matching values stored in variables or array with string javascript regex

Question

Im trying to find a patterns in the sentence for regex matching.. in the code below result contains a string and we are checking if the word apple is present in it.

    var patt = /apple/gi;
    var newResult = patt.test(result);

I found the above code from a used case.. But i was wondering if i have more than one values and i want to check it in the string result, lets say an array with values var arr=["apple", "orange"] var patt=/arr[0]/gi will not work.. what could be the way in that scenario??

Timothée Groleau · Accepted Answer · 2013-03-08 10:00:09Z

2

To check multiple entries, you can use the OR operator:

var patt = /apple|orange/gi;
var newResult = patt.test(result);

if you have a variable, you can do the below, IF(!) your key is regexp safe of course (that is, it doesn't contains characters which have meaning in regexp syntax):

var key = "apple";
var patt = new RegExp(key, 'gi');
var newResult = patt.test(result);

Although in this case, you might as well use indexOf:

var key = "apple";
var newResult = result.indexOf(key) > -1;

edited Mar 8, 2013 at 10:00

answered Mar 8, 2013 at 9:53

Timothée Groleau

1,96013 silver badges18 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

3 Comments

Da Silva Over a year ago

no i was wondering what if the string is stored in a variable.. like var key="apple"; /key/gi will not work

Da Silva Over a year ago

ive changed the title to avoid confusion

Timothée Groleau Over a year ago

Ah sorry, I had misunderstood the question, I've edited my answer

Amy · Accepted Answer · 2013-03-08 09:59:42Z

0

To use a string for your regex expressions, you need to create the regex using the regex constructor.

var pattern = "apple|orange";
var regex = new RegExp(pattern, "g");    // g is for global match

Read more about it here: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions

answered Mar 8, 2013 at 9:59

Amy

7,5262 gold badges22 silver badges31 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

matching values stored in variables or array with string javascript regex

2 Answers 2

3 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

3 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related