reWork: A Regular Expression Workbench

21st March 2008 - 3 minutes read time

Regular expressions are a very useful tool for any programmer wanting to validate input, format strings, change words, reformat data or even split apart a string into an array. However, when you are starting out, writing them it can be hard going, they are not very easy to learn and the only way to really understand them is to practice, practice, practice.

This is where reWork steps in. It is a fully functional online regular expression workbench that will allow you to plug the expression and the text in one end, and it will show you exactly what is being matched. This simple JavaScript program is far better than any stand alone application I have seen and has more functionality than you could even think about.

reWork: Regular Expression Workbench

I have often wondered why a program wasn't working and found that I had written an expression incorrectly so that the correct string wasn't being found. reWork has been a real help on those occasions. I especially like the fact that I can get an expression ready and then copy the JavaScript or PHP code from the bottom of the page.

If you are starting out you should get yourself a decent regular expressions book, and then use this tool to see what an expression does and how they work. However, this tool is exceedingly useful for seasoned developers. Go ahead and try it!

tool

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