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Javascript issue with precedence

I have built this function to replace a group of characters in a string by a random value from another list within a function:
function replaceExpr(a) {
var expToReplace = 0
var newSent = a
while (expToReplace == 0) {
if (a.search("zx") == -1) {
expToReplace = 1
} else {
var startPos = a.search("zx");
startPos += 2;
var endPos = a.search("xz");
var b = a.substring(startPos, endPos);
var fn = window[b];
if (typeof fn === "function") var newWord = fn();
final = newSent.replace("zx" + b + "xz", newWord);
newSent = final
a = a.replace("zx" + b + "xz", "")
}
}
return final
}
function appearance() {
var list = [
"attractive",
"fit",
"handsome",
"plain",
"short",
"tall",
"skinny",
"well-built",
"unkempt",
"unattractive"
]
return list[Math.floor(Math.random() * list.length)];
}
function personality() {
var list = [
"aggresive",
"absent-minded",
"cautious",
"detached from the real world",
"easygoing",
"focused",
"honest",
"dishonest",
"polite",
"uncivilized"
]
return list[Math.floor(Math.random() * list.length)];
}
An example :
var a = replaceExpr("Theodor is a zxappearancexz man. He seems rather zxpersonalityxz.")
alert(a)
// Theodor is a unattractive man. He seems rather cautious.
Everything works perfectly with the function but I have an issue related to it. As you can see, there's one grammar mistake : it's written "a unattractive" where it should be "an unattractive".
There's a function I usually use to to fix the a\an issue which is :
var AvsAnSimple = (function (root) {
//by Eamon Nerbonne (from http://home.nerbonne.org/A-vs-An), Apache 2.0 license
// finds if a word needs a "a" or "an" before it
var dict = "2h.#2.a;i;&1.N;*4.a;e;i;o;/9.a;e;h1.o.i;l1./;n1.o.o;r1.e.s1./;01.8;12.1a;01.0;12.8;9;2.31.7;4.5.6.7.8.9.8a;0a.0;1;2;3;4;5;6;7;8;9;11; .22; .–.31; .42; .–.55; .,.h.k.m.62; .k.72; .–.82; .,.92; .–.8;<2.m1.d;o;=1.=1.E;#;A6;A1;A1.S;i1;r1;o.m1;a1;r1; .n1;d1;a1;l1;u1;c1.i1.a1.n;s1;t1;u1;r1;i1;a1;s.t1;h1;l1;e1;t1;e1.s;B2.h2.a1.i1;r1;a.á;o1.r1.d1. ;C3.a1.i1.s1.s.h4.a2.i1.s1;e.o1.i;l1.á;r1.o1.í;u2.i;r1.r1.a;o1.n1.g1.j;D7.a1.o1.q;i2.n1.a1.s;o1.t;u1.a1.l1.c;á1. ;ò;ù;ư;E7;U1;R.b1;o1;l1;i.m1;p1;e1;z.n1;a1;m.s1;p5.a1.c;e;h;o;r;u1.l1;o.w1;i.F11. ;,;.;/;0;1;2;3;4;5;6;71.0.8;9;Ae;B.C.D.F.I2.L.R.K.L.M.N.P.Q.R.S.T.B;C1;M.D;E2.C;I;F1;r.H;I3.A1;T.R1. ;U;J;L3.C;N;P;M;O1. ;P1;..R2.A1. ;S;S;T1;S.U2.,;.;X;Y1;V.c;f1.o.h;σ;G7.e1.r1.n1.e;h1.a3.e;i;o;i1.a1.n1.g;o2.f1. ;t1.t1. ;r1.i1.a;w1.a1.r1.r;ú;Hs. ;&;,;.2;A.I.1;2;3;5;7;B1;P.C;D;F;G;H1;I.I6;C.G.N.P.S1.D;T.K1.9;L;M1;..N;O2. ;V;P;R1;T.S1.F.T;V;e2.i1.r;r1.r1.n;o2.n6;d.e1.s;g.k.o2;l.r1;i1.f;v.u1.r;I3;I2;*.I.n1;d1;e1;p1;e1;n1;d2;e1;n1;c1;i.ê.s1;l1;a1;n1;d1;s.J1.i1.a1.o;Ly. ;,;.;1;2;3;4;8;A3. ;P;X;B;C;D;E2. ;D;F1;T.G;H1.D.I1.R;L;M;N;P;R;S1;m.T;U1. ;V1;C.W1.T;Z;^;a1.o1.i1.g;o1.c1.h1.a1;b.p;u1.s1.h1;o.