Using a function defined in a variable

Question

I found this code on another question, but am not sure how to use it:

var text = document.getElementById("text").innerHTML;
    text = text.replace(/"z"/g, 
           function(n){ return ++n });
document.write(text);

It's exactly what I need, but I'm not sure how to pass a number to the function. Essentially, I have a large list of csv (comma delimited) items and need to look for each occurrence of "z" and replace it with a number incremented by one. The code is here, but I'm just not knowledgeable yet to know how to use it.

I've placed my text witch needs to be replaced inside of a div with an id of text. Any ideas?

What are some of the values you're trying to replace, and what should they be replaced with? — Brad Mace, Mar 12 '11 at 05:35

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 12 '11 at 05:46

Define a variable n before that code:

var n = 0;

Remove the n argument from the function, so you have

function(){ return ++n });

The n then refers to the variable you defined and the function requires no arguments.

The argument n was the matched text in the question you referenced. In this case, that text is irrelevant, as it is always z.

document.write is generally not a good idea. It would be better to replace it by assigning to the innerHTML of an element of your choice.

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 12 '11 at 05:42

0

The value passed into the function in the variable n is what's been found in the string. That's a number in the question you've referenced but here it's text (the letter 'z'). Instead of using the text that was found you can just create a global variable and use that instead:

var text = document.getElementById("text").innerHTML;
var num = 0;
text = text.replace(/z/g, function(n){ return ++num });
document.write(text);

(Also note that you need to get rid of the quotes around the 'z' character).

answered Mar 12 '11 at 05:42

Ewan Heming

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the quotes are required as part of the string I'm searching for. – mindfullsilence Mar 12 '11 at 05:51
OK, but apart from that the code should do what you want of you put the quotes back in – Ewan Heming Mar 12 '11 at 05:59

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 12 '11 at 05:43

If I read the code correctly. It takes the inner html from a single element with id=text.

e.g the span elements below:

<div id="text">
   <span id="exzzzample">maybe CSV data is here z</span>
   <span>More CSV Data z z z z</span>
</div>

It then replaces each z with a number that keeps incrementing. This would be:

   <span id="ex123ample">maybe CSV data is here 4</span>
   <span>More CSV Data 5 6 7 8</span>

The starting value of n can be set outside of this (the line before your code starts) with:

   var n = 567; // An arbitrary starting value.

Note that any "z" in the attributes of contained elements will also be replaced as per my example. "z" should at least be very unique if you decide to solve your problem this way.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 12 '11 at 06:20

you need to fix the id of the element you're replacing the text into. This works:

<script>
var n = 0;
 function replaceText() {
     var text = document.getElementById("text").innerHTML;
     text = text.replace(/"z"/g, function(){ return ++n });

     // Changed to be placed here as suggested
     document.getElementById("text").innerHTML = text;
}
</script>
<div id="text">
    "6","z","AAA 101 - College 101:Student Experience","Introduces students to college culture and prepares...","1"
</div>
<input type="button" value="Find" onClick="replaceText();">

Using a function defined in a variable

4 Answers4