Regex to check whether string starts with, ignoring case differences - javascript

I need to check whether a word starts with a particular substring ignoring the case differences. I have been doing this check using the following regex search pattern but that does not help when there is difference in case across the strings.
my case sensitive way:
var searchPattern = new RegExp('^' + query);
if (searchPattern.test(stringToCheck)) {}

Pass the i modifier as second argument:
new RegExp('^' + query, 'i');
Have a look at the documentation for more information.

You don't need a regular expression at all, just compare the strings:
if (stringToCheck.substr(0, query.length).toUpperCase() == query.toUpperCase())
Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/Guffa/AMD7V/
This also handles cases where you would need to escape characters to make the RegExp solution work, for example if query="4*5?" which would always match everything otherwise.

I think all the previous answers are correct. Here is another example similar to SERPRO's, but the difference is that there is no new constructor:
Notice: i ignores the case and ^ means "starts with".
var whateverString = "My test String";
var pattern = /^my/i;
var result = pattern.test(whateverString);
if (result === true) {
console.log(pattern, "pattern matched!");
} else {
console.log(pattern, "pattern did NOT match!");
}
Here is the jsfiddle (old version) if you would like to give it a try.

In this page you can see that modifiers can be added as second parameter. In your case you're are looking for 'i' (Canse insensitive)
//Syntax
var patt=new RegExp(pattern,modifiers);
//or more simply:
var patt=/pattern/modifiers;

For cases like these, JS Regex offers a feature called 'flag'. They offer an extra hand in making up Regular Expressions more efficient and widely applicable.
Here, the flag that could be used is the 'i' flag, which ignores cases (upper and lower), and matches irrespective of them (cases).
Literal Notation:
let string = 'PowerRangers'
let regex = /powerrangers/i
let result = regex.test(string) // true
Using the JS 'RegExp' constructor:
let string = 'PowerRangers'
let regex = new RegExp('powerrangers', 'i')
let result = regex.test(string)

2022, ECMA 11
Just created this helper function, I find it more useful and clean than modifying the regex and recreating one everytime.
/**
* #param {string} str
* #param {RegExp} search
* #returns {boolean}
*/
function regexStartsWith (str, search, {caseSensitive = true} = {})
{
var source = search.source
if (!source.startsWith('^')) source = '^' + source
var flags = search.flags
if (!caseSensitive && !flags.includes('i')) flags += 'i'
var reg = new RegExp(source, flags)
return reg.test(str)
}
Use it this way:
regexStartsWith('can you Fi nD me?', /fi.*nd/, {caseSensitive: false})