ộ;M15. ;&;,;.1;A1;.1;S./;1;2;3;4;5;6;7;8;Ai;B.C.D.F.G.J.L.M.N.P.R.S.T.V.W.X.Y.Z.B1;S1;T.C;D;E3.P1;S.W;n;F;G;H;I4. ;5;6;T1;M.K;L;M;N;O1.U;P;Q;R;S;T1;R.U2. ;V;V;X;b1.u1.m;f;h;o2.D1.e.U1;..p1.3;s1.c;Ny. ;+;.1.E.4;7;8;:;A3.A1;F.I;S1.L;B;C;D;E3.A;H;S1. ;F1;U.G;H;I7.C.D1. ;K.L.N.O.S.K;L;M1;M.N2.R;T;P1.O1.V1./1.B;R2;J.T.S1;W.T1;L1.D.U1.S;V;W2.A;O1.H;X;Y3.C1.L;P;U;a1.s1.a1.n;t1.h;v;²;×;O5;N1;E.l1;v.n2;c1.e.e1.i;o1;p.u1;i.P1.h2.i1.a;o2.b2;i.o.i;Q1.i1.n1.g1.x;Rz. ;&;,;.1;J./;1;4;6;A3. ;.;F1;T.B1;R.C;D;E3. ;S1.P;U;F;G;H1.S;I2.A;C1. ;J;K;L1;P.M5;1.2.3.5.6.N;O2.H;T2;A.O.P;Q;R1;F.S4;,...?.T.T;U4;B.M.N.S.V;X;c;f1;M1...h2.A;B;ò;S11. ;&;,;.4.E;M;O;T1..3.B;D;M;1;3;4;5;6;8;9;A3. ;8;S2;E.I.B;C3.A1. ;R2.A.U.T;D;E6. ;5;C3;A.O.R.I1.F.O;U;F3;&.H.O1.S.G1;D.H3.2;3;L;I2. ;S1.O.K2.I.Y.L3;A2. ;.;I1. ;O.M3;A1. ;I.U1.R.N5.A.C3.A.B.C.E.F.O.O5. ;A1.I;E;S1;U.V;P7;A7;A.C.D.M.N.R.S.E1. ;I4;C.D.N.R.L1;O.O.U.Y.Q1. ;R;S1;W.T9.A1. ;C;D;F;I;L;M;S;V;U7.B.L.M.N.P.R.S.V;W1.R;X1.M;h1.i1.g1.a1.o;p1.i1.o1;n.t2.B;i1.c1.i;T4.a2.i2.g1.a.s1.c;v1.e1.s;e1.a1.m1.p;u1.i2.l;r;à;Um..1.N1..1.C;/1.1;11. .21.1;L1.T;M1.N;N4.C1.L;D2. .P.K;R1. .a;b2;a.i.d;g1.l;i1.g.l2;i.y.m;no. ;a1.n.b;c;d;e1;s.f;g;h;i2.d;n;j;k;l;m;n;o;p;q;r;s;t;u;v;w;p;r3;a.e.u1.k;s3. ;h;t1;r.t4.h;n;r;t;x;z;í;W2.P1.:4.A1.F;I2.B;N1.H.O1.V;R1.F1.C2.N.U.i1.k1.i1.E1.l1.i;X7;a.e.h.i.o.u.y.Y3.e1.t1.h;p;s;[5.A;E;I;a;e;_2._1.i;e;`3.a;e;i;a7; .m1;a1;r1. .n1;d2; .ě.p1;r1;t.r1;t1;í.u1;s1;s1;i1. .v1;u1;t.d3.a1.s1. ;e2.m1. ;r1. ;i2.c1.h1. ;e1.s1.e2.m;r;e8;c1;o1;n1;o1;m1;i1;a.e1;w.l1;i1;t1;e1;i.m1;p1;e1;z.n1;t1;e1;n1;d.s2;a1. .t4;a1; .e1; .i1;m1;a1;r.r1;u1.t.u1.p1. ;w.f3. ;M;y1.i;h9. ;,;.;C;a1.u1.t1;b.e2.i1.r1;a.r1.m1.a1.n;o4.m2.a1; .m;n8; .b.d.e3; .d.y.g.i.k.v.r1.s1. ;u1.r;r1. ;t1;t1;p1;:.i6;b1;n.e1;r.n2;f2;l1;u1;ê.o1;a.s1;t1;a1;l1;a.r1; .s1; .u.k1.u1. ;l3.c1.d;s1. ;v1.a;ma. ;,;R;b1.a.e1.i1.n;f;p;t1.a.u1.l1.t1.i1.c1.a1.m1.p1.i;×;n6. ;V;W;d1; .t;×;o8;c2;h1;o.u1;p.d1;d1;y.f1; .g1;g1;i.no. ;';,;/;a;b;c1.o;d;e2.i;r;f;g;i;l;m;n;o;r;s;t;u;w;y;z;–;r1;i1;g1;e.t1;r1.s;u1;i.r3. ;&;f;s9.,;?;R;f2.e.o.i1.c1.h;l1. ;p2.3;i1. ;r1.g;v3.a.e.i.t2.A;S;uc; ...b2.e;l;f.k2.a;i;m1;a1. .n3;a3; .n5.a;c;n;s;t;r1;y.e2; .i.i8.c2.o1.r1.p;u1.m;d1;i1.o;g1.n;l1.l;m1;o.n;s1.s;v1.o1;c.r5;a.e.i.l.o.s3. ;h;u1.r2;e.p3;a.e.i.t2.m;t;v.w1.a;xb. ;';,;.;8;b;k;l;m1;a.t;y1. ;y1.l;{1.a;|1.a;£1.8;À;Á;Ä;Å;Æ;É;Ò;Ó;Ö;Ü;à;á;æ;è;é1;t3.a;o;u;í;ö;ü1; .Ā;ā;ī;İ;Ō;ō;œ;Ω;α;ε;ω;ϵ;е;–2.e;i;ℓ;";
function fill(node) {
var kidCount = parseInt(dict, 36) || 0,
offset = kidCount && kidCount.toString(36).length;
node.article = dict[offset] == "." ? "a" : "an";
dict = dict.substr(1 + offset);
for (var i = 0; i < kidCount; i++) {
var kid = node[dict[0]] = {}
dict = dict.substr(1);
fill(kid);
}
}
fill(root);
return {
raw: root,
//Usage example: AvsAnSimple.query("example")
//example returns: "an"
query: function (word) {
var node = root, sI = 0, result, c;
do {
c = word[sI++];
} while ('"‘’“”$\''.indexOf(c) >= 0);//also terminates on end-of-string "undefined".
while (1) {
result = node.article || result;
node = node[c];
if (!node) return result;
c = word[sI++] || " ";
}
}
};
})({})
Now, the problem is that I can't find a way to use this function in conjunction with the replaceExpr. The following obviously wouldn't work because of order precedence :
var a = replaceExpr("Theodor is " + AvsAnSimple(zxappearancexz) + "man. He seems rather " + AvsAnSimple(zxpersonalityxz).")
I just recently started learning javascript so my knowledge is rather limited. Any ideas how I could overcome this?
Thank you!

