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TUI app with 100+ interactive Python Regex exercises

63 points · submitted Mar 2023 by u/ASIC_SP · Intermediate Showcase · archived

Hello!

Having an interactive program that automatically loads questions and checks the solution is wonderful to have while learning a topic. I wrote a TUI app that has beginner to advanced level exercises for Python regular expressions. There are more than 100 exercises covering both the builtin re and third-party regex modules.

This app is available on PyPI as regexexercises. Example installation instructions are shown below, adjust them based on your preferences and OS.

# virtual environment
$ python3 -m venv textual_apps
$ cd textual_apps
$ source bin/activate
$ pip install regexexercises

# launch the app
$ regexexercises

To run the app without having to enter the virtual environment again, add this alias to .bashrc (or equivalent):

# you'll have to change the path
alias regexexercises='/path/to/textual_apps/bin/regexexercises'

Adjust the terminal dimensions for the widgets to appear properly, for example 84x25 (characters x lines). Visit https://youtu.be/0oXPeF8HutQ for a video demo. There's a user guide within the app as well.

These exercises have been adapted from my Understanding Python re(gex)? ebook (free to read online).

Hope you'll find this app useful. Let me know your feedback. Happy learning :)

TUI app with 100+ interactive Python Regex exercises

12 comments · 93% upvoted · other discussions

comments

brandonZappy 15 points · Mar 2023

This seems cool, but I'm sad you missed out on calling it "regexercises". The extra "ex" kills the name :(

ASIC_SP [OP] 7 points · Mar 2023 ·

Thanks! And yeah, that's a better name. I'll see if I can change it for the next release.

brandonZappy 2 points · Mar 2023

I was just cracking some jokes. I hope it didn't come off too poorly. Great project, I hope you keep it up!

LorestForest 4 points · Mar 2023

Rexercises is a cooler name imho

brandonZappy 2 points · Mar 2023

Definitely agree, but does lose a bit of the "what is it?" from the name. This name could be exercises for Rust or R

RojerGS 2 points · Mar 2023 · Author of “Pydon'ts”

Really cool app, u/ASIC_SP, thanks a lot for sharing! It has been great following along your process for building and improving this app on Twitter.

ASIC_SP [OP] 1 points · Mar 2023 ·

Thanks for the kind words, Rodrigo :)

rhymiz 2 points · Mar 2023

Rexercises

Idekum 2 points · Mar 2023

Do you really have to learn regex, now with ai?

Picatrixter 2 points · Mar 2023

Actually, I am learning regex now and I use ChatGPT to test me or to explain patterns and rules every now and then. Many of the code answers GPT gives on regex are plain wrong. Whenever I give feedback to the machine - I type something like "you are wrong, here's the correct answer", it replies somewhere along the line "of course you are right, here's THE REAL regex you wanted", as if it's testing me to see if I can tell the difference

And the story goes on an on...

However, it would be wrong to say GPT (ar any other LLM for that matter) is worthless on the subject of regex, quite the contrary. You just need to double check the answers, but in order to be able to do that you musk know, well..., regex :)

games2007 2 points · Mar 2023

RegEx with AI has been dog turd. It hallucinates all types of solutions that aren't even close, and for some really basic things. It's probably worth learning so you can fine tune your RegEx anyway.

My tip would be go to through the RegEx cookbook, brack down the syntax, and save a lot of the solutions that look interesting to you, while solidifying the fundamentals.

ASIC_SP [OP] 1 points · Mar 2023 ·

You might as well ask do you have to learn programming ;)

You still have to understand regex to know if the code you are getting will work or not. There are plenty of corner cases, so testing will be crucial as usual.