Get empty hash value from url with Javascript

Question

Using window.location.hash I get this:

http://example.com         --> ''
http://example.com#        --> ''
http://example.com#ahihah  --> '#ahihah'

However, I need to distinguish between these two cases:

http://example.com         --> ''
http://example.com#        --> '#'
http://example.com#ahihah  --> '#ahihah'

So when there is no hash in the url (first case) it's ok to have an empty string but I want to have the value '#' if there is the hash sign. Is this possible in JavaScript?

I already tried with this.

var hash = window.location.hash;
var href = window.location.href;
if (hash !== '') {
  return link.hash;
}
if (href.slice(-1) === '#') {
  return '#';
}
return '';

But looks like an error-prone method. Could be that a query string in the url ends with # and the function will fall into the second if returning '#' instead of ''?

A querystring can't end with #, that would mean there's a location hash after the querystring ? — adeneo
– adeneo, Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 17:14
Why do you need to know this anyway, it seems like an X/Y problem ? — adeneo
– adeneo, Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 17:14
@adeneo I just added what I tried. I could remove it and ask directly for the problem. I'm looking for a good and robust solution and I'm not sure about mine. — Andrea
– Andrea, Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 17:17
And again, what's the use case? Generally it shouldn't matter if the URL ends with an empty hash or doesn't have a hash at all, it's the same thing? — adeneo
– adeneo, Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 17:27
@adeneo I get an url and I need to do something different if there is an empty hash or if there isn't any hash. Also browsers behave different in two cases: if I'm to http://example.com and I go to http://example.com (e.g. clicking a link) the page will be reloaded while if I go to http://example.com# the page will scroll on top. I don't know if I answered your question? I just need to do two different things in the first and the second case. — Andrea
– Andrea, Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 17:47

Paul · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-29 17:20:39Z

1

Your method works fine.

A query string cannot have a # in it (it would need to be encoded as %23, and then href.slice(-1) === 3), since that would be interpreted as the start of a hash, not part of the query string.

answered Dec 29, 2015 at 17:20

Paul

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