Simple, clean and very functional
Ive tried, I think, four different interactive regex tools prior to this one and, from my first half hour with it, this will become my go-to version. For those who havent ever used a tool like this, being able to create some sample text containing all the variants that your regular expression must match and then to build a search pattern step-by-step while verifying immediately that it is matching correctly and teasing out exactly the capture groups you need is much, much more efficient than trying to do the same sort of verification in-place in the code using normal code debugging tools.
Several of the earlier tools Ive tried were very good but always seemed to lack some component that kept them from being great. This app seems to have pretty much everything Im looking for: a clear interface with simple text boxes for the search pattern, source text and match list; a clear, pop-up list of the various pattern components, sensibly grouped, color coding of the pattern to make review easier, and (very important for me) the best display Ive seen yet of all matches and (in a collapsible list), all captured groups within each match.
The only expected feature that I didnt find, and not a biggie, is that the app doesnt show the name of named capture groups in the Match List display, just the match number. This would only matter in very complex patterns but it should be easy for them to add.
Highly recommended.
Jkhile about
RegExRX