When I was in HS, I was a TA for a technology class. I was, at one
point, assigned three younger students to train in the arts of hardware
and network maintenance. They were timid in the beginning, but by the
end of the semester had mastered all but the most arcane.
"Sensei Doom," they said, "this stuff is easy."
"Yes, students. No one thing you have learned is hard. The difficulty
lies not in the one thing, but in the number of things."
"But why did you not tell us this when we began?" they asked me.
"Would you have believed me?" I rejoined.
It was then that they attained Zen.
Regular expressions, oftentimes, are easy. This was extremely basic.
There are much more complicated techniques for more complicated
problems, and it is this complexity that daunts people. For example,
people want a simple regex to describe email addresses. Email
addresses, however, are not simple. Therefore, the regex is complex.
The lesson is that you don't need to start out a Ninja. But with some
study and practice, one day you'll wake up, answer questions on this
list, and realize you are one.
</cf_story>
--Ben Doom
Yager, Brian CTR wrote:
> Thank you very much. You made it sound too easy!
>
> Brian
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