Related

Replace with a regex formula prop has quotation mark issue [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
How do you use a variable in a regular expression?
(27 answers)
Closed 2 years ago.
So for example:
function(input){
var testVar = input;
string = ...
string.replace(/ReGeX + testVar + ReGeX/, "replacement")
}
But this is of course not working :)
Is there any way to do this?
const regex = new RegExp(`ReGeX${testVar}ReGeX`);
...
string.replace(regex, "replacement");
Update
Per some of the comments, it's important to note that you may want to escape the variable if there is potential for malicious content (e.g. the variable comes from user input)
ES6 Update
In 2019, this would usually be written using a template string, and the above code has been updated. The original answer was:
var regex = new RegExp("ReGeX" + testVar + "ReGeX");
...
string.replace(regex, "replacement");
You can use the RegExp object:
var regexstring = "whatever";
var regexp = new RegExp(regexstring, "gi");
var str = "whateverTest";
var str2 = str.replace(regexp, "other");
document.write(str2);
Then you can construct regexstring in any way you want.
You can read more about it here.
To build a regular expression from a variable in JavaScript, you'll need to use the RegExp constructor with a string parameter.
function reg(input) {
var flags;
//could be any combination of 'g', 'i', and 'm'
flags = 'g';
return new RegExp('ReGeX' + input + 'ReGeX', flags);
}
of course, this is a very naive example. It assumes that input is has been properly escaped for a regular expression. If you're dealing with user-input, or simply want to make it more convenient to match special characters, you'll need to escape special characters:
function regexEscape(str) {
return str.replace(/[-\/\\^$*+?.()|[\]{}]/g, '\\$&')
}
function reg(input) {
var flags;
//could be any combination of 'g', 'i', and 'm'
flags = 'g';
input = regexEscape(input);
return new RegExp('ReGeX' + input + 'ReGeX', flags);
}
You can create regular expressions in JS in one of two ways:
Using regular expression literal - /ab{2}/g
Using the regular expression constructor - new RegExp("ab{2}", "g") .
Regular expression literals are constant, and can not be used with variables. This could be achieved using the constructor. The stracture of the RegEx constructor is
new RegExp(regularExpressionString, modifiersString)
You can embed variables as part of the regularExpressionString. For example,
var pattern="cd"
var repeats=3
new RegExp(`${pattern}{${repeats}}`, "g")
This will match any appearance of the pattern cdcdcd.
if you're using es6 template literals are an option...
string.replace(new RegExp(`ReGeX${testVar}ReGeX`), "replacement")
You can always give regular expression as string, i.e. "ReGeX" + testVar + "ReGeX". You'll possibly have to escape some characters inside your string (e.g., double quote), but for most cases it's equivalent.
You can also use RegExp constructor to pass flags in (see the docs).
It's only necessary to prepare the string variable first and then convert it to the RegEx.
for example:
You want to add minLength and MaxLength with the variable to RegEx:
function getRegEx() {
const minLength = "5"; // for exapmle: min is 5
const maxLength = "12"; // for exapmle: man is 12
var regEx = "^.{" + minLength + ","+ maxLength +"}$"; // first we make a String variable of our RegEx
regEx = new RegExp(regEx, "g"); // now we convert it to RegEx
return regEx; // In the end, we return the RegEx
}
now if you change value of MaxLength or MinLength, It will change in all RegExs.
Hope to be useful. Also sorry about my English.
Here's an pretty useless function that return values wrapped by specific characters. :)
jsfiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/squadjot/43agwo6x/
function getValsWrappedIn(str,c1,c2){
var rg = new RegExp("(?<=\\"+c1+")(.*?)(?=\\"+c2+")","g");
return str.match(rg);
}
var exampleStr = "Something (5) or some time (19) or maybe a (thingy)";
var results = getValsWrappedIn(exampleStr,"(",")")
// Will return array ["5","19","thingy"]
console.log(results)
accepted answer doesn't work for me and doesn't follow MDN examples
see the 'Description' section in above link
I'd go with the following it's working for me:
let stringThatIsGoingToChange = 'findMe';
let flagsYouWant = 'gi' //simple string with flags
let dynamicRegExp = new RegExp(`${stringThatIsGoingToChange}`, flagsYouWant)
// that makes dynamicRegExp = /findMe/gi

