Ana Sánchez Ortega

Formal languages through web forms and regular expressions

We present a practical and up-to-date proposal to teach formal languages. It takes advantage of frequent use of regular-expressions to specify entry data forms in different contexts and, particularly, in three-layer web applications. Compared to more classical approaches our method improves significantly the acquainting of students with the immediate practical utility of the concepts involved in formal language definition. Students must develop code fragments based on JavaScript notation of regular-expressions. Accordingly, any web browser can be a suitable platform for the execution of solutions. The experience has proved to be effective and well-accepted by students and teachers.