Given is the following regular expression:

regex = '[a-z.]+'

Note the dot character inside the character set. As you may know, the dot metacharacter matches an arbitrary character if it is used outside a character set.

But what does it match if you place the dot character inside a regex character set?

The answer is that the dot inside the character set matches the dot symbol—and not an arbitrary character. The reason is that the character set removes the special meaning of the dot symbol.

Here’s a simple example:

import re regex = '[a-z.]+' text_1 = 'hello.world'

text_2 = 'HELLO.WORLD' print(re.match(regex, text_1))

# <re.Match object; span=(0, 11), match='hello.world'> print(re.match(regex, text_2))

# None

The first text will be matched in both cases (the dot character matches an arbitrary character or the dot symbol).

But the second text will only match if the dot has the meaning: “match an arbitrary character”. Otherwise, the character set cannot match the text.

As the result is None, the text could not have been matched. This proves that the dot metacharacter loses its special meaning inside a character set.

bforartists 2.0 was just released.  bforartists is a fork of Blender aimed at making Blender more usable for artists, new users and indie developers with a series of changes including new keymaps, icons, workflow and completely new documentation.

Key changes over traditional Blender include:

• custom key mapping
• mouse only navigation (great for touch screens like the Surface)
• widget manipulation with cursor off widget
• keymaps can switch between BForArtists and Blender
• theme has coloured icons and increased contrast
• icons in menus, 2x more icons
• removal of duplicate menus, if its in toolshelf, it’s not in the menu
• menus for all hotkey only items (such as Text->Move Cursor)
• reduced number of workspace templates
• left aligned text in menus such as toolbox
• lock camera to view icon
• primitive toolbar in 3D viewport, customizable and dynamic to mode
• bforartist targeted at beginners and indie developers, not pros
• PDF manuals (WIP) with more detail, in PDFs

Learn more about the 2.0 release here.  You can check out bforartists in action in the video below.  The documentation is currently a WIP and is available here.

GameDev News Art Blender 3D Applications

By Malcolm Owen
Tuesday, April 21, 2020, 12:06 pm PT (03:06 pm ET)

Apple’s share of the global tablet market increased in 2019, according to Strategy Analytics, with the iPad securing 44% of sales revenue for across the entire year based on the sales of application processors alone.

The iPad and iPad Pro have been extremely popular tablets for quite some time, with Apple’s tablets repeatedly being touted as the most popular by a number of research firms and analysts. In the latest report discussing the global tablet market, Apple’s products are said to have increased market share in a slowly growing global market.

In Strategy Analytics’ report into the application processor market for tablets, the firm refers to the system-on-chip or processor vendor, rather than the final tablet producer. In effect, the comparison is pitting Apple’s A-series chips against those produced by Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung.

While the chips produced by rivals are typically either sold to a variety of different tablet vendors, or in the case of Samsung, used in its own products as well as by others, Apple does not offer its A-series chips for use by other manufacturers. In effect, the results can potentially skew in favor of Apple’s opponents, as a Qualcomm chip may be used by multiple vendors instead of just one, as is the case for Apple.

Strategy Analytics claims the Applications Processor market as a whole grew 2% year-on-year in 2019, hitting a total value of $1.9 billion for the period. Of that total, Apple accounts for 44% across all of 2019, an increase from the previous year, though in the fourth quarter of 2019, Apple’s revenue share was even higher at 47%.

By comparison, Qualcomm and Intel each secured 16% of the annual market share. MediaTek and Samsung make up the rest of the top five chip vendors on the list.

While this approach focuses on the value of chips being produced and used in devices, it does not take into account the quantity of chips produced.

“The tablet shipment decline trend continues to be a challenge to tablet AP vendors, even as average selling prices show strength,” commented Strategy Analytics associate director Sravan Kundojjala.

An open beta for Switch’s upcoming “morphing ninja gum action game” Ninjala is now available to download from the Nintendo eShop.

Called the ‘Ninjala Exclusive Ninja Club’ on the digital store, this free piece of software will enable you to take part in the planned beta. If you’re eager to see what it’s all about, we’d recommend heading over to the eShop now to download it ready for the big day next week.

Here are the times you’ll be able to play:

Towards the end of last month, a 10-minute animated film was released to promote the characters of Ninjala. Make sure to give that a watch if you haven’t already.

Are you looking forward to trying Ninjala out for yourself? Will you be jumping into this open beta? Remember, the full game launches on 27th May.

Joining up with your friends in Animal Crossing: New Horizons can be a lot of fun, especially as you explore their islands, gather up resources that are new to you, and see how differently you’ve tackled the design aspect of the game. Things can dry up pretty quickly, though, with a lack of real multiplayer options slowly but surely dampening the experience.

Aside from chatting, flinging Reactions at each other, and running around in circles trying to hit each other with your nets, there isn’t actually all that much that two or more players can get up to. Being able to kick a ball about or play little minigames would make a world of difference, but it seems like that just wasn’t meant to be.

Fear not, though, because Kit and Krysta, hosts of Nintendo’s very own YouTube show, Nintendo Minute, have presented a video going over a couple of ideas that could spark some creative solutions for you at home. You can give it a watch above – you’ll see a nice game of hide and seek using the in-game Timer item, as well as a treasure hunt game using custom-made tiles on the ground as clues.

If you’re struggling to come up with ways to have fun with your friends, perhaps you can use these ideas to come up with similar games on your own island.

Make sure to share any games or other ideas you have in the comments below for others to try!

Resident Evil 2 voice actor Paul Haddad has passed away. Word of his death had spread on social media, and was eventually confirmed by Invader Studios, which recently worked with Haddad on horror title Daymare: 1998.

Haddad was best known for playing Leon S. Kennedy in the original Resident Evil 2, which was met with critical acclaim when it launched in 1998 and spawned a successful remake.

He also appeared in a number of television shows and movies, voicing a number of characters in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, X-Men, and Free Willy animated series.

“Paul Haddad, our dear friend and an icon among the Resident Evil community, has passed away recently,” said Invader on Twitter. “We’ve been truly honored to have the chance to meet and work with such a great man and a brilliant professional that He was. Rest in Peace Paul. You will live forever in our hearts.”