Train with the Regex Coach

Many of us are familiar with simple file globbing, such as using an asterisk or question mark to match multiple file names. I used that for years on the DOS/Windows side, and was comfortable with it. Then, shortly after I started learning Linux, I discovered regular expressions.

Regular expressions, aka regex, are a whole different animal. The syntax is different, and it can be tricky to master. A simple typo can either result in no matches or, at worst, disaster as you alter/delete more matches than intended.

That’s where the Regex Coach comes in. The Regex Coach is a simple GUI that allows you to test your regular expressions on supplied strings, showing you exactly what would match. It’s also tailored for Perl usage, helping scripters and programmers determine how substitutions and splits will work.

The website offers zipped tarball for Linux, which includes the simple (but customizable) GUI and documentation, as well as Windows and Mac versions. There’s also a quick start tutorial and a usage guide. While it’s most useful in Perl, it should also be helpful in shell scripting and command-line tools like sed and awk.