JavaScript search using includes method in js with exact match

Question

Here is my code and the problem is whether you search for "remember" or "member" it returns the result.As 'remember' has 'member' and I just want to search for exact matches. I should not return anything when I search for 'member'.

txt= `38
00:04:17.795 --> 00:04:23.551
Two previous cases
were open and shut.

39
00:04:23.601 --> 00:04:29.140
It was January 3, 1995,
my daughter's birthday.

40
00:04:29.140 --> 00:04:30.441
I remember.`

const searchedWord = 'member';
var res = txt
  .toLowerCase()
  .split('\n\n')
  .filter((x) => {
    return x.includes(searchedWord.toLowerCase());
  });

console.log(res);

That's what String.includes does--maybe it isn't the best way to search a string for a boundary-based complete word? (That's a hint.) — Dave Newton, Dec 19 '21 at 15:45

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 19 '21 at 15:46

It sounds like you want to require word breaks on either side of the word you're searching for. You can do that with a regular expression:

const searchRegex = /\bmember\b/i; // ***
var res = txt
  .toLowerCase()
  .split('\n\n')
  .filter((x) => {
    return searchRegex.test(x);    // ***
  });

Live Example:

const txt = `38
00:04:17.795 --> 00:04:23.551
Two previous cases
were open and shut.

39
00:04:23.601 --> 00:04:29.140
It was January 3, 1995,
my daughter's birthday.

40
00:04:29.140 --> 00:04:30.441
I remember.

41
He was a member of the club

42
Something else`;

const searchRegex = /\bmember\b/i;
var res = txt
  .toLowerCase()
  .split('\n\n')
  .filter((x) => {
    return searchRegex.test(x);
  });

console.log(res);

If you need to create the regular expression dynamically (that is, starting with a string variable or similar containing "member"), see this question's answers and, if relevant, this one's.

JavaScript search using includes method in js with exact match

1 Answers1