I would like to use RegExp in JS to replace any html tags which only include whitespaces(' ' or ) inside of it with its html encoded equivalent .
For example:
Replace
'<strong> </strong>' => ' '
Another example,
Replace:
'<strong> </strong> => ' '
You can use a regular expression like this:
str = str.replace(/<(\w+)>((?: |\s)+)<\/\1>/g, '$2');
Explanation:
<(\w+)> matches the start tag and captures the name
( group to capture the content
(?: |\s)+ matches or whitespace, one or more times
) ends group
<\/\1> matches the end tag with the name of the start tag
The match is replaced by $2, i.e. the value in the second group, i.e. the content inside the tag.
Lets say you have the string
var string = "<strong> </strong> <strong>no</strong>";
To match the only the spaces and the you can use
var result = string.replace(/<[^>]+>(( | )+)<\/[^>]+>/gm, "$1");
Let me explain, <[^>]+> matches any tag and <\/[^>]+> any end tag.
the ( | )+ matches an space or an many times
