How do I split this string in javascript?

Question

I have a task to split the string. First, there are a few operations to perform

let currSynonyms = "['rear neck and choke', 'multiple fractures, multiple hairline injuries', 'leukemia']"
currSynonyms = currSynonyms.replace('[', '');
currSynonyms = currSynonyms.replace(']', '');
console.log(currSynonyms);
Output is this string:
'rear neck and choke', 'multiple fractures, multiple hairline injuries', 'leukemia'

Now I have to split this so that the 2nd element is not separated with the comma present there. So, my output should be an array like this:

['rear neck and choke', 'multiple fractures, multiple hairline injuries', 'leukemia']

If I do currSynonyms.split(',') I get:

[
  "'rear neck and choke'",
  " 'multiple fractures",
  " multiple hairline injuries'",
  " 'leukemia'"
]

If you do currSynonyms.length you'll get 4 but this is not what I want. I know I have to somehow use Regular expressions nut I can't figure out how?

How certain are you about the input string format? Are you in control of it? Slightly silly answer: Remove the first and last two characters, then split by ', '. Is the problem more complex? — Nick
– Nick, Commented Aug 29, 2020 at 7:12
I'm certain enough. Not in so much control I have to operate with this input itself — Abhishek
– Abhishek, Commented Aug 29, 2020 at 7:13
@TheMaster Yeah, this is what I'm also looking for. A regular expression can solve this but I don't know how? — Abhishek
– Abhishek, Commented Aug 29, 2020 at 7:15

Muthukumaran · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-29 07:20:19Z

1

let currSynonyms = "['rear neck and choke', 'multiple fractures, multiple hairline injuries', 'leukemia']"

const splittedAsArray = JSON.parse(currSynonyms.replace(/'/g,"\""))
const result = splittedAsArray.join(",").split(",").map(r=>r.trim())
            


console.log(result);

This should result in

[ 'rear neck and choke',
  'multiple fractures',
  'multiple hairline injuries',
  'leukemia' ]

answered Aug 29, 2020 at 7:20

Muthukumaran

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Comments

TheMaster · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-30 15:02:45Z

1

Replace ' with " and JSON.parse it:

let arr = "['abc','xyz','shell's, disease']";
const out = JSON.parse(arr.replace(/'(?=,|])|(?<=,|\[)'/g,'"'))
console.info(out)

updated regular expression to catch ' inside strings

edited Aug 30, 2020 at 15:02

answered Aug 29, 2020 at 7:16

TheMaster

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Comments

Abhishek · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-30 07:09:46Z

0

JSON.parse would create a problem if the string is like this:

let arr = "['abc','xyz','shell's, disease']";

Here, the 3rd element has a single quote in it which gives an error when you try to parse it. So, I came up with a better solution:

let arr = "['abc','xyz','shell's, disease']";
arr = arr.replace('[', '')
arr = arr.replace(']', '')
arr = arr.split(/',/);
console.log(arr.length);
console.log(arr);

Output:
3
[ "'abc", "'xyz", "'shell's, disease'" ]

answered Aug 30, 2020 at 7:09

Abhishek

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Comments

Peter Seliger · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-30 18:38:20Z

Since from the given example one also might need to take single quote characters used as apostrophs into account, I suggest a regex based approach like the following one ...

remove leading opening bracket and single quote.
remove trailing single quote and closing bracket.
split at following sequence ...
- single quote, optional white space sequence (OWSS), comma, OWSS, single quote.

... example ...

const sample = "['rear neck and choke', 'multiple fractures, multiple hairline injuries', 'leukemia','shell's disease']";

/**
 *  1. remove leading opening bracket and single quote.
 *  2. remove trailing single quote and closing bracket.
 *  3. split at following sequence ...
 *     - single quote, optional white space sequence (OWSS),
 *       comma, OWSS, single quote.
 */
console.log(`"${ sample }"`);

console.log(sample
  .replace(/^\['/, '')
  .replace(/'\]$/, '')
  .split(/'\s*,\s*'/g)
);

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