Allow variable in regex JavaScript [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
How do you use a variable in a regular expression?
(27 answers)
Closed 2 years ago.
So for example:
function(input){
var testVar = input;
string = ...
string.replace(/ReGeX + testVar + ReGeX/, "replacement")
}
But this is of course not working :)
Is there any way to do this?
const regex = new RegExp(`ReGeX${testVar}ReGeX`);
...
string.replace(regex, "replacement");
Update
Per some of the comments, it's important to note that you may want to escape the variable if there is potential for malicious content (e.g. the variable comes from user input)
ES6 Update
In 2019, this would usually be written using a template string, and the above code has been updated. The original answer was:
var regex = new RegExp("ReGeX" + testVar + "ReGeX");
...
string.replace(regex, "replacement");
You can use the RegExp object:
var regexstring = "whatever";
var regexp = new RegExp(regexstring, "gi");
var str = "whateverTest";
var str2 = str.replace(regexp, "other");
document.write(str2);
Then you can construct regexstring in any way you want.
You can read more about it here.
To build a regular expression from a variable in JavaScript, you'll need to use the RegExp constructor with a string parameter.
function reg(input) {
var flags;
//could be any combination of 'g', 'i', and 'm'
flags = 'g';
return new RegExp('ReGeX' + input + 'ReGeX', flags);
}
of course, this is a very naive example. It assumes that input is has been properly escaped for a regular expression. If you're dealing with user-input, or simply want to make it more convenient to match special characters, you'll need to escape special characters:
function regexEscape(str) {
return str.replace(/[-\/\\^$*+?.()|[\]{}]/g, '\\$&')
}
function reg(input) {
var flags;
//could be any combination of 'g', 'i', and 'm'
flags = 'g';
input = regexEscape(input);
return new RegExp('ReGeX' + input + 'ReGeX', flags);
}
You can create regular expressions in JS in one of two ways:
Using regular expression literal - /ab{2}/g
Using the regular expression constructor - new RegExp("ab{2}", "g") .
Regular expression literals are constant, and can not be used with variables. This could be achieved using the constructor. The stracture of the RegEx constructor is
new RegExp(regularExpressionString, modifiersString)
You can embed variables as part of the regularExpressionString. For example,
var pattern="cd"
var repeats=3
new RegExp(`${pattern}{${repeats}}`, "g")
This will match any appearance of the pattern cdcdcd.
if you're using es6 template literals are an option...
string.replace(new RegExp(`ReGeX${testVar}ReGeX`), "replacement")
You can always give regular expression as string, i.e. "ReGeX" + testVar + "ReGeX". You'll possibly have to escape some characters inside your string (e.g., double quote), but for most cases it's equivalent.
You can also use RegExp constructor to pass flags in (see the docs).
It's only necessary to prepare the string variable first and then convert it to the RegEx.
for example:
You want to add minLength and MaxLength with the variable to RegEx:
function getRegEx() {
const minLength = "5"; // for exapmle: min is 5
const maxLength = "12"; // for exapmle: man is 12
var regEx = "^.{" + minLength + ","+ maxLength +"}$"; // first we make a String variable of our RegEx
regEx = new RegExp(regEx, "g"); // now we convert it to RegEx
return regEx; // In the end, we return the RegEx
}
now if you change value of MaxLength or MinLength, It will change in all RegExs.
Hope to be useful. Also sorry about my English.
Here's an pretty useless function that return values wrapped by specific characters. :)
jsfiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/squadjot/43agwo6x/
function getValsWrappedIn(str,c1,c2){
var rg = new RegExp("(?<=\\"+c1+")(.*?)(?=\\"+c2+")","g");
return str.match(rg);
}
var exampleStr = "Something (5) or some time (19) or maybe a (thingy)";
var results = getValsWrappedIn(exampleStr,"(",")")
// Will return array ["5","19","thingy"]
console.log(results)
accepted answer doesn't work for me and doesn't follow MDN examples
see the 'Description' section in above link
I'd go with the following it's working for me:
let stringThatIsGoingToChange = 'findMe';
let flagsYouWant = 'gi' //simple string with flags
let dynamicRegExp = new RegExp(`${stringThatIsGoingToChange}`, flagsYouWant)
// that makes dynamicRegExp = /findMe/gi

