Why are there so many different regular expression dialects?

Question

I\'m wondering why there have to be so many regular expression dialects. Why does it seem like so many languages, rather then reusing a tried and true dialect, seem bent on

Answer 1

The "I made it better" syndrome of programming produces all these things. It's the same with standards. People try to make the next "best" standard to replace all the others and it just becomes something else we all have to learn/design for.