Javascript Regex Matching Everything

Question

I have this bit of Javascript,

if (/[A-Za-z0-9-]+/.test(sZip)) {
   alert(Match!);
}

and I'm using this as my test case "1234;"

I don't want "1234;" to be a match, I want only for example "1234" or "12 34" or "12-34" to match.

@exiva, if you want to match everything, then "12 34" should not be matched since it contains a space. Or did you forget to include it in your character class? — Bart Kiers
– Bart Kiers, Commented Oct 4, 2011 at 9:59

Guillaume · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-04 09:33:09Z

5

/[A-Za-z0-9-]+$/

(The $ is the key: it means end of string, no more characters)

answered Oct 4, 2011 at 9:33

Guillaume

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2 Comments

Bart Kiers Over a year ago

Sorry, I previously made a comment recommending to add the ^, but it looks like this should probably not be done (see my comment beneath Boldewyn's answer).

Guillaume Over a year ago

Hmm true that, removed again :)

Boldewyn · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-04 09:59:20Z

3

Start the regular expression with ^ and end it with $. This way you tell it to match the whole string against the pattern. MDN docs.

If you want the space matched, you need to include it in the brackets. For space and dash to delimit alphanum fields, take this approach:

/^([A-Za-z0-9]+[ -])*[A-Za-z0-9]+$/
---^ 0 or more "ABC123-" fields
---------------^ separated by either dash or space
---------------------^ but at least once a "ABC123" field (no dash)

edited Oct 4, 2011 at 9:59

answered Oct 4, 2011 at 9:33

Boldewyn

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2 Comments

Bart Kiers Over a year ago

Hmm, I don't think the OP wants the ^ since he want "12 34" to be matched, which contains a space that is not contained in his char-set [A-Za-z0-9-].

Boldewyn Over a year ago

Let's ask him. I got the need for ^ from the question title.

Prince John Wesley · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-04 09:33:24Z

2

    if (/[A-Za-z0-9-]+$/.test(sZip)) { 
      alert(Match!); 
    }

answered Oct 4, 2011 at 9:33

Prince John Wesley

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Comments

Karl Mendes · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-04 09:46:49Z

0

This should work:

if (/[A-Za-z0-9-]+\s/.test(sZip)) {
   alert(Match!);
}

edited Oct 4, 2011 at 9:46

answered Oct 4, 2011 at 9:41

Karl Mendes

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