You could use a regular expression to optionally match the " a " or "an" before your word in the input string and store that matched portion in a variable using the String.match() function, then check if that " a " or " an " exists in your matched string, do the manipulations you need to do and store that manipulated string in a separate variable, then use String.replace() to find that previously matched string again, and replace it wit
your manipulated string. The regular expression you could use for this is /(\san?\s)?(zx\w*zx)/gm
See the regular expression here for more context.

Thank you Joseph! With your help I managed to find something that works by using your regular expression. Here's my function :
function replaceExpr(a) {
var nbExprToReplace = 1;
while (nbExprToReplace == 1) {
if (a.search("zx") == -1) {
nbExprToReplace = 0;
} else {
var currentGroup = a.match(/(\san?\s)?(zx\w*xz)/);
var exprToChange = currentGroup[2];
exprToChange = exprToChange.slice(2,-2);
var exprToChange = window[exprToChange];
if (typeof exprToChange !== "function") {
alert("the keyword is not a recognized function!");
break;
} else {
exprToChange = exprToChange();
var final = exprToChange
};
if (currentGroup[1] === undefined) {
} else {
var newArticle = AvsAnSimple.query(exprToChange);
final = newArticle.concat(" " + final)
};
a = a.replace(currentGroup[0], " " + final);
};
};
return a;
};

