Why this regex isnt working?

Question

Im trying to split cookies into gropus using this regex (.*?=.*?); ? What i meant to get is a cookie in each regex group. But it's only giving me the first group that match.

var string = userid=edaa4200-b140-47fd-9db8-b48082a0d0a8; ab_93896527=0;

edit : I'm using exec() function

var cookies_tuples = /(.*?=.*?); ?/g.exec(string);

what could be the problem ?

How are you running it? `"userid=edaa4200-b140-47fd-9db8-b48082a0d0a8; ab_93896527=0;".match(/(.*?=.*?); ?/g)` returns the two goups. — Denys Séguret, Jan 13 '17 at 15:05
WebStorm using nodejs, but even in Regexr.com i get this problem i used the exec() function — limitless, Jan 13 '17 at 15:06
you have to call `exec` multiple times. http://stackoverflow.com/a/9216715/244811 — Scott Weaver, Jan 13 '17 at 15:08

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 13 '17 at 15:47

2

you have to call exec multiple times, even with the global flag enabled:

    var re = /(.*?=.*?);\s?/g;
    var input = "userid=edaa4200-b140-47fd-9db8-b48082a0d0a8; ab_93896527=0;";
    var myArray;
    while ((myArray = re.exec(input)) != null)
    {
      var msg = "Found " + myArray[0];
      console.log(msg);
    }

edited Jan 13 '17 at 15:47

Wagner DosAnjos

6,304
1
15
29

answered Jan 13 '17 at 15:17

Scott Weaver

7,192
2
31
43

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 13 '17 at 15:45

Just use the string.match method as indicated below. If you use RegEx.exec you'll need to iterate to get all the matches.

var s = "userid=edaa4200-b140-47fd-9db8-b48082a0d0a8; ab_93896527=0;"
var cookies_tuples = s.match(/(.*?=.*?); ?/g);

console.log(cookies_tuples);

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 13 '17 at 15:09

0

in https://regex101.com/ it gives me both cookies. You havo to run it greedy <- with the g-flag

and bevor anyone can complain, you need 50 Reputation to comment, so I just wrote an answer ;)

answered Jan 13 '17 at 15:09

Maria

151
2
9

1

the `g` flag is for global, not to be confused with greedy `.*` vs non-greedy `.*?` tokens. – Scott Weaver Jan 13 '17 at 15:11
sorry, my bad - shitty memory help on my side ^^ – Maria Jan 13 '17 at 15:13

Why this regex isnt working?

3 Answers3