Okay, maybe it wasn't actually *that* hard....

I now have a program which algorithmically translates a very basic regular expression into an NFA with ε transitions, then converts that NFA into an equivalent NFA without ε transitions. Our next step will be to convert that NFA into a DFA and then it'll be translated into a minimized DFA. All things considered, this is probably one of the cooler assignments I've ever been given in Computer Science....even if I did procrastinate on it like you wouldn't believe (unless you were my mother in which case you'd have no problem believing how much procrastination I've done).