Which is the best regular expressions pocket reference?

This handy little book offers programmers a complete overview of the syntax and semantics of regular expressions that are at the heart of every text-processing application. Ideal as a quick reference, Regular Expression Pocket Reference covers the regular expression APIs for Perl 5.8, Ruby (including some upcoming 1.9 features), Java, PHP, .NET and C#, Python, vi, JavaScript, and the PCRE regular expression libraries.

This concise and easy-to-use reference puts a very powerful tool for manipulating text and data right at your fingertips. Composed of a mixture of symbols and text, regular expressions can be an outlet for creativity, for brilliant programming, and for the elegant solution. Regular Expression Pocket Reference offers an introduction to regular expressions, pattern matching, metacharacters, modes and constructs, and then provides separate sections for each of the language APIs, with complete regex listings including:

• Supported metacharacters for each language API
• Regular expression classes and interfaces for Ruby, Java, .NET, and C#
• Regular expression operators for Perl 5.8
• Regular expression module objects and functions for Python
• Pattern-matching functions for PHP and the vi editor
• Pattern-matching methods and objects for JavaScript
• Unicode Support for each of the languages

Take the guesswork out of using regular expressions. With more than 140 practical recipes, this cookbook provides everything you need to solve a wide range of real-world problems. Novices will learn basic skills and tools, and programmers and experienced users will find a wealth of detail. Each recipe provides samples you can use right away.

This revised edition covers the regular expression flavors used by C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, and VB.NET. Youll learn powerful new tricks, avoid flavor-specific gotchas, and save valuable time with this huge library of practical solutions.

• Learn regular expressions basics through a detailed tutorial
• Use code listings to implement regular expressions with your language of choice
• Understand how regular expressions differ from language to language
• Handle common user input with recipes for validation and formatting
• Find and manipulate words, special characters, and lines of text
• Detect integers, floating-point numbers, and other numerical formats
• Parse source code and process log files
• Use regular expressions in URLs, paths, and IP addresses
• Manipulate HTML, XML, and data exchange formats
• Discover little-known regular expression tricks and techniques

Regular expressions are an extremely powerful tool for manipulating text and data. They are now standard features in a wide range of languages and popular tools, including Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, VB.NET and C# (and any language using the .NET Framework), PHP, and MySQL.

If you don't use regular expressions yet, you will discover in this book a whole new world of mastery over your data. If you already use them, you'll appreciate this book's unprecedented detail and breadth of coverage. If you think you know all you need to know about regularexpressions, this book is a stunning eye-opener.

As this book shows, a command of regular expressions is an invaluable skill. Regular expressions allow you to code complex and subtle text processing that you never imagined could be automated. Regular expressions can save you time and aggravation. They can be used to craft elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Once you've mastered regular expressions, they'll become an invaluable part of your toolkit. You will wonder how you ever got by without them.

Yet despite their wide availability, flexibility, and unparalleled power, regular expressions are frequently underutilized. Yet what is power in the hands of an expert can be fraught with peril for the unwary. Mastering Regular Expressions will help you navigate the minefield to becoming an expert and help you optimize your use of regular expressions.

Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition, now includes a full chapter devoted to PHP and its powerful and expressive suite of regular expression functions, in addition to enhanced PHP coverage in the central "core" chapters. Furthermore, this edition has been updated throughout to reflect advances in other languages, including expanded in-depth coverage of Sun's java.util.regex package, which has emerged as the standard Java regex implementation.Topics include:

• A comparison of features among different versions of many languages and tools
• How the regular expression engine works
• Optimization (major savings available here!)
• Matching just what you want, but not what you don't want
• Sections and chapters on individual languages

Written in the lucid, entertaining tone that makes a complex, dry topic become crystal-clear to programmers, and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition offers a wealth information that you can put to immediateuse.

Reviews of this new edition and the second edition:

"There isn't a better (or more useful) book available on regular expressions."

--Zak Greant, Managing Director, eZ Systems

"A real tour-de-force of a book which not only covers the mechanics of regexes in extraordinary detail but also talks about efficiency and the use of regexes in Perl, Java, and .NET...If you use regular expressions as part of your professional work (even if you already have a good book on whatever language you're programming in) I would strongly recommend this book to you."

--Dr. Chris Brown, Linux Format

"The author does an outstanding job leading the reader from regexnovice to master. The book is extremely easy to read and chock full ofuseful and relevant examples...Regular expressions are valuable toolsthat every developer should have in their toolbox. Mastering RegularExpressions is the definitive guide to the subject, and an outstandingresource that belongs on every programmer's bookshelf. Ten out of TenHorseshoes."

--Jason Menard, Java Ranch

grep Pocket Reference is the first guide devoted to grep, the powerful Unix content-location utility. This handy book is ideal for system administrators, security professionals, developers, and others who want to learn more about grep and take new approaches with it -- for everything from mail filtering and system log management to malware analysis. With grep Pocket Reference, you will:

• Learn methods for filtering large files for specific content
• Acquire information not included in the current grep documentation
• Get several tricks for using variants such as egrep
• Keep key information about grep right at your fingertips

Find the answers you need about grep quickly and easily. If you're familiar with this utility, grep Pocket Reference will help you refresh your basic knowledge, understand rare situations, and work more efficiently. If you're new to grep, this book is the best way to get started.

Updated for both Python 3.4 and 2.7, this convenient pocket guide is the perfect on-the-job quick reference. Youll find concise, need-to-know information on Python types and statements, special method names, built-in functions and exceptions, commonly used standard library modules, and other prominent Python tools. The handy index lets you pinpoint exactly what you need.

Written by Mark Lutzwidely recognized as the worlds leading Python trainerPython Pocket Reference is an ideal companion to OReillys classic Python tutorials, Learning Python and Programming Python, also written by Mark.

This fifth edition covers:

• Built-in object types, including numbers, lists, dictionaries, and more
• Statements and syntax for creating and processing objects
• Functions and modules for structuring and reusing code
• Pythons object-oriented programming tools
• Built-in functions, exceptions, and attributes
• Special operator overloading methods
• Widely used standard library modules and extensions
• Command-line options and development tools
• Python idioms and hints
• The Python SQL Database API

If you use Linux in your day-to-day work, this popular pocket guide is the perfect on-the-job reference. The third edition features new commands for processing image files and audio files, running and killing programs, reading and modifying the system clipboard, and manipulating PDF files, as well as other commands requested by readers. Youll also find powerful command-line idioms you might not be familiar with, such as process substitution and piping into bash.

Linux Pocket Guide provides an organized learning path to help you gain mastery of the most useful and important commands. Whether youre a novice who needs to get up to speed on Linux or an experienced user who wants a concise and functional reference, this guide provides quick answers.

Selected topics include:

• The filesystem and shell
• File creation and editing
• Text manipulation and pipelines
• Backups and remote storage
• Viewing and controlling processes
• User account management
• Becoming the superuser
• Network connections
• Audio and video
• Installing software
• Programming with shell scripts