[ANSTHRLD] The SCA Armorial And Regular Expressions

[William Meriic]

Good Evening Everyone,

 

I am brand new to the list.  It is very late and I cannot sleep.  I am
rather excited about a recent discovery.  After being in the SCA for nearly
5 years I have finally decided to put together a device and to register my
name.  While doing preliminary conflict checking I noticed that the SCA
armorial allows for regular expression searches against both the name and
device databases.

 

As a computer programmer I found the use of regular expressions made
conflict checking a breeze (e.g. I used \b(al)?mey?rr?[iy]c[hk]?e?\b to
check for various versions of my last name -- Merrick).  However, I suspect
that some heralds who don't have a computer science background might find
regular expression syntax a little daunting.  In fact, a couple of months
ago someone had expressed a wish that the name and device search engines
supported Boolean queries.  So I wonder just how many don't even know how to
exploit the pattern matching features.

 

My first question is: what resources are available for people who wish to
learn how to use regular expressions in the context of name and device
checking?  Secondly, is there room for an article teaching the use of
regular expression through several common use examples?

 

I was thinking of writing an article that took the reader through a couple
of examples; searching the name database with regular expressions to
accommodate spelling irregularities (character level pattern matching), and
searching the armorial for various combinations of field treatments and
charges (word and phrase level pattern matching).  By the end of the article
the reader will have learned how to use pertinent regular expression syntax
to his or her advantage when doing various kinds of armorial research.

 

Even if You feel an article such as this would be a worthwhile effort please
send me any resources that are currently used to learn regular expression so
I can see what is already out there.

 

Thank You,

 

Lord William Meriic [sic]