[Python-Dev] New regex module for 3.2?

[MRAB]

Nick Coghlan wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 5:52 AM, MRAB <python at mrabarnett.plus.com> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I re-implemented the re module, adding new features and speed
>> improvements. It's available at:
>>
>>    http://pypi.python.org/pypi/regex
>>
>> under the name "regex" so that it can be tried alongside "re".
>>
>> I'd be interested in any comments or feedback. How does it compare with
>> "re" in terms of speed on real-world data? The benchmarks suggest it
>> should be faster, or at worst comparable.
>>
>> How much interest would there be in putting it in Python 3.2?
> 
> The list of fixed bugs/new features is certainly impressive. How does
> Python's test suite go if you drop it in place of the current "re"
> module? (Ditto for test suites of major applications and frameworks
> like Django, etc).
> 
> Off the top of my head, I would say that this won't have enough time
> to bake properly for inclusion in 3.2, but if the potential benefits
> and intended backwards compatibility are borne out by real world usage
> and the code fares well under review then it may be a contender for
> 3.3. If the backwards compatibility isn't quite there (and can't be
> improved), then adding it under a name other than "re" wouldn't be
> impossible, but it would be a harder sell.
> 
You should be able to replace:

     import re

with:

     import regex as re

and still have everything work the same, ie it's backwards compatible
with re.