Google function returning undefined

I have an issue with a custom google script I'm making to generate a bunch of sheets with info based on other sheets. I can't figure out why this is happening..
I've tried including logs and the values before the return is correct.. however when its returned, I get the value undefined.
it's regarding the function: getTournamentInfo(), called from tournamentInfo = getTournamentInfo(matchInfo[0]);
function getTournamentInfo(abbreviation) {
var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("Tournaments");
var tournaments = sheet.getRange("B2:B").getValues().filter(String);
console.log("Fetching Abbreviation: " + abbreviation);
var r = 2;
tournaments.forEach(function (tournament) {
if (tournament != "")
{
var tInfo = sheet.getRange("B"+r+":K"+r).getValues().toString().split(",");
if (tInfo[0] == abbreviation) {
console.log("Returning Info for: " + tInfo[0]);
return tInfo;
}
}
});
}
function generateSheets() {
var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("Match Schedule");
var matches = sheet.getRange("B5:B").getValues().filter(String);
var r = 5;
matches.forEach(function (match) {
if (match != "")
{
var matchInfo = sheet.getRange("B"+r+":L"+r).getValues().toString().split(",");
if (matchInfo[10] == "true") // Checks wether or not to generate the sheet
{
console.log("Generate = " + matchInfo[10]);
console.log("Fetching Tournament Info: " + matchInfo);
var tournamentInfo = "";
try {
tournamentInfo = getTournamentInfo(matchInfo[0]);
} catch (e) {
console.log(e);
}
console.log(tournamentInfo);
var template = "1v1PlayerTemplate"; // Default Template
if (tournamentInfo[3] == 2) {
template = "1v1TeamTemplate";
} else if (tournamentInfo[3] == 3) {
template = "XvXTeamTaplte";
}
var sheetName = matchInfo[0] + " | " + matchInfo[1];
var matchSheet = ss.getSheetByName(template).copyTo(ss.getSheetByName(template).getParent()).setName(sheetName);
}
}
r++;
});
}```

Your getTournamentInfo function is not returning your result. Your return statement only short-circuits the function supplied in forEach. This is one of the possible solutions (untested):
function getTournamentInfo(abbreviation) {
var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("Tournaments");
var tournaments = sheet.getRange("B2:B").getValues().filter(String);
console.log("Fetching Abbreviation: " + abbreviation);
var r = 2;
let result; // <----
tournaments.forEach(function (tournament) {
if (tournament != "" && result == undefined) { // <-----
var tInfo = sheet.getRange("B" + r + ":K" + r).getValues().toString().split(",");
if (tInfo[0] == abbreviation) {
console.log("Returning Info for: " + tInfo[0]);
result = tInfo; // <----
}
}
});
return result; // <----
}
You can do it more simply with a for loop, instead of forEach:
function getTournamentInfo(abbreviation) {
var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("Tournaments");
var tournaments = sheet.getRange("B2:B").getValues().filter(String);
console.log("Fetching Abbreviation: " + abbreviation);
var r = 2;
for (const tournament of tournaments) { // <==============
if (tournament != "") {
var tInfo = sheet.getRange("B" + r + ":K" + r).getValues().toString().split(",");
if (tInfo[0] == abbreviation) {
console.log("Returning Info for: " + tInfo[0]);
return tInfo;
}
}
}
}

Need JavaScript example for fetch() etc

I want to learn such new JavaScript features as fetch() and arrow functions. To this end, I selected a function from a recent app, and attempted to replace older features with new. Very little success. Here's my original function:
function popNames(arNumbers,ctrlName) {
var arSortedList = [];
var strNameList = "";
$.getJSON("NAME.json").done(function(zdata) {
$.each(arNumbers, function(i, ydata) {
$.each(zdata.NAME, function(k,v) {
if(v.idName == ydata) {// important: === did NOT work
if(ctrlName) arSortedList.push(v.last + ", " + v.first + ";" + v.idName);
else arSortedList.push(v.last + ", " + v.first);
}
}); // each element of NAME.json
}); // each idName value in the array passed
if(ctrlName) {
setOptions(arSortedList, ctrlName);
} else {
strNameList = arSortedList.join();
}
}); // getJSON NAME
}
I was successful using this line:
fetch("NAME.json").then(zdata => zdata.json())
but nothing I did after that worked. I'd appreciate seeing an example from which I can learn.

function popNames(arNumbers,ctrlName) {
let arSortedList = [];
let strNameList = "";
fetch("NAME.json").then(zdata => zdata.json())
.then(zdata => {
for(const ydata of arNumbers) {
for(const v of zdata.NAME) {
if(v.idName == ydata) { // important: === did NOT work
if(ctrlName) arSortedList.push(v.last + ", " + v.first + ";" + v.idName);
else arSortedList.push(v.last + ", " + v.first);
}
}
}
if(ctrlName) {
setOptions(arSortedList, ctrlName);
} else {
strNameList = arSortedList.join();
}
}); // getJSON NAME
}
I was researching why I couldn't next two Array.forEach statements, and discovered a new iterable construction (for...of).

