Can Regular Expressions Generate Strings: A Java-Based Solution?

Using Regular Expressions to Construct Strings

In the realm of data generation for performance testing, the ability to specify a regular expression to generate strings that conform to the regex would be a valuable asset. However, the question arises: is there any pre-built solution or library that provides this functionality?

Diving into the Solution

While exhaustive regex patterns may pose a challenge, it is possible to address this need for simpler regex expressions. Delving into the source code of java.util.regex.Pattern, we encounter a tree-like internal structure composed of Node instances. Each pattern component has a corresponding Node implementation.

By implementing a visitor that traverses this tree, it becomes feasible to invoke a custom generator method or a builder-style approach to assemble the desired string. This approach enables the generation of strings that adhere to the specified regex.

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