Why can't Regular Expressions use keywords instead of characters?

Question

Okay, I barely understand RegEx basics, but why couldn\'t they design it to use keywords (like SQL) instead of some cryptic wildcard characters and symbols?

Is it for pe

Answer 1

I know its answering your question the wrong way around, but RegExBuddy has a feature that explains your regexpression in plain english. This might make it a bit easier to learn.