Is Regular Expression Email Validation Reliable, or Should We Use a Different Approach?

Regular Expression Email Validation and its Pitfalls

Despite the wide usage of regular expressions to validate email addresses, a common expression like the one provided raises concerns about its effectiveness. The regex in question aims to capture:

• First-level domain (letters, numbers, periods, hyphens)
• Second-level domain (letters, hyphens)
• Other level domains (periods, 2-3 letters)

However, there are inherent limitations to this approach:

1. Unmatched TLDs:

Long TLDs, such as .museum, are not matched by the regex. Additionally, it fails to validate email addresses with certain less common TLDs.

2. Lack of Robustness:

The regex may not handle edge cases effectively. For instance, email addresses containing spaces or missing TLDs can slip through validation.

An Alternative Approach

Instead of relying on regular expressions, consider using the System.Net.Mail.MailAddress class to validate email addresses. Microsoft recommends this approach due to its greater accuracy:

public bool IsValid(string emailaddress)
{
    try
    {
        MailAddress m = new MailAddress(emailaddress);

        return true;
    }
    catch (FormatException)
    {
        return false;
    }
}

This method bypasses the need for complex regex patterns, reducing potential errors and enhancing the reliability of email validation.

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