Javascript function return value is undefined

I've the following code. The return value of the function get_last_catergory_value is always undeifned. I've searched stackoverflow but couldn't debug the issue.
When I show the value being returned just before the return statement it shows the correct value. But when it is returned from function it is undefined. Can you please help me to resolve this?
function fetch_product(brand) {
var brand = brand;
//get last category id
var last_category = 'subcategory10';
var last_category_value = get_last_catergory_value(last_category);
alert(last_category_value); //undefined
}
function get_last_catergory_value(last_category) {
if($('.' + last_category).find(':selected').val() == 'none') {
last_category_number = last_category.substring(11);
last_category_number = parseInt(last_category_number);
last_category_number--;
last_category = last_category.substring(0, 11);
last_category = last_category + last_category_number;
get_last_catergory_value(last_category); //recall the function with values 'subcategory9', 'subcategory8' and so on...
} else {
var value = $('.' + last_category).find(':selected').val();
alert(value); //Gives the correct value here
return value;
}
}
Forgive me if its a trivial issue.
Thanks in Advance.

return statement is missing in the if block of get_last_catergory_value(last_category)
function get_last_catergory_value(last_category) {
if($('.' + last_category).find(':selected').val() == 'none') {
last_category_number = last_category.substring(11);
last_category_number = parseInt(last_category_number);
last_category_number--;
last_category = last_category.substring(0, 11);
last_category = last_category + last_category_number;
return get_last_catergory_value(last_category);
} else {
var value = $('.' + last_category).find(':selected').val();
alert(value); //Gives the correct value here
return value;
}
}

need to pass variable to function

I am trying to pass a variable to a a function that I believe calls another function (I think) but am having problems. The variable I need to use in the second function is productid but several ways thAt I have tried have not worked. either a fix in javascript or Jquery will be great!!!
This is the line that I need the variable for
var error_url = '/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode' + productid;
this is where the variable originates from...
var productid = form.elements['ProductCode'].value;
and here is the whole js code
function addToCart2(form, button) {
var softAdd = true;
var productid = form.elements['ProductCode'].value;
var qstr;
var bttnName = button.name;
button.disabled = true;
if (form.elements['ReturnTo']) {
form.elements['ReturnTo'].value = "";
}
qstr = serialize(form, bttnName + '.x', '5', bttnName + '.y', '5');
sendAjax('POST','/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=' + productid + '&AjaxError=Y', qstr , retrieveProductError2 ,displayServerError,false);
button.disabled = false;
return false;
}
function retrieveProductError2(result, statusCode) {
var ele = document.getElementById('listOfErrorsSpan');
var errorIndex = result.indexOf('<carterror>');
var productIndex = result.indexOf('<ProductIndex>')
if (errorIndex > -1 && productIndex == -1) {
var error_url = '/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode' + productid;
window.location = error_url;
}
if (errorIndex != -1) {
//ele.innerHTML = result.slice(errorIndex + 11, result.indexOf('</carterror>'));
}
else {
ele.innerHTML = "";
if (productIndex == -1) {
sendAjax('GET','/AjaxCart.asp?GetIndex=True', '', showCart, null, false);
}
else {
productIndex = result.slice(productIndex + 14, result.indexOf('</ProductIndex>'));
sendAjax('GET','/AjaxCart.asp?Index=' + productIndex, '', showCart, null, false);
}
}
}

The easiest way is to just move your variable declaration outside of your method. So change the declaration of product id outside your addToCart2 method. So outside of that method you do this:
var product_id;
Then inside your method remove var from product_id and it will just be an assignment and not declaration.

Where you pass in retrieveProductError2 as your error callback for the sendAjax call, you could instead pass in:
function(result, statusCode) { retreiveProductError2(result, statusCode, productId);}
Then change the definition of your retreiveProductError2 function to accept the additional parameter.