Javascript regexp constructor with backtick [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
How do you use a variable in a regular expression?
(27 answers)
Closed 2 years ago.
So for example:
function(input){
var testVar = input;
string = ...
string.replace(/ReGeX + testVar + ReGeX/, "replacement")
}
But this is of course not working :)
Is there any way to do this?
const regex = new RegExp(`ReGeX${testVar}ReGeX`);
...
string.replace(regex, "replacement");
Update
Per some of the comments, it's important to note that you may want to escape the variable if there is potential for malicious content (e.g. the variable comes from user input)
ES6 Update
In 2019, this would usually be written using a template string, and the above code has been updated. The original answer was:
var regex = new RegExp("ReGeX" + testVar + "ReGeX");
...
string.replace(regex, "replacement");
You can use the RegExp object:
var regexstring = "whatever";
var regexp = new RegExp(regexstring, "gi");
var str = "whateverTest";
var str2 = str.replace(regexp, "other");
document.write(str2);
Then you can construct regexstring in any way you want.
You can read more about it here.
To build a regular expression from a variable in JavaScript, you'll need to use the RegExp constructor with a string parameter.
function reg(input) {
var flags;
//could be any combination of 'g', 'i', and 'm'
flags = 'g';
return new RegExp('ReGeX' + input + 'ReGeX', flags);
}
of course, this is a very naive example. It assumes that input is has been properly escaped for a regular expression. If you're dealing with user-input, or simply want to make it more convenient to match special characters, you'll need to escape special characters:
function regexEscape(str) {
return str.replace(/[-\/\\^$*+?.()|[\]{}]/g, '\\$&')
}
function reg(input) {
var flags;
//could be any combination of 'g', 'i', and 'm'
flags = 'g';
input = regexEscape(input);
return new RegExp('ReGeX' + input + 'ReGeX', flags);
}
You can create regular expressions in JS in one of two ways:
Using regular expression literal - /ab{2}/g
Using the regular expression constructor - new RegExp("ab{2}", "g") .
Regular expression literals are constant, and can not be used with variables. This could be achieved using the constructor. The stracture of the RegEx constructor is
new RegExp(regularExpressionString, modifiersString)
You can embed variables as part of the regularExpressionString. For example,
var pattern="cd"
var repeats=3
new RegExp(`${pattern}{${repeats}}`, "g")
This will match any appearance of the pattern cdcdcd.
if you're using es6 template literals are an option...
string.replace(new RegExp(`ReGeX${testVar}ReGeX`), "replacement")
You can always give regular expression as string, i.e. "ReGeX" + testVar + "ReGeX". You'll possibly have to escape some characters inside your string (e.g., double quote), but for most cases it's equivalent.
You can also use RegExp constructor to pass flags in (see the docs).
It's only necessary to prepare the string variable first and then convert it to the RegEx.
for example:
You want to add minLength and MaxLength with the variable to RegEx:
function getRegEx() {
const minLength = "5"; // for exapmle: min is 5
const maxLength = "12"; // for exapmle: man is 12
var regEx = "^.{" + minLength + ","+ maxLength +"}$"; // first we make a String variable of our RegEx
regEx = new RegExp(regEx, "g"); // now we convert it to RegEx
return regEx; // In the end, we return the RegEx
}
now if you change value of MaxLength or MinLength, It will change in all RegExs.
Hope to be useful. Also sorry about my English.
Here's an pretty useless function that return values wrapped by specific characters. :)
jsfiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/squadjot/43agwo6x/
function getValsWrappedIn(str,c1,c2){
var rg = new RegExp("(?<=\\"+c1+")(.*?)(?=\\"+c2+")","g");
return str.match(rg);
}
var exampleStr = "Something (5) or some time (19) or maybe a (thingy)";
var results = getValsWrappedIn(exampleStr,"(",")")
// Will return array ["5","19","thingy"]
console.log(results)
accepted answer doesn't work for me and doesn't follow MDN examples
see the 'Description' section in above link
I'd go with the following it's working for me:
let stringThatIsGoingToChange = 'findMe';
let flagsYouWant = 'gi' //simple string with flags
let dynamicRegExp = new RegExp(`${stringThatIsGoingToChange}`, flagsYouWant)
// that makes dynamicRegExp = /findMe/gi

Using RegExp to substring a string at the position of a special character

Suppose I have a sting like this: ABC5DEF/G or it might be ABC5DEF-15 or even just ABC5DEF, it could be shorter AB7F, or AB7FG/H.
I need to create a javascript variable that contains the substring only up to the '/' or the '-'. I would really like to use an array of values to break at. I thought maybe to try something like this.
...
var srcMark = array( '/', '-' );
var whereAt = new RegExp(srcMark.join('|')).test.str;
alert("whereAt= "+whereAt);
...
But this returns an error: ReferenceError: Can't find variable: array
I suspect I'm defining my array incorrectly but trying a number of other things I've been no more successful.
What am I doing wrong?
Arrays aren't defined like that in JavaScript, the easiest way to define it would be with:
var srcMark = ['/','-'];
Additionally, test is a function so it must be called as such:
whereAt = new RegExp(srcMark.join('|')).test(str);
Note that test won't actually tell you where, as your variable suggests, it will return true or false. If you want to find where the character is, use String.prototype.search:
str.search(new RegExp(srcMark.join('|'));
Hope that helps.
You need to use the split method:
var srcMark = Array.join(['-','/'],'|'); // "-|/" or
var regEx = new RegExp(srcMark,'g'); // /-|\//g
var substring = "222-22".split(regEx)[0] // "222"
"ABC5DEF/G".split(regEx)[0] // "ABC5DEF"
From whatever i could understand from your question, using this RegExp /[/-]/ in split() function will work.
EDIT:
For splitting the string at all special characters you can use new RegExp(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/) in split() function.
var arr = "ABC5DEF/G";
var ans = arr.split(/[/-]/);
console.log(ans[0]);
arr = "ABC5DEF-15";
ans = arr.split(/[/-]/);
console.log(ans[0]);
// For all special characters
arr = "AB7FG/H";
ans = arr.split(new RegExp(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/));
console.log(ans[0]);
You can use regex with String.split.
It will look something like that:
var result = ['ABC5DEF/G',
'ABC5DEF-15',
'ABC5DEF',
'AB7F',
'AB7FG/H'
].map((item) => item.split(/\W+/));
console.log(result);
That will create an Array with all the parts of the string, so each item[0] will contain the text till the / or - or nothing.
If you want the position of the special character (non-alpha-numeric) you can use a Regular Expression that matches any character that is not a word character from the basic Latin alphabet. Equivalent to [^A-Za-z0-9_], that is: \W
var pattern = /\W/;
var text = 'ABC5DEF/G';
var match = pattern.exec(text);
var position = match.index;
console.log('character: ', match[0]);
console.log('position: ', position);

