The regular expression is not matching the expected pattern

Here is an interesting scenario involving a Javascript regular expression matching operation:

"class1 MsoClass2\tmsoclass3\t MSOclass4 msoc5".match(/(^|\s)mso.*?(\s|$)/ig);

When running this operation, the expected result would be

[" MsoClass2\t", "\tmsoclass3\t", " MSOclass4 ", " msoc5"]
. Surprisingly, it actually returns [" MsoClass2\t", " MSOclass4 "].

This discrepancy raises an important question:

Answer №1

Since the initial match consumes the tab character, there is no white space character left before the second MSO string. The same applies to the space after the second match.

You may consider matching word boundaries instead of the separating characters. Try using the following code:

"class1 MsoClass2\tmsoclass3\t MSOclass4 msoc5".match(/\bmso.*?\b/ig)

Result of the above code will be:

["MsoClass2","msoclass3","MSOclass4","msoc5"]

Answer №2

The tabulator character preceding msoclass3 has already been used in the initial match " MsoClass2\t". Consider utilizing a non-consuming look-ahead assertion instead:

/(^|\s)mso[^\s]*(?=\s|$)/

Answer №3

After identifying the " MsoClass2\t" match, the matcher moves on to analyze the m in msoclass3, which fails to match the preceding space.

Answer №4

The reason for this issue is that you are utilizing ^ OR \s (whitespace) for the initial match when there is NO whitespace in class 3 of the string. In order to achieve the desired results, try using the following code snippet within the match():

/mso.*?(\s|$)/ig

Answer №5

It's uncertain whether using something like (^|\s) and (\s|$) is advisable at first. It may require some careful consideration to fully grasp the regex pattern. Complex regex patterns can often be confusing and difficult to understand, which is not ideal.


If you're looking to match words that start with "mso", regardless of case sensitivity, a possible approach could be:

"class1 MsoClass2\tmsoclass3\t MSOclass4 msoc5".match(/\s?(mso[^\s]*)\s?/ig);

This will give you:

[" MsoClass2 ", "msoclass3 ", " MSOclass4 ", "msoc5"]

It's close to what you requested, with some slight differences in whitespace.

Alternatively, a simpler solution could be:

"class1 MsoClass2\tmsoclass3\t MSOclass4 msoc5".match(/(mso[^\s]*)/ig);

Providing you with:

["MsoClass2", "msoclass3", "MSOclass4", "msoc5"]

Without any extraneous whitespace.


This approach is easier to comprehend and more reader-friendly as well. :-)

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