CODEWITHSUNDEEP
express
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Reputation: 9443

Unable to retain special characters in expressjs router URL request

Im trying to query a record from database using this criteria: VITAMINS + ZINC 100MG/10MG PER 5ML SYRUP

This is what my request url looks like:

http://localhost:4200/api/search?key=VITAMINS%20+%20ZINC%20100MG/10MG%20PER%205ML%20SYRUP

Here is my express router looks like:

router.get('/search', (req, res, next) => {
  const query = req.query;
  console.log(query.key);

  .... omitted

});

The problem here is i can't retain the + special character and thus end up getting this log printed which is not the original criteria inside the router.

VITAMINS   ZINC 100MG/10MG PER 5ML SYRUP

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1446

Answers (1)

Ankit
Ankit

Reputation: 1510

In terms of URI, + character is one of the reserved characters.

When a character from the reserved set (a "reserved character") has special meaning (a "reserved purpose") in a certain context, and a URI scheme says that it is necessary to use that character for some other purpose, then the character must be percent-encoded.

In your case, query string needs to be percent-encoded before hitting the URL at client side :

encodeURIComponent("VITAMIN + ZINC")

And then at server side (i.e. express) decode the query using decodeURIComponent().

Upvotes: 2

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