i am dustin diaz

Regular Expressions, the Love-Hate Relationship

There are few things in life that I outright hate, but always come back to; and vegetables come close. Without seasonings, oils, and creams, I can easily excuse this food group. What I'm actually talking about here is regular expressions. Similar to vegetables, they can be yucky but good for you. And no matter how old you grow to be, they're always there taunting you. There is absolutely no way you can live as a programmer and not have to swallow a few. Nevertheless, just the other day I found my problem with Regular Expressions. My process is wrong. Similar to eating vegetables, I try and skip the chewing, and simply eat them whole. With vegetables, this is a little bit easier. But with regular expressions, it prolongs the pain. Let's take for example some of my most favorite foods I enjoy like dessert wine, and Filet Mignon. Each having tastes to savor and slowly enjoy, putting a cheery happy smile on my face. Talk to anyone who is good at regular expressions, and you'll notice they often enjoy them just a little more than your average person. Carefully note the differences between enjoying your food slowly versus trying to swallow it whole. The same goes for regular expressions. Cut them up into pieces, and take small bites. Match smaller portions, the rest isn't going to leave your plate any time soon.

Why do I say all this?

I mean, aren't all Google employees required to how to crack a CIA database? Kidding aside, even to this day I have continued to avoid using regular expressions when I know how useful they could be. So therefore I am now saying all this today to announce my early 2009 programmers resolution to eat more regular expressions. Upon this declaration I will be reading the highly recommended Mastering Regular Expressions by Jeffrey Friedl.

Also, where have I been?

Good question. I've been working on Gmail since last February building high fidelity prototypes to test new ideas. I've also been taking several photos and getting much heavier into photography than ever before. There is still rarely a day that goes by where my camera isn't by my side. Feel free to have a gander at my featured photos. Other than that, Happy Upcoming Turkey Day. Cheers!