Regex by Language

Every programming language handles regular expressions differently. These guides cover language-specific regex syntax, methods, and gotchas with copy-ready code examples.

JavaScript

JavaScript uses the built-in RegExp object for regular expressions. Patterns can be created with literal syntax (/pattern/flags) or the RegExp constructor. The engine supports lookaheads, lookbehinds, named capture groups, and Unicode property escapes.

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Python

Python's re module provides Perl-style regex support. Patterns are typically written as raw strings (r'pattern') to avoid backslash escaping issues. Python 3.11+ added atomic groups and possessive quantifiers.

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Java

Java provides regex support through java.util.regex with the Pattern and Matcher classes. Patterns must be compiled before use, and since Java strings use backslash escaping, regex backslashes need to be doubled (\\d instead of \d).

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Go

Go's regexp package implements RE2 syntax — a guaranteed-linear-time regex engine. This means no backtracking, which makes Go regex safe from catastrophic backtracking (ReDoS) but also means some features like lookaheads and backreferences are not supported.

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PHP

PHP uses PCRE (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions) through the preg_* function family. PCRE is one of the most feature-rich regex engines available, supporting lookaround, backreferences, recursive patterns, and conditional subpatterns.

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C#

C# regular expressions are handled by the System.Text.RegularExpressions namespace. The Regex class provides static and instance methods for matching, replacing, and splitting strings. The .NET regex engine supports lookaround, named capture groups, atomic groups, balancing groups, and compiled patterns for high-performance reuse.

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