How can I concatenate regex literals in JavaScript?

Is it possible to do something like this?
var pattern = /some regex segment/ + /* comment here */
/another segment/;
Or do I have to use new RegExp() syntax and concatenate a string? I'd prefer to use the literal as the code is both more self-evident and concise.
Here is how to create a regular expression without using the regular expression literal syntax. This lets you do arbitary string manipulation before it becomes a regular expression object:
var segment_part = "some bit of the regexp";
var pattern = new RegExp("some regex segment" + /*comment here */
segment_part + /* that was defined just now */
"another segment");
If you have two regular expression literals, you can in fact concatenate them using this technique:
var regex1 = /foo/g;
var regex2 = /bar/y;
var flags = (regex1.flags + regex2.flags).split("").sort().join("").replace(/(.)(?=.*\1)/g, "");
var regex3 = new RegExp(expression_one.source + expression_two.source, flags);
// regex3 is now /foobar/gy
It's just more wordy than just having expression one and two being literal strings instead of literal regular expressions.
Just randomly concatenating regular expressions objects can have some adverse side effects. Use the RegExp.source instead:
var r1 = /abc/g;
var r2 = /def/;
var r3 = new RegExp(r1.source + r2.source,
(r1.global ? 'g' : '')
+ (r1.ignoreCase ? 'i' : '') +
(r1.multiline ? 'm' : ''));
console.log(r3);
var m = 'test that abcdef and abcdef has a match?'.match(r3);
console.log(m);
// m should contain 2 matches
This will also give you the ability to retain the regular expression flags from a previous RegExp using the standard RegExp flags.
jsFiddle
I don't quite agree with the "eval" option.
var xxx = /abcd/;
var yyy = /efgh/;
var zzz = new RegExp(eval(xxx)+eval(yyy));
will give "//abcd//efgh//" which is not the intended result.
Using source like
var zzz = new RegExp(xxx.source+yyy.source);
will give "/abcdefgh/" and that is correct.
Logicaly there is no need to EVALUATE, you know your EXPRESSION. You just need its SOURCE or how it is written not necessarely its value. As for the flags, you just need to use the optional argument of RegExp.
In my situation, I do run in the issue of ^ and $ being used in several expression I am trying to concatenate together! Those expressions are grammar filters used accross the program. Now I wan't to use some of them together to handle the case of PREPOSITIONS.
I may have to "slice" the sources to remove the starting and ending ^( and/or )$ :)
Cheers, Alex.
Problem If the regexp contains back-matching groups like \1.
var r = /(a|b)\1/ // Matches aa, bb but nothing else.
var p = /(c|d)\1/ // Matches cc, dd but nothing else.
Then just contatenating the sources will not work. Indeed, the combination of the two is:
var rp = /(a|b)\1(c|d)\1/
rp.test("aadd") // Returns false
The solution:
First we count the number of matching groups in the first regex, Then for each back-matching token in the second, we increment it by the number of matching groups.
function concatenate(r1, r2) {
var count = function(r, str) {
return str.match(r).length;
}
var numberGroups = /([^\\]|^)(?=\((?!\?:))/g; // Home-made regexp to count groups.
var offset = count(numberGroups, r1.source);
var escapedMatch = /[\\](?:(\d+)|.)/g; // Home-made regexp for escaped literals, greedy on numbers.
var r2newSource = r2.source.replace(escapedMatch, function(match, number) { return number?"\\"+(number-0+offset):match; });
return new RegExp(r1.source+r2newSource,
(r1.global ? 'g' : '')
+ (r1.ignoreCase ? 'i' : '')
+ (r1.multiline ? 'm' : ''));
}
Test:
var rp = concatenate(r, p) // returns /(a|b)\1(c|d)\2/
rp.test("aadd") // Returns true
Providing that:
you know what you do in your regexp;
