On 6/30/2010 8:22 AM, Nobody wrote:
I've noticed over the years a significant anti-RE sentiment in the
Python community.
IMHO, the sentiment isn't so much against REs per se, but against
excessive or inappropriate use. Apart from making it easy to write
illegible code, they also make it easy to write code that "mostly sort-of
works" but somewhat harder to write code which is actually correct.
It doesn't help that questions on REs often start out by stating a problem
for which REs are inappropriate, e.g. parsing a context-free (or higher)
language, and in the same sentence indicate the the poster is already
predisposed to using REs.
They also often start with a problem that is 'sub-relational-grammar'
and easily solved with string methods, and again the OP proposes to use
the overkill of REs. In other words, people ask "How do I do this with
an RE" rather than "What tool should I use for this, and how".
If people asked "How do I push a pin into a corkboard with a (standard)
hammer" or "How do I break up a concrete sidewalk with a (standard)
hammer), it would not be 'anti-hammer sentiment' to suggest another
tool, like pliers or a jackhammer.
--
Terry Jan Reedy
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