How can I split a string with a JavaScript regex?

Question

I'm trying to split this string into kind of a structure,

20:33:15     From Deekshitha Oku : Me too

into

{ time: "20:33:15", name: "Deekshitha Oku", message: "Me too" }

So for that, I wrote a Regex,

(([0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9])(.*?)(From)\s(.*?).:\s(.*?).+

But it's not what I expecting, it wired here. What I expect is something like this,

[
  "20:33:15",
  "Deekshitha Oku",
  "Me too"
]

const match = "20:33:15     From Deekshitha Oku : Me too".match(/(([0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9])(.*?)(From)\s(.*?).:\s(.*?).+/);

console.log(match);

What is the issue with this regex, I was tried many different ways :(

You have too many capture groups in your regex. Each time you use a new set of parentheses, you create a new capture group, and thus a new result in your regex result. Instead, use non capturing groups starting with (?: except for when you actually want the content inside that capture group to be returned to you. — jeffkmeng
– jeffkmeng, Commented Mar 1, 2021 at 16:39

blaumeise20 · Accepted Answer · 2021-03-01 17:04:23Z

3

Try to change your regex to this:

^((?:[0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9]).*?From\s(.*?).:\s(.*).+$

Then you can generate the object:

const match = "20:33:15     From Deekshitha Oku : Me too".match(/^((?:[0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9]).*?From\s(.*?).:\s(.*).+$/);
const object = { time: match[1], name: match[2], message: match[3] };

console.log(object);

EDIT: Using named capture groups, you can just use match.name etc. and don't have to generate a new object:

const match = "20:33:15     From Deekshitha Oku : Me too".match(/^(?<time>(?:[0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9]).*?From\s(?<name>.*?).:\s(?<message>.*)$/).groups;

console.log(match);

Note the added .groups after the match call.

edited Mar 1, 2021 at 17:04

answered Mar 1, 2021 at 16:36

blaumeise20

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2 Comments

0xdw Over a year ago

Anyhow above regex skips the last character, so I found this working ^(?<time>(?:[0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9]).*?From\s(?<name>.*?).:\s*(?<message>.*$)$

blaumeise20 Over a year ago

Yeah, my fault, I fixed it in my answer.

MonkeyZeus · Accepted Answer · 2021-03-01 16:35:02Z

1

Don't split, put your captures into named capture groups:

(?<time>^.{1,8}) *From (?<person>[^:]+?)(?= *:) *: *(?<message>.*$)

https://regex101.com/r/BAMv5K/1

console.log(/(?<time>^.{1,8}) *From (?<person>[^:]+?)(?= *:) *: *(?<message>.*$)/.exec(`20:33:15     From Deekshitha Oku : Me too`).groups)

answered Mar 1, 2021 at 16:35

MonkeyZeus

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Comments

Joe Hildebrand · Accepted Answer · 2021-03-01 16:42:34Z

1

I think you just need some small tweaks:

/((?:[0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9])\s*From\s*([^:]*):\s*(.*)/

First, don't use parens when you don't want to capture the information (like you had around From). Second, use (?:) instead of () if you just want the parens for grouping, not for capturing. Third, non-greedy matches are more complicated and error-prone than a construct like [^:]* (in my opinion). Saying "match all not-colon" is more explicit.

See https://regex101.com/r/3dLjbV/1 to play with my attempt at your problem.

answered Mar 1, 2021 at 16:42

Joe Hildebrand

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