The program is going to look substantially the same if I use pcre to check for ".txt" and split up words. And, if you read the original C++ article, it is not at all about comparing regex interfaces!
So, no, I don't think you're right about this.
More to the point, though: I'm talking about regex libraries because the parent comment is. My point: the Rust example uses 3p dependencies, so what C does "out of the box" is already out the window.
Using a different technique, for example by not using regexp is a bit like cheating in that context. You are not comparing two languages, you are comparing two different solutions to the problem.
That's what I meant with my previous post. Either you do it as specified in the article, with regex and maps, which require pulling libraries and working in a way that is much less convenient than with the C++ and Rust example for no good reason. Or you reimplement it using different techniques and this is not the point of the article.
Or to put it simply, the example in the article is not good for C.