operations that have been simplified thanks to Regular Expressions.
This book will initially cover regular expressions from a bird's-eye view, proceeding step-by-step to more advanced topics such as regular expression specifics on Python or grouping, workaround, and performance. All the topics will be covered with Python-specific examples that can be used straightaway in the Python console.
Chapter 1, Introducing Regular Expressions, will introduce the basics of the regular expression syntax from a non-Python-specific point of view.
Chapter 2, Regular Expressions with Python, will cover the Python's API for regular expressions and its quirks from a Python-specific point of view.
Chapter 3, Grouping, covers the regular expression functionality to extract portions of information, apply quantifiers to specific parts, and perform correct alternation.
Chapter 4, Look Around, explains the concept of zero-width assertions and the different types of look-around mechanisms.
Chapter 5, Performance of Regular Expressions, will cover different tools to measure the speed of a regular expression, the details of the regular expression module of Python, and different recommendations to improve the performance of regular expressions.