CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptsearch
smashp
smashp

Reputation: 163

javascript regular expression .search

i have a little problem with .search

this is the code

// filter - posts
jQuery('.filter_by').live('click',function(){
    var target_fi = jQuery(this);
    var target_cat = target_fi.parents('.cat').children('.namechanger').val(); 
    target_fi.next().fadeIn(100);


    var cat_all = target_fi.prev().find("option").each(function(i){
        if(jQuery(this).attr('data-cats').search(target_cat)  == -1){
            jQuery(this).css({"display":"none"});
        }
    });


});

I want to use the variable target_cat with .search

I can't do this .search(/target_cat/)

Upvotes: 1

Views: 388

Answers (3)

rodneyrehm
rodneyrehm

Reputation: 13557

To convert anything into a regular expression, simply drop it into the constructor:

var something = "foobar"; var expression = new RegExp(something, 'i');

note the second argument for flags. See RegExp for more info on the constructor and Regular Expressions for details on how things work.

If your something contains "special characters" (such as |, ?, {) you need to escape them, if you want them to be meant literally (/foo?/ vs. /foo\?/). Here's a function that'll esacpe all relevant characters for you:

function escapeRegEx(string) {
  return string.replace(/([.*+?^=!:${}()|[\]\/\\])/g, '\\$1');
}
  • You are using jQuery.live, but should use jQuery.on instead
  • You are using .search() when .match() suffices
  • You are using the explicit jQuery(this).css({"display":"none"}); when jQuery(this).hide(); suffices
  • note that you are repeating jQuery(this) in your loop - one should be enough - variables are your friends.

Upvotes: 1

DDK
DDK

Reputation: 1038

You need to create RegExp object and pass that to search method

if(jQuery(this).attr('data-cats').search(new RegExp(target_cat)) == -1 )){
...
}

Upvotes: 1

Xophmeister
Xophmeister

Reputation: 9211

If you want to make a regular expression out of the string value of target_cat, then you can do this:

var mySearchTerm = new RegExp(target_cat);

...

if(jQuery(this).attr('data-cats').search(mySearchTerm)  == -1){

Upvotes: 1

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