Regular Expression Puzzles and AI Coding Assistants: 24 puzzles solved by the author, with and without assistance from Copilot, ChatGPT and more by David Mertz.
David holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is a leading figure in the Python and data science communities. He is the former Director of the Python Software Foundation.
This book revolves around 24 puzzles that range from basic string manipulation to very complex regular expression (regex) tasks. David is providing his expert solutions in Python. And with the explosion of AI Chatbots, he then prompts GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT to solve the same problems.
These lessons provide insights to enhance your productivity by writing regular expressions. David also offers AI best practices, showing how smart prompts return better results. By the end, you’ll be a master at solving your own Regex puzzles, whether you use AI or not.
Rather than being a traditional, dry academic textbook, he shows the puzzles in a “man vs. machine” competition. This is perhaps a modern AI version of the song Big John in American folklore..
Its all about the power of Regex
Perhaps in fact, the interesting perspective is watching the AI fail. Today most LLMs are remarkably good at generating code, however David is honest in addressing the tendencies to hallucinate regex features that don’t exist.
So he helps readers understand how to be a better “AI pilot by Prompt Engineering refinements to get better regex output, the real necessity of human testing of AI-generated code, to quote Alan Kay, AI should be a “bicycle for the mind” rather than a replacement.
In conclusion, Regular Expression Puzzles and AI Coding Assistants is less of a “how-to” for beginners and placing more emphasis on critical thinking. If you want to increase your regex skills or understand how integrating AI into your daily workflows, David is providing readers a balanced, well thought out perspective that avoids all of the typical hype surrounding generative tools.