Solid javascript encode uri

Question

I've read this and more articles:

When are you supposed to use escape instead of encodeURI / encodeURIComponent?

Still I have not found a solid encode/decode uri solution.

Let's say I have these variables

var first = 'Hello&and';
var second = "Let's have cite";
var third = 'And "hash,.#$';
var fourth = 'åäö other strange chars';

An unencoded url would be:

var url 'http://example.com/?first=' + first + '&second=' + second + '&third=' + third + '&fourth=' + fourth;

Later it should be in an ajax request like:

xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.open('POST', url );

I tried this:

var url 'http://example.com/?first=' + encodeURIComponent(first);

But it does not work with #. So what is a solid encoding solution for all characters?

I don't use jQuery, just javascript.

As i understand `encodeURIComponent` is for params.. And the `encodeURI` is for the URL... http://i.imgur.com/2xKpYd0.png In your case the `#` should use `encodeURIComponent` (%23) When you say it doesnt work, what do you mean ? — Pogrindis, Jul 07 '16 at 08:11
You'll have to be a bit more specific about what "does not work with `#`" means: `encodeURIComponent('And "hash,.#$')` → `"And%20%22hash%2C.%23%24"`. — deceze, Jul 07 '16 at 08:15
@Krishnakumar_Muraleedharan do not use escape, The escape and unescape functions are deprecated. https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Deprecated_and_obsolete_features — Pogrindis, Jul 07 '16 at 10:39

A. Tapper · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-07T08:22:27.330

2

Use the encodeURIComponent when encoding uri parameters. When you encode a hashtag with that function it will result in the string "%23".

So in your example:

var first = 'Hello&and';
var second = "Let's have cite";
var third = 'And "hash,.#$';
var fourth = 'åäö other strange chars';
var url = 'http://example.com/?first=' + encodeURIComponent(first) + '&second=' + encodeURIComponent(second) + '&third=' + encodeURIComponent(third) + '&fourth=' + encodeURIComponent(fourth);

Will result in the url variable containing the string:

http://example.com/?first=Hello%26and&second=Let's%20have%20cite&third=And%20%22hash%2C.%23%24&fourth=%C3%A5%C3%A4%C3%B6%20other%20strange%20chars

More information of the encodeURIComponent function can be found here.

(citation from w3 school) This function encodes special characters. In addition, it encodes the following characters: , / ? : @ & = + $ #

edited Jul 07 '16 at 08:22

answered Jul 07 '16 at 08:17

A. Tapper

1,261
8
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Is it solid in every case with every input? or is it breakable? – Jens Törnell Jul 07 '16 at 08:31
That W3S citation is terrible. "Special characters in addition to ". What is a "special" character?! Better quote MDN: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/encodeURIComponent – deceze Jul 07 '16 at 08:40
1

@Jens The function is designed so you can transport any arbitrary value as part of the URL. So, yes, it is solid. Unless you can prove otherwise... – deceze Jul 07 '16 at 08:48

score -2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 07 '16 at 09:19

-2

You can try using escape() function. This has saved me many-a times.

escape('#') does yield %23.

answered Jul 07 '16 at 09:19

Krishnakumar_Muraleedharan

439
3
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The escape and unescape functions are deprecated. https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Deprecated_and_obsolete_features – Pogrindis Jul 07 '16 at 10:40

Solid javascript encode uri

2 Answers2