@stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string

What is @stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string?

@stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string is a utility package that provides functionality to escape special characters in a string so that it can be used within a regular expression. This is particularly useful when you need to dynamically create regular expressions from user input or other sources that may contain characters with special meanings in regex.

What are @stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string's main functionalities?

Escape special characters in a string

This feature allows you to escape all special characters in a string so that the string can be safely used in a regular expression. In the example, the input string contains characters like '.', '?', and '()' which are escaped to '\.', '\?', and '\(\)' respectively.

const escapeRegExpString = require('@stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string');
const str = 'Hello. How are you? (I hope you are well)';
const escapedStr = escapeRegExpString(str);
console.log(escapedStr); // Output: 'Hello\. How are you\? \(I hope you are well\)'

Other packages similar to @stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string

escape-string-regexp

The 'escape-string-regexp' package provides similar functionality to @stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string. It escapes special characters in a string to make it safe for use in a regular expression. The main difference is that 'escape-string-regexp' is a smaller, more focused package with a single purpose, whereas @stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string is part of the larger @stdlib library which includes a wide range of utilities.

lodash.escaperegexp

The 'lodash.escaperegexp' function is part of the Lodash library, which is a utility library offering a wide range of functions for common programming tasks. 'lodash.escaperegexp' escapes special characters in a string for use in a regular expression. Compared to @stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string, Lodash is a more comprehensive library with many additional utilities beyond just escaping regex strings.

README

rescape

Escape a regular expression string or pattern.

Installation

npm install @stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string

Usage

var rescape = require( '@stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string' );

rescape( str )

Escapes a regular expression string or pattern.

var str = rescape( '/[A-Z]*/' );
// returns '/\\[A\\-Z\\]\\*/'

str = rescape( '[A-Z]*' );
// returns '\\[A\\-Z\\]\\*'

If provided a value which is not a primitive string, the function throws a TypeError.

try {
    rescape( null );
    // throws an error...
} catch ( err ) {
    console.error( err );
}

• The following characters have special meaning inside of regular expressions and need to be escaped in case the characters should be treated literally:

  description	value
  Backslash	\
  Braces	{ }
  Brackets	[ ]
  Caret	^
  Dollar Sign	$
  Forward Slash	/
  Asterisk	*
  Parentheses	( )
  Period	.
  Plus Sign	+
  Vertical Bar	|
  Question Mark	?

Examples

var rescape = require( '@stdlib/utils-escape-regexp-string' );

var out = rescape( '/beep/' );
// returns '/beep/'

out = rescape( 'beep' );
// returns 'beep'

out = rescape( '/[A-Z]*/' );
// returns '/\\[A\\-Z\\]\\*/'

out = rescape( '[A-Z]*' );
// returns '\\[A\\-Z\\]\\*'

out = rescape( '/\\\//ig' );
// returns '/\\\\\\\//ig'

out = rescape( '\\\/' );
// returns '\\\\\\\/'

out = rescape( '/[A-Z]{0,}/' );
// returns '/\\[A\\-Z\\]\\{0,\\}/'

out = rescape( '[A-Z]{0,}' );
// returns '\\[A\\-Z\\]\\{0,\\}'

out = rescape( '/^boop$/' );
// returns '/\\^boop\\$/'

out = rescape( '^boop$' );
// returns '\\^boop\\$'

out = rescape( '/(?:.*)/' );
// returns '/\\(\\?:\\.\\*\\)/'

out = rescape( '(?:.*)' );
// returns '\\(\\?:\\.\\*\\)'

out = rescape( '/(?:beep|boop)/' );
// returns '/\\(\\?:beep\\|boop\\)/'

out = rescape( '(?:beep|boop)' );
// returns '\\(\\?:beep\\|boop\\)'

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Notice

This package is part of stdlib, a standard library for JavaScript and Node.js, with an emphasis on numerical and scientific computing. The library provides a collection of robust, high performance libraries for mathematics, statistics, streams, utilities, and more.

For more information on the project, filing bug reports and feature requests, and guidance on how to develop stdlib, see the main project repository.

Community

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License

See LICENSE.

Copyright

Copyright © 2016-2021. The Stdlib Authors.