Get everything after - and space, regex javascript

Question

Input

ABC - MMM

Expected output

MMM

Everything after - and a space

Tried this (-\s).+

But I dont get rid of - and space.

https://regex101.com/r/0W7lhD/2

@ctwheels *Get everything after - and space, **regex** javascript* — Ele, Mar 19 '18 at 16:29
@Ele yep, why use regex though when there's a string function to do just that? K.I.S.S. :) — ctwheels, Mar 19 '18 at 16:30
You're capturing the dash and the space by putting them in the parentheses. Put the parentheses on the thing you want to capture. — SaganRitual, Mar 19 '18 at 16:30
If you still want a regex after @ctwheels comment, capture the characters after the dash and space : `-\s(.+)` — Logar, Mar 19 '18 at 16:31
@ctwheels the OP shows a sample, probably s/he needs to solve this using regex rather than split. — Ele, Mar 19 '18 at 16:33
@Ele why though? If there's a better method. Why use a screwdriver to hit a nail into wood if you have a hammer? — ctwheels, Mar 19 '18 at 16:33
@ctwheels Agree, however, you're assuming because the OP probably thought about the split and once again, s/he needs to solve this with regex. — Ele, Mar 19 '18 at 16:38

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 19 '18 at 16:41

So there are multiple ways to go about this. The easiest and potentially best method is not to use regex at all.

Method 1 - split

Of course, you'd add a check to ensure that the element [1] exists, but this shows you the general idea of getting MMM.

console.log("ABC - MMM".split(" - ")[1])

Method 2 - regex group

This method groups everything you want into capture group 1.

console.log("ABC - MMM".match(/-\s(.+)/)[1])

Method 3 - regex lookbehind

This one was suggested by Andrew Bone in his answer here. While this works, it's currently only supported on Chrome 62+ (lookbehinds have little support in browsers at the moment). You can see the RegExp Lookbehind Assertions proposal here as part of EMCA TC39.

console.log("ABC - MMM".match(/(?<=-\s).+/)[0])

Andrew Bone · Answer 2 · 2018-03-19T16:48:54.507

1

You want to use positive lookbehind which means look for things after, but not including, a pattern. The syntax is ?<=

(?<=-\s).+

Here is some further reading

Though this is the correct way to do this it's worth noting, as @ctwheels points out, support is currently very limited.

EDIT:

You can use split to turn the string into an array and then return the last string in the array.

This is a slightly long winded way to do it but I think it is more readable this way.

var string = "ADSD - ASDASD";
var regex = /(-\s)/;

function matchAfter(string, pattern) {
  var short = string.split(pattern);
  return short[short.length - 1];
}

console.log(matchAfter(string, regex));

edited Mar 19 '18 at 16:48

answered Mar 19 '18 at 16:34

Andrew Bone

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Only works in Chrome 62+ at the moment – ctwheels Mar 19 '18 at 16:34
looks like it is a bit of an overkill, even if it indeed gets you the full match without the dash and space – Logar Mar 19 '18 at 16:37
I need it to work in IE11 – Joe Mar 19 '18 at 16:40

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 19 '18 at 16:43

0

You can capture the groups and get the last element from the array.

console.log(("ABC - MMM".match(/-\s+(.+)/) || []).pop());

answered Mar 19 '18 at 16:43

Ele

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Get everything after - and space, regex javascript

3 Answers3