Regular Expression Object (Windows Scripting - JScript)

An object that contains a regular expression pattern along with flags that identify how to apply the pattern.

Syntax

re = /pattern/[flags]

Syntax

re = new RegExp("pattern"[,"flags"]) 

Arguments

• re
  Required. The variable name to which the regular expression pattern is assigned.

• pattern
  Required. The regular expression pattern to use. If you use Syntax 1, delimit the pattern by "/" characters. If you use Syntax 2, enclose the pattern in quotation marks.

• flags
  Optional. Enclose flag in quotation marks if you use Syntax 2. Available flags, which may be combined, are:

  • g (global search for all occurrences of pattern)

  • i (ignore case)

  • m (multiline search)

Remarks

The Regular Expression object should not be confused with the global RegExp object. Even though they sound the same, they are separate and distinct. The properties of the Regular Expression object contain only information about one particular Regular Expression instance, while the properties of the global RegExp object contain continually updated information about each match as it occurs.

Regular Expression objects store patterns used when searching strings for character combinations. After the Regular Expression object is created, it is either passed to a string method, or a string is passed to one of the regular expression methods. Information about the most recent search performed is stored in the global RegExp object.

Use Syntax 1 when you know the search string ahead of time. Use Syntax 2 when the search string is changing frequently, or is unknown, such as strings taken from user input.

The pattern argument is compiled into an internal format before use. For Syntax 1, pattern is compiled as the script is loaded. For Syntax 2, pattern is compiled just before use, or when the compile method is called.

The following example illustrates the use of the Regular Expression object by creating an object (re) containing a regular expression pattern with its associated flags. In this case, the resulting Regular Expression object is then used by the match method:

function MatchDemo(){
   var s = "through the pages of the book";

// Create regular expression pattern.
   var re = new RegExp("the", "i");

// Attempt match on search string.
   var r = s.match(re);   

// Return first occurrence of "the".
   return(r);         
}

Properties

global Property | ignoreCase Property | multiline Property | source Property

Methods

compile Method | exec Method | test Method

Requirements

Version 3

Change History

See Also

RegExp Object (Windows Scripting - JScript)
Regular Expression Syntax (Scripting)
String Object (Windows Scripting - JScript)