In case you don’t know, a regular expression (or “regex” for short) is a search pattern that can be used to find patterns in text documents. For example, the regular expression (?<!c)ie will match the letters “i” and “e” in that order, except when preceded by the letter “c”. They are a powerful weapon in any programmer’s arsenal, so you need to know about them if you’re interested in making software.
If you’re still reading and I haven’t put you off the idea already, I recommend you visit regexcrossword.com where you’ll find a set of crossword-type puzzles where the clues are regular expressions. Here’s an example:
Fill in the grid so that each row and column matches the regular expression shown next to it. See this puzzle at regexcrossword.com
And if that isn’t too taxing, try tackling this monster from the 2013 MIT Mystery Hunt:
Regular expression puzzle from the 2013 MIT Mystery Hunt. Here’s the original PDF document. If you really need it, the solution is available.
(Link credit: kottke.org)
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