Replace any character in a javascript string

Question

I want convert this string:

string with characters like áéíóú

to

#################################

This "parágrafo".replace(/\wW*/g, "#") returns "###á#####"

@downvotes why?

FabianoLothor
– FabianoLothor

2018-06-16 14:23:36 +00:00
Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:23 — FabianoLothor
– FabianoLothor, Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:23
So you want to convert all letters of string to #?

Eddie
– Eddie

2018-06-16 14:23:56 +00:00
Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:23 — Eddie
– Eddie, Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:23
Yes @Eddie thats it

FabianoLothor
– FabianoLothor

2018-06-16 14:24:25 +00:00
Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:24 — FabianoLothor
– FabianoLothor, Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:24
What's the purpose of W* in the regexp?

Barmar
– Barmar

2018-06-16 14:36:48 +00:00
Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:36 — Barmar
– Barmar, Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:36
why not just "parágrafo".replace(/./g,'#') ??

epascarello
– epascarello

2018-06-16 14:37:07 +00:00
Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:37 — epascarello
– epascarello, Commented Jun 16, 2018 at 14:37

Eddie · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-16 14:24:26Z

2

One option is using repeat()

let str = 'string with caracthers like áéíóú';

let result = "#".repeat(str.length);

console.log(result);

Doc: repeat()

answered Jun 16, 2018 at 14:24

Eddie

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1 Comment

LukStorms Over a year ago

To bad repeat isn't supported in Internet Explorer at the moment.

Barmar · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-16 15:03:11Z

1

The other answers using .repeat() are probably better ways to do this. This answer mainly serves to explain what's wrong with your code and how it could be done correctly.

\w doesn't match accented letters for some reason, that's why á ends up in the output. But even if this weren't a problem, it wouldn't match the spaces between words.

You can use ., which matches any character except newline.

console.log("string with caracthers like áéíóú`".replace(/./g, "#"));

If you also want to replace newlines with #, add the s modifier.

console.log(`string with caracthers like áéíóú
and also newlines`.replace(/./gs, "#"));

Oops, that's a very new feature in ES2018, not available in all browsers yet. You can use /.|\n.g for better portability.

console.log(`string with caracthers like áéíóú
and also newlines`.replace(/.|\n/g, "#"));

edited Jun 16, 2018 at 15:03

answered Jun 16, 2018 at 14:40

Barmar

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6 Comments

LukStorms Over a year ago

In which browsers would that s modifier work atm? Firefox seems to fail on it.

Barmar Over a year ago

Apparently that's a nonstandard extension. The standard JS flags are only gimuy

revo Over a year ago

That's an extension of ECMA2018. It means it is part of the standard but not implemented yet by all major browsers.

LukStorms Over a year ago

So does that mean that Chrome already supports the look-behinds? I've read somewhere that it would be in the new ECMA. (don't have Chrome installed on this pc to test it)

Barmar Over a year ago

@LukStorms Yes! "abcde".match(/(?<=b)c/) returns "c"

|

Jonas Wilms · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-16 14:24:50Z

0

"#".repeat("string with characters".length)

No need for replace.

answered Jun 16, 2018 at 14:24

Jonas Wilms

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Comments

Ankit Agarwal · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-16 15:11:00Z

0

repeat() cannot be used in IE so I will suggest looping over to the str length to get string with value #.

let str = 'string with caracthers like áéíóú';
let result ='';
for(var i=0; i<str.length; i++){
  result += '#';
}
console.log(result);

edited Jun 16, 2018 at 15:11

answered Jun 16, 2018 at 14:56

Ankit Agarwal

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2 Comments

Ankit Agarwal Over a year ago

@Barmar i didn't get you.

Barmar Over a year ago

You still say to split the string and loop. You're not splitting any more.

melpomene · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-16 15:35:35Z

0

It looks like your regex lost a few characters somewhere (and gained a *). It should be /[\w\W]/ instead:

var str = "parágrafo".replace(/[\w\W]/g, "#");

console.log(str);

answered Jun 16, 2018 at 15:35

melpomene

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