// More robust email validation regex
// Handles plus signs, hyphens, and longer TLDs
const emailRegex = /^[a-zA-Z0-9.!#$%&'*+\/=?^_`{|}~-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,61}[a-zA-Z0-9])?(?:\.[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,61}[a-zA-Z0-9])?)*$/;

// Usage example
function validateEmail(email) {
    return emailRegex.test(email);
}

// Test cases
console.log(validateEmail('user+tag@example.com')); // true
console.log(validateEmail('user-name@example.co.uk')); // true
console.log(validateEmail('user@example.travel')); // true (long TLD)
console.log(validateEmail('not-an-email-at-all@fake')); // false

// Alternative: Use a library for production
// Consider using validator.js or similar for comprehensive validation

The Problem: When Regex Becomes Regret

Let's be honest: regular expressions are the programming equivalent of a magic spell that works perfectly until it doesn't. You write something like /^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,}$/i to match emails, and it works! Until someone sends you an email with a plus sign in the local part, or a hyphen at the beginning, or one of those fancy new TLDs that's longer than two characters. Suddenly, your beautiful pattern is rejecting valid emails while happily matching 'not-an-email-at-all@fake'.

The real tragedy isn't that regex is hard - it's that regex fails silently. There's no compiler error, no runtime exception, just the quiet, soul-crushing realization that your pattern has been matching the wrong thing for three weeks. You'll find yourself on regex101.com at 2 AM, questioning whether that .*? should actually be .+?, or if you need another lookahead assertion, or if maybe you should just use string methods and accept your fate as a lesser developer.

And let's not forget the classic regex anti-patterns: trying to parse HTML (a sin so grave it has its own Stack Overflow answer with over 60,000 upvotes), creating patterns longer than your resume, or using regex for tasks that would be trivial with simple string operations. We've all been there, staring at a 500-character pattern wondering 'what fresh hell have I created?'

The Solution: Regex Therapy Sessions

I built Regex Grief Counselor because I got tired of watching developers (including myself) descend into regex-induced madness. This tool doesn't just validate your patterns - it understands them. It reads your regex like a therapist reads your subconscious desires, then gently suggests that maybe, just maybe, you don't need seven nested capture groups to validate a phone number.

At its core, Regex Grief Counselor is a real-time validation tool that gives you human-readable error messages. Instead of 'Invalid regular expression: nothing to repeat' (thanks, JavaScript, very helpful), you get 'Hey, I think you meant to escape that asterisk - it's trying to match zero or more of nothing, which is... philosophical, but probably not what you wanted.'

But the real magic happens when your patterns become what I call 'cursed' - patterns so complex they probably violate several laws of physics. The tool detects these anti-patterns and offers actual alternatives. Trying to match dates with a regex that looks like it was written by someone having a stroke? The counselor might suggest: 'Have you considered using a date library? They're quite nice.'

What makes this tool actually useful (beyond the therapeutic value) is that it catches problems before they make it to production. It's like having a regex code review buddy who's always available, never judges you (much), and occasionally suggests you take a walk and think about what you've done.

How to Use It: Your First Therapy Session

Getting started with Regex Grief Counselor is easier than debugging a backreference in a multiline pattern. First, install it via npm:

npm install regex-grief-counselor --save-dev

Then, integrate it into your development workflow. Here's a basic example from the main file:

import { RegexCounselor } from 'regex-grief-counselor';

const counselor = new RegexCounselor();

// Your regex pattern that's definitely going to work
const myPattern = '/^(https?:\/\/)?([\da-z\.-]+)\.([a-z\.]{2,6})([\/\w \.-]*)*\/?$/';

// Get some gentle guidance
const result = counselor.analyze(myPattern);

if (result.needsTherapy) {
  console.log(result.therapyMessage);
  // Might output: "I see you're trying to validate URLs... 
  // have you considered the URL API? It's less likely to give you an aneurysm."
}

Check out the full source code on GitHub for more advanced usage, including integration with build tools, IDE extensions, and the particularly cathartic 'regex confession booth' mode where you can admit your regex sins without judgment.

Key Features: More Than Just Validation

• Real-time regex validation with human-readable error explanations: No more cryptic error messages. The counselor explains what went wrong in plain English, like a patient teacher explaining algebra to a very confused student.
• Suggests simpler alternatives when patterns become 'cursed': When your pattern exceeds a complexity threshold (measured in 'oh god why' units), the tool suggests alternative approaches that won't require a PhD in theoretical computer science to understand.
• Detects common regex anti-patterns and offers therapy sessions in console: Trying to parse XML with regex? The counselor will gently suggest you reconsider your life choices. The console messages range from helpful to hilariously judgmental.
• Generates gentle console messages like 'I see you're trying to parse HTML with regex... let's talk about that': These interventions are designed to catch you before you commit regex crimes against humanity. They're like the programming equivalent of a friend taking your car keys when you've had too much to drink.
• Pattern complexity scoring: Each pattern gets a 'madness score' from 1-10, with helpful suggestions for reducing complexity. Patterns scoring 8+ trigger an emergency therapy session.
• Common pattern library: Instead of writing yet another email regex, use the pre-validated patterns from the library. Your future self will thank you.

Conclusion: Better Regex Through Therapy

Regex Grief Counselor won't make you a regex master overnight, but it will save you from the worst regex-related mistakes. It's the tool that sits between you and regex hell, offering a gentle hand and the occasional reality check. Whether you're a regex novice who thinks .* is magic or a regex wizard who can write positive lookbehind assertions in your sleep, this tool has something for you.

The benefits are clear: fewer bugs, less frustration, and the comforting knowledge that someone (or something) is looking out for your regex wellbeing. You'll spend less time debugging and more time actually building things - or at least, more time debugging other, more interesting problems.

So give it a try: https://github.com/BoopyCode/regex-grief-counselor. Your codebase will thank you, your teammates will thank you, and most importantly, your future self won't have to explain why the email validation regex you wrote matches 'literally everything including the kitchen sink.'

Remember: just because you can solve a problem with regex doesn't mean you should. But if you must, at least bring a therapist.