Rating:  - Still the classic...
[Review of 3rd edition]
I last reviewed this book in early 2005 when it was still in the second edition. But with the release of Jeffrey E. F. Friedl's Mastering Regular Expressions (3rd Edition), I thought it best to give it another look. It's still great, it's still the definitive guide to the subject, and now it gives PHP'ers more to work with...
Contents: Introduction to Regular Expressions; Extended Introductory Examples; Overview of Regular Expression Features and Flavors; The Mechanics of Expression Processing; Practical Regex Techniques; Crafting an Efficient Expression; Perl; Java; .NET; PHP; Index
As with the last edition, you'll find nearly everything you need to know about regular expressions here. Since the general rules of regular expressions haven't changed much, it's not as if you're trying to learn regex version 12.5. The main difference in this edition is that Friedl gave PHP a whole lot more coverage in this update. PHP has become more mainstream over the last year or so, and if that's your area of interest you'll find more examples and guidelines now. Java 1.5 and 1.6 have also emerged since the last writing, so there's a bit more clarification as to how regex coding has changed (not much).
My initial recommendation hasn't changed one bit... If you do anything with regular expressions in your programming, get this book, put your name in it, and don't let others borrow it...
Rating:  - Everything you ever wanted to know about regex
Like the other Oriely books I've read, this book tells you everything you ever wanted to know about regex and probably a lot of stuff that is interesting but not practically nescary. This book covers regex egines and most common implimentation of regex. It's all good stuff but I would like a book that is more focussed on the practical details of this how you write a regex to validate a phone number or a data etc....
Rating: - Very worthwhile book
I found this book to be really useful. It was an easy to follow step by step descriptioon of the regular expression language. It also provided valuable insight into the regular expression evaluation engine which is critical to creating efficient and performant expressions.
A must read for anybody that wants to really write effective regular expressions.
Rating: - Wow!
This is one of the few O'Reilly books that I read cover to cover. What? A book on regular expressions read cover to cover? If you have read the book, I suspect that you understand. If not, read it. Even a cursory skimming (if possible) will provide valuable information in HOW regular expressions work - the syntax, the underlying engine, differences in implementation. Highly recommended.
On a sidenote, the regular expression in the back of the book (a full page long) has been the topic of conversation in my workplace more than once. I suspect that it will eventually become one of those "geek indicators" like the number 42 or PARC.
Rating: - Ding ding ding - we have a winner
Great book for newbies and advanced users alike. Regular Expressions are a pain to understand and learn, but this book is a great teaching tool for that. If you're interested in learning RE, this is the book to start with.
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