--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/progs/catastrophic.rb	Sun Aug 21 18:15:53 2016 +0200
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# provided by Daniel Baldwin
+
+nums = (1..1000)
+
+#iterate through the nums 1-100
+nums.each do |i|
+
+	start_time = Time.now
+	string = "a" * i
+	re_str = "a?" * i + "+" + "a" * i
+	#create a new regular expression based on current value of i
+	
+	re = Regexp.new(re_str)
+
+        re.match(string)
+	#if re.match(string)
+	#	puts "matched string  a * #{i} with regex #{re}"
+	#else
+	#	puts "unmatched string a * #{i} with regex #{re}"
+	#end
+	
+  puts "#{i} %.5f" % (Time.now - start_time)
+end