Proofreading Text with JavaScript and Regex

Question

I proofread a lot of plaintext files submitted by peers. As my eyes get tired I sometimes overlook extra spaces, or duplicate words. I currently use the following RegEx searches:

[/t]{2} -Finds duplicate spaces  
(?>(/p{P})\1+)(?<![^.]|^)\.{3}) -Finds duplicate punctuation except ellipses  
\b(\w+)\s+\1\b -Finds duplicate words

I also have a few custom searches, example find "Mister" and replace with "Mr."

Is there a simple way to execute these four types of replace functions in JavaScript?

possible duplicate of Javascript replacing string pattern using RegExp? — Luizgrs
– Luizgrs, Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 17:09
The two first patterns are false. where are the replacement strings? — Casimir et Hippolyte
– Casimir et Hippolyte, Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 17:37
I started with a simple solution, using Workflow for iOS. There I am using the above examples and the replacement string is $1, or for the first example I just have it replace with a single space. — Rob Adams
– Rob Adams, Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 21:10
I don't understand what the problem is. Javascript supports regular expressions, so learn how to use the API and use it. If you have a specific problem, ask a question. The MDN has a good article, but there are many others. — user201891
– user201891, Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 22:58

user557597 · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-03 21:15:17Z

Your first two regex don't look very good.
You could combine them all into a single regex though.

Of the two types below:

Type - 1 uses the punct posix character class.
Type - 2 uses a Branch Reset construct and the Punct property construct.

Just do a global find/replace with whichever regex will work with your platform.

Type 1 -

 # Find:  (?:([^\S\r\n])[^\S\r\n]+|\b(\w+)(?:\s+\2)+\b|(\.{3})\.*|([[:punct:]])\4+)
 # Replace:  $1$2$3$4

 (?:
      ( [^\S\r\n] )                 # (1)
      [^\S\r\n]+ 
   |  
      \b 
      ( \w+ )                       # (2)
      (?: \s+ \2 )+
      \b 
   |  
      ( \.{3} )                     # (3)
      \.*
   |  
      ( [[:punct:]] )               # (4)
      \4+ 
 )

Type 2 -

 # Find:  (?|([^\S\r\n])[^\S\r\n]+|\b(\w+)(?:\s+\1)+\b|(\.{3})\.*|(\p{Punct})\1+)
 # Replace:  $1

 (?|
      ( [^\S\r\n] )                 # (1)
      [^\S\r\n]+ 
   |  
      \b 
      ( \w+ )                       # (1)
      (?: \s+ \1 )+
      \b 
   |  
      ( \.{3} )                     # (1)
      \.*
   |  
      ( \p{Punct} )                 # (1)
      \1+ 
 )

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