CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptregex
travVT
travVT

Reputation: 13

Get First Sentence with Regex (JavaScript)

I've created a regular expression for JavaScript that's supposed to "some what smartly" get the first sentence from a string of text/sentences. I used RegExr to create and test it:

https://regexr.com/3uhoj

However, when I actually implement that regular expression:

/.*(.)(?=\s[A-Z])/g

In my JavaScript code I'm using split and I'm getting everything but the first sentence. Here's the output:

[ '', '.', ' Saturday, troopers got a report that […]' ]

If any RegEx masters see the error in my ways, and/or have any tips or solutions, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks!

PS: Yes, I've already searched for this...

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1664

Answers (1)

wp78de
wp78de

Reputation: 18950

Try it like this:

const regex = /.*?(\.)(?=\s[A-Z])/;
const str = `© 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Four area men between the ages of 18 and 20 were arrested early this morning on a variety of charges in an overnight burglary at the Tater Hill Golf Course in Windham. According to a Vermont State Police press release, at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, troopers got a report that […]`;
let m;

if ((m = regex.exec(str)) !== null) {
console.log(m[0]);
}

I use a lazy regex match without the g flag to only retrieve the first result.

Or go with a negated character class as it is more efficient: /^[^.]+\.(?= [A-Z])/

Upvotes: 1

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