you have many regex pieces to form a pattern and they will use same flag;
you find it more readable to separate your small pattern chunks into an array;
you also want to be able to comment each part for next dev or yourself later;
you prefer to visually simplify your regex like /this/g rather than new RegExp('this', 'g');
it's ok for you to assemble the regex in an extra step rather than having it in one piece from the start;
Then you may like to write this way:
var regexParts =
[
/\b(\d+|null)\b/,// Some comments.
/\b(true|false)\b/,
/\b(new|getElementsBy(?:Tag|Class|)Name|arguments|getElementById|if|else|do|null|return|case|default|function|typeof|undefined|instanceof|this|document|window|while|for|switch|in|break|continue|length|var|(?:clear|set)(?:Timeout|Interval))(?=\W)/,
/(\$|jQuery)/,
/many more patterns/
],
regexString = regexParts.map(function(x){return x.source}).join('|'),
regexPattern = new RegExp(regexString, 'g');
you can then do something like:
string.replace(regexPattern, function()
{
var m = arguments,
Class = '';
switch(true)
{
// Numbers and 'null'.
case (Boolean)(m[1]):
m = m[1];
Class = 'number';
break;
// True or False.
case (Boolean)(m[2]):
m = m[2];
Class = 'bool';
break;
// True or False.
case (Boolean)(m[3]):
m = m[3];
Class = 'keyword';
break;
// $ or 'jQuery'.
case (Boolean)(m[4]):
m = m[4];
Class = 'dollar';
break;
// More cases...
}
return '<span class="' + Class + '">' + m + '</span>';
})
In my particular case (a code-mirror-like editor), it is much easier to perform one big regex, rather than a lot of replaces like following as each time I replace with a html tag to wrap an expression, the next pattern will be harder to target without affecting the html tag itself (and without the good lookbehind that is unfortunately not supported in javascript):
.replace(/(\b\d+|null\b)/g, '<span class="number">$1</span>')
.replace(/(\btrue|false\b)/g, '<span class="bool">$1</span>')
.replace(/\b(new|getElementsBy(?:Tag|Class|)Name|arguments|getElementById|if|else|do|null|return|case|default|function|typeof|undefined|instanceof|this|document|window|while|for|switch|in|break|continue|var|(?:clear|set)(?:Timeout|Interval))(?=\W)/g, '<span class="keyword">$1</span>')
.replace(/\$/g, '<span class="dollar">$</span>')
.replace(/([\[\](){}.:;,+\-?=])/g, '<span class="ponctuation">$1</span>')
It would be preferable to use the literal syntax as often as possible. It's shorter, more legible, and you do not need escape quotes or double-escape backlashes. From "Javascript Patterns", Stoyan Stefanov 2010.
But using New may be the only way to concatenate.
I would avoid eval. Its not safe.
You could do something like:
function concatRegex(...segments) {
return new RegExp(segments.join(''));
}
The segments would be strings (rather than regex literals) passed in as separate arguments.
You can concat regex source from both the literal and RegExp class:
var xxx = new RegExp(/abcd/);
var zzz = new RegExp(xxx.source + /efgh/.source);
Use the constructor with 2 params and avoid the problem with trailing '/':
var re_final = new RegExp("\\" + ".", "g"); // constructor can have 2 params!
console.log("...finally".replace(re_final, "!") + "\n" + re_final +
" works as expected..."); // !!!finally works as expected
// meanwhile
re_final = new RegExp("\\" + "." + "g"); // appends final '/'
console.log("... finally".replace(re_final, "!")); // ...finally
console.log(re_final, "does not work!"); // does not work
No, the literal way is not supported. You'll have to use RegExp.
the easier way to me would be concatenate the sources, ex.:
a = /\d+/
b = /\w+/
c = new RegExp(a.source + b.source)
the c value will result in:
/\d+\w+/
I prefer to use eval('your expression') because it does not add the /on each end/ that ='new RegExp' does.

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