What is a common use of regular expressions in programming?

Regular expressions are a powerful tool in programming used primarily for pattern matching in strings. They consist of a sequence of characters that form a search pattern, which can be utilized to identify specific strings within larger text or manipulate those strings in various ways. For instance, you can use regular expressions to validate user input, extract information from text, or replace portions of strings.

The utility of regular expressions extends across numerous programming tasks, such as checking if an email address is in the correct format, searching for specific words in documents, or even splitting text based on delimiters. Their versatility makes them an essential skill for developers who work with text processing and data validation.

The other options do not accurately reflect the primary function of regular expressions. While exception handling pertains to error management in programming, variable naming conventions are largely determined by the language syntax and style guidelines. Additionally, optimizing performance typically involves algorithm improvements rather than string pattern matching techniques like regular expressions.