---
title: Introduction to the Regular Expression Challenges
block: Regular Expressions
superBlock: JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures
---
## Introduction to the Regular Expression Challenges

Regular expressions are special strings that represent a search pattern. Also known as "regex" or "regexp", they help programmers match, search, and replace text. Regular expressions can appear cryptic because a few characters have special meaning. The goal is to combine the symbols and text into a pattern that matches what you want, but only what you want. This section will cover the characters, a few shortcuts, and the common uses for writing regular expressions.

