https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=35.9.42.80explain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-07-06T22:59:22ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=829:_Arsenic-Based_Life&diff=22735829: Arsenic-Based Life2012-12-13T22:08:04Z<p>35.9.42.80: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 829<br />
| date = December 3, 2010<br />
| title = Arsenic-Based Life<br />
| image = arsenic_based_life.png<br />
| titletext = According to a new paper published in the journal Science, reporters are unable to thrive in an arsenic-rich environment.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Arsenic}} is a chemical element, known to poisonous to humans and other life forms.<br />
<br />
In order to fit the theme of the event, the researchers make hors d'oerves with arsenic. This poisons all of the reporters at the press conference.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[Three people, two women and a man, stand looking at a laptop screen, which is sitting on a desk. The woman with a ponytail is pointing at the screen.]<br/><br />
Ponytail girl: Our arsenic-based DNA discovery is cool, but these reporters are expecting life on Titan! Our press conference will be such a letdown!<br />
<br />
[Ponytail girl turns around to face the other girl.]<br/><br />
Ponytail: Okay, we need to make it more exciting for them. How do you make an event entertaining?<br/><br />
Girl #2: Dunno, I suck at parties. Music, I guess?<br />
<br />
[Ponytail girl turns back around and leans over to start typing on the computer, while the other two look on. The other girl puts her hand to her chin.]<br/><br />
Ponytail: WikiHow says you can "serve cocktails and hors d'oerves that fit the theme of your event."<br/><br />
Girl #2: Easy enough!<br />
<br />
[Ponytail girl stands at a podium on a stage, the man stands amongst the audience with a tray. All the audience members are either dead or dying, having fallen onto the floor or slumped over in their seats.]<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}} <br />
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>35.9.42.80https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=208:_Regular_Expressions&diff=20310208: Regular Expressions2012-11-28T19:53:50Z<p>35.9.42.80: </p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 208<br />
| date = <br />
| title = Regular Expressions<br />
| image = regular_expressions.png<br />
| imagesize = <br />
| titletext = Wait, forgot to escape a space. Wheeeeee[taptaptap]eeeeee.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
According to Wikipedia: "In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means to "match" (specify and recognize) strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters."<br />
<br />
Looking for a specific pattern on 200MB of text is an equivalent to "looking for a needle in a haystack" (Considering UTF-32 (32bits per character), this would be over 5 million characters. This task can be made easy by using "regexes", since they can find "match" a specific string pattern on the text.<br />
<br />
Perl is a popular scripting language, specially useful when dealing with strings.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
<!-- The transcript can be found in a hidden <div> element on the xkcd comic's html source, with id "transcript".<br />
-- Tip: Use colons (:) in the beginning of lines to preserve the original line breaks. <br />
-- Any actions or descriptive lines in [[double brackets]] should be reduced to [single brackets] to avoid wikilinking<br />
-- Do not include the title text again here --><br />
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==Trivia<br />
This comic is feature on one of the T-shirts[http://shop.xkcd.com/products/i-know-regular-expressions] sold at the xkcd stoe<br />
{{comic discussion}} <br />
<br />
<!-- Include any categories below this line--><br />
Regular</div>35.9.42.80https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=208:_Regular_Expressions&diff=20309208: Regular Expressions2012-11-28T19:45:18Z<p>35.9.42.80: Created page with "{{comic | number = 208 | date = | title = | image = | imagesize = | titletext = }} ==Explanation== According to Wikipedia: "In computing, a regular expre..."</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 208<br />
| date = <br />
| title = <br />
| image = <br />
| imagesize = <br />
| titletext = <br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
According to Wikipedia: "In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means to "match" (specify and recognize) strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters."<br />
<br />
Looking for a specific pattern on 200MB of text is an equivalent to "looking for a needle in a haystack" (Considering UTF-32 (32bits per character), this would be over 5 million characters. This task can be made easy by using "regexes", since they can find "match" a specific string pattern on the text.<br />
<br />
Perl is a popular scripting language, specially useful when dealing with strings.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<!-- The transcript can be found in a hidden <div> element on the xkcd comic's html source, with id "transcript".<br />
-- Tip: Use colons (:) in the beginning of lines to preserve the original line breaks. <br />
-- Any actions or descriptive lines in [[double brackets]] should be reduced to [single brackets] to avoid wikilinking<br />
-- Do not include the title text again here --><br />
<br />
==Trivia<br />
This comic is feature on one of the T-shirts[http://shop.xkcd.com/products/i-know-regular-expressions] sold at the xkcd stoe<br />
{{comic discussion}} <br />
<br />
<!-- Include any categories below this line--><br />
Regular</div>35.9.42.80