Ways to remove or modify all characters in a string except for the first one

Greetings everyone! I am seeking some advice on regex as I continue to learn more about it. My query is this: In JavaScript, how can I replace or delete all characters except for the first one in a string?

For example, let's say I have the string "apple" and I only want to keep the first character "a".

Answer №1

To eliminate all characters except the first one(s) in a string, there is no requirement for regular expressions.

Simply utilize the .slice() method:

'banana'.slice(0, 1);
// 'b'

You also have the option to directly access the first character by using the .charAt() method:

'banana'.charAt(0);
// 'b'

If you prefer using the .replace() method, you can implement the following approach:

'banana'.replace(/(^.).*/, '$1');
// 'b'
  • In regular expressions, the . character matches any single character.
  • The capture group (^.) captures the initial character of the string.
  • .* matches zero or more instances of any character that follow (* indicates zero or more occurrences).
  • Thus, we are essentially substituting everything with the first captured group, '$1'.

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