Replace string including asterisk in Javascript

Question

I am trying to replace the same string *a*a consistently with *a.

Tried many variations of something like this, but none really worked:

s = s.replace( /\b*a*a\b/g, "*a");

So far running this leads to all xzy*a being replaced with xyz

Answer 1

An asterisk is a special regex character.

You just have to escape it like this: \*a in place of *a

Answer 2

* is a special regex character. If you want to match only an actual asterisk, then you have to escape it like this:

s = s.replace( /\*a\*a/g, "*a");

Working demo: http://jsfiddle.net/jfriend00/gvgshwyz/