regular expressions - 2024 PLAYTIME

Question

You are a QB Reader user. Answer some questions about string parsing techniques you may use, for 10 points each.

[10m] In an attempt to differentiate Invisible Man from The Invisible Man, you query the QB Reader database using these strings. These strings use meta·characters like the Kleene star to help match patterns in a target string.

ANSWER: regular expressions [accept regex or regexp or rational expressions]

[10h] If your regex contains many nested quantifiers, it may take exponential time to run due to the “catastrophic” form of this process. In general, this process solves problems through a systematic search of the solution space, undoing partial solutions when they lead to dead ends.

ANSWER: backtracking [accept catastrophic backtracking; prompt on recursion]

[10e] To find mentions of the TV show M*A*S*H, which includes asterisks in its title, you precede the asterisks with characters of this name. A key with this name found on the top left of keyboards is often used to exit programs.

ANSWER: escape [accept escape character or escape sequence or Esc]

<JC, Other Science - Computer Science>

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Summary


2025 PLAYTIME @ CWRU	12/10/2024	Y	5	18.00	100%	80%	0%
2025 PLAYTIME @ Claremont	12/10/2024	Y	5	22.00	100%	100%	20%
2025 PLAYTIME @ Florida	12/10/2024	Y	3	20.00	100%	33%	67%
2024 PLAYTIME @ Harvard	04/26/2025	Y	4	17.50	100%	50%	25%
2024 PLAYTIME @ JHU	10/26/2024	Y	4	15.00	100%	50%	0%
2025 PLAYTIME @ Northwest	12/10/2024	Y	4	17.50	75%	75%	25%
2025 PLAYTIME Online	04/26/2025	Y	9	18.89	100%	67%	22%
2025 PLAYTIME @ Sheffield	12/10/2024	Y	7	12.86	71%	43%	14%
2024 PLAYTIME @ UBC	10/05/2024	Y	8	20.00	100%	75%	25%
2024 PLAYTIME @ Virginia Tech	07/11/2025	Y	3	23.33	100%	100%	33%
2024 PLAYTIME @ WashU	10/12/2024	Y	6	18.33	100%	50%	33%

Data


Pittsburgh	Michigan C	10	0	10	20
Michigan B	Michigan D	0	0	10	10
Ohio State B	Oberlin	10	0	10	20
Ohio State A	Ohio State D	10	0	10	20
Michigan A	Ohio State C	10	0	10	20
Art of Premature Signaling	UCSD	10	10	10	30
Caltech	Claremont B	10	0	10	20
P.C.‚ Daniel‚ Michel‚ and Jason B	Claremont A	10	0	10	20
girl 15 whale i mean they	UCLA B	10	0	10	20
UCLA A	UCSB	10	0	10	20
Billy's Bastion	Too much from you lately	10	10	10	30
Project2025BC: Make Assyria Great Again	Edwin Laundrorat's Long-Lost Man Unclothès Rat Degrosses	0	0	10	10
Qin Shi Huang's Immortality Poison	Keeping Up With the Cardassians	0	10	10	20
MIT	RIT	10	0	10	20
George Mason C	Rutgers	0	0	10	10
NYU A	George Mason A	10	0	10	20
CWRU	Haverford A	0	0	10	10
Johns Hopkins A	Maryland B	10	0	10	20
Arizona State University B	Carleton	10	0	10	20
UW B	UW A	10	0	10	20
Washington Connections	South Dakota School of Mines	0	0	0	0
Brandeis	Belmont	0	0	10	10
Brown	BU	10	10	10	30
Lexington	Harvard	0	0	10	10
Arizona State University A	Alberta	10	10	10	30
2 Italians, 2 Poles, All Noles	MSJ	0	0	10	10
Trip-Hop Quizzer Tricky	Monsieur Hulot's Academic Team	10	0	10	20
Quatumvirate	mongeese	10	10	10	30
we need new names	Gruh	10	0	10	20
Auburn 2026	Illinois Orange	10	0	10	20
Sheffield A	Cambridge	10	0	10	20
LSE	Manchester	0	0	10	10
Edinburgh	Sheffield B	0	0	0	0
Imperial A	Sheffield C	0	0	10	10
Warwick A	Birmingham	0	0	10	10
Imperial B	Warwick B	10	10	0	20
Warwick C	Lancaster	10	0	10	20
Free Agents 1	evil women enjoyers	0	10	10	20
Guelph	Ottawa A	0	0	10	10
Waterloo C	Simon Fraser	10	10	10	30
Toronto A	Toronto C	10	0	10	20
Toronto B	Waterloo A	10	0	10	20
Mac A	Toronto D	0	0	10	10
McGill B	Toronto Metropolitan	10	0	10	20
UBC	Toronto E	10	10	10	30
4 quizbowl pros go Virginia on North Carolina	Even in Blacksburg There I Am	10	10	10	30
Master and Margaritaville	Adrianne Lenker 4 Nobel Lit Prize 2K65	10	0	10	20
Ashurbanipal’s Drag Race	Somehow Paula Deen Returned	10	0	10	20
Waterloo B	McGill A	10	0	10	20
Notre Dame + Epic Games	Goober Gang	0	0	10	10
Chicago A	WashU Bulbasaur	0	0	10	10
Illinois B	Chicago B	10	10	10	30
Illinois A	Iowa State	10	10	10	30
SIUE	Illinois C	0	0	10	10
Truman State	Missouri	10	0	10	20
WashU Charmander	WashU Squirtle	0	0	10	10
Four Generalists in Search of a Power	Mahjonng Masters	10	0	10	20
Mike Dukakis Tank Battalion	Egypt Airlines Haters	10	0	10	20