Splitting text in JS by whitespaces

Question

I want to split a line of text by whitespaces (i.e. get rid of all whitespaces and leave the rest as separate elements). I have this code:

line.split(/\s+/);

but it doesn't work exactly how I want. For example hi there! it splits to: [hi,there!,] (notice 1 empty element at the end of the array). How to split a line without that last empty element?

Just trim the string first, and then do the split. – Šime Vidas Nov 28 '12 at 01:16 — Šime Vidas, Nov 28 '12 at 01:16

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:15

4

Are you sure there isn't an empty space at the end of your string? Cuz it's working for me.

In any case, try this:

line.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,'').split(/\s+/);

This will remove any whitespace from the start and end of the string before splitting.

answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:15

Niet the Dark Absol

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As i suspected the problem was in windows style EOL encoding. I didn't have spaces at the end of lane but `\r` formed the last 'empty' element. Anyway, your solution is universal (works both with windows and unix style encodings) so that's what I was looking for. Thx! – NPS Nov 28 '12 at 01:37
Just wondering - is there a reason why you use the `g` mod when using `^ $`? I'm probably misunderstanding the uses – Ian Nov 28 '12 at 01:44
If the string has spaces at the start and the end, these are two separate matches of the regex and both need replacing. Hence the need for `g`. – Niet the Dark Absol Nov 28 '12 at 01:58
Ahh! Yes, I don't know why I didn't think of that logic. That makes sense, thanks. – Ian Nov 28 '12 at 02:09

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:17

2

call .trim() before splitting the String, it will remove whitespaces before and after your String

answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:17

Valentino Ru

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`.trim()` is ES5 and [not yet fully supported](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/Trim) – Michael Berkowski Nov 28 '12 at 01:18
AFAIK javascript doesn't have a native implementation of `trim()` yet! – bPratik Nov 28 '12 at 01:19
@MichaelBerkowski IE8 gets ES5-shim via conditional comment. Now, let's use the ES5 API, for goodness' sake `:P` – Šime Vidas Nov 28 '12 at 01:36
@bPratik [Sure it has](http://ecma-international.org/ecma-262/5.1/#sec-15.5.4.20) `:)` – Šime Vidas Nov 28 '12 at 01:37

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:18

2

line.trim().split(/\s+/);

This should do what you want.

answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:18

Andrew Hubbs

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Fair enough. It has it in modern browsers though. – Andrew Hubbs Nov 28 '12 at 01:19
Sorry, just looked it up, should work on anything I want to use as a browser (and to hell with IE8) +1 – Amadan Nov 28 '12 at 01:20
A pretty good SO post on how to add it too. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/498970/how-do-i-trim-a-string-in-javascript – Andrew Hubbs Nov 28 '12 at 01:22
@AndrewHubbs What do you mean? `.trim()` also handles leading space. – Šime Vidas Nov 28 '12 at 01:43
Thanks @ŠimeVidas. Didn't realize it did. Removing my initial comment. – Andrew Hubbs Nov 28 '12 at 01:51

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:45

0

Wouldn't it be easier to do

line.match(/\S+/g); // => ["hi", "there!"]

answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:45

Bruno

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score -1 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:15

-1

Why not simply use

line.split(' ');

it splits "Hi there!" into

["hi", "there!"]

answered Nov 28 '12 at 01:15

bPratik

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Because multiple consecutive whitespaces would result in empty array elements. – Michael Berkowski Nov 28 '12 at 01:16
`"hi there!".split(' '); ["hi", "", "", "there!"]` – Michael Berkowski Nov 28 '12 at 01:17
@MichaelBerkowski - ah yes, oversight on my part! – bPratik Nov 28 '12 at 01:17

Splitting text in JS by whitespaces

5 Answers5