WRegx (Watered-Down Regex)

True Regular Expressions (i.e., the full syntax) can be very handy for a variety of reasons. However, it is also quite complex. More complex than what most users need. So for that reason, we support a custom, watered-down version of regex. We call it WRegx™. It provides a nice balance between flexibility and simplicity.

WRegx Syntax

WRegx is parsed as plain text (i.e., what you type is what you get), but the following characters are special. These characters were taken from the official Regex syntax, and then simplified in ways that make them easier to use.

Wildcard Characters

* Matches zero or more characters that are not a /
** Matches zero or more characters of any kind, including a /
? Matches exactly one character that is not a /
?? Matches exactly one character of any kind, including a /

Advanced WRegx Syntax

[abc] Matches exactly one character: a, b, or c.
[a-z0-9] Matches exactly one character: a thru z or 0 thru 9.
[!abc] A leading ! inside [] negates; i.e., anything that is not: a, b, or c.
{abc,def} Matches the fragment abc or def (one or the other).
{abc,def,} Matches abc, def, or nothing; i.e., an optional match.
{/**,} Matches a / followed by zero or more characters, or nothing.
[*?[]!{},] Matches a literal special character. One of: * ? [ ] ! { }, explicitly.