How can I use JavaScript regex to extract the first term to the left of a specific symbol?

Question

How can I use JavaScript regex to extract the first term to the left of a specific symbol?

Having a string in this format

str = "Is toffee=sweet?"

I need to retrieve the first term on the left side of =, which in this case is toffee.

To accomplish this, I use the following code snippet:

str.split("=")[0].split(" ").splice(-1,1)[0]

This returns toffee

However, if the string contains extra spaces like below:

str = "Is toffee   =sweet?"

The result will be an empty string

Is there a regular expression (regex) that can always capture the first word on the left side of =, regardless of the number of spaces present?

javascript regex

Answer 1

Answer №1

To achieve the desired result, you can use the regex pattern \s*=\s* to split the string in a way that ensures spaces around the equal sign are included:

const str = "Is toffee   =sweet?"
console.log(str.split(/ *= */)[0].split(" ").splice(-1,1)[0]);

Alternatively, using the match function might provide a clearer solution instead of splitting and splicing:

const str = "Is toffee   =sweet?"
const match = str.match(/\w+(?= *=)/);
console.log(match[0]);

The regex pattern \w+(?= *=) matches one or more word characters followed by zero or more spaces and an equal sign.

Answer 2

To achieve the desired result, you can use the regex pattern \s*=\s* to split the string in a way that ensures spaces around the equal sign are included:

const str = "Is toffee   =sweet?"
console.log(str.split(/ *= */)[0].split(" ").splice(-1,1)[0]);

Alternatively, using the match function might provide a clearer solution instead of splitting and splicing:

const str = "Is toffee   =sweet?"
const match = str.match(/\w+(?= *=)/);
console.log(match[0]);

The regex pattern \w+(?= *=) matches one or more word characters followed by zero or more spaces and an equal sign.

How can I use JavaScript regex to extract the first term to the left of a specific symbol?

Answer №1

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Answer №1

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