Javascript Regular Expression (RegExp) Multiline Flag Not Universal

Posted May 11, 2006 at 8:18 AM

Tags: Javascript / DHTML

I was debugging some code and I just came accross a very interesting fact: the "m" flag for multiline searches in Regular Expression (RegExp) is not universal. It only works on newer browsers and not all of them for that matter. On this Javascript Site, it states that all searches work for multiline without the flag and that the "m" flag will indeed throw errors in older browsers (as I am finding in my debugging... stupid Mac IE).

So, to drive it home, this is not good:

 Launch code in new window » Download code as text file »

  • new RegExp("[\\n\\r]+", "gim")

And should be replaced with:

 Launch code in new window » Download code as text file »

  • new RegExp("[\\n\\r]+", "gi")

Both of these are searching for new line characters and returns across multiple lines; however, only the latter works in all browsers and is more "correct" for Javascript.

Download Code Snippet ZIP File

Post Comment  |  Ask Ben  |  Permalink  |  Other Searches  |  Print Page





Reader Comments

There are no comments posted for this web log entry.


Post Comment  |  Ask Ben

Recent Blog Comments
MEMISO
Nov 7, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Ask Ben: Javascript String Replace Method
You can find here an advanced function that prepared with javascript replace function. This can make the first letters of words, sentences, lines and whatever you define automatically: http://www.m ... read »
Andrew Neely
Nov 7, 2009 at 4:56 PM
A Moment That Touched Me - The Fountainhead
Ben, Glad you enjoyed the podcast. Yeah, the Tank Riot guys can get really chatty during the episodes, but that's part of the charm of it for me. They've covered everything from Nichola Tesla to Cha ... read »
Bastian E.
Nov 7, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Building A Fixed-Position Bottom Menu Bar (ala FaceBook)
Is it possible to make some more Menü`s ? ... read »
Jill
Nov 7, 2009 at 11:40 AM
How To Unformat Your Code (Like A Pro)
Derek, I think you might be right - sweet! Thanks for the link :) ... read »
Derek
Nov 7, 2009 at 11:25 AM
How To Unformat Your Code (Like A Pro)
I think it would be way easier to just use this http://www.logichammer.com/html-formatter/ He just released v3 and it rocks. ... read »
Jill
Nov 7, 2009 at 7:58 AM
How To Unformat Your Code (Like A Pro)
LMAO - this was pretty funny! I have to admit - I also love to reformat code so I can read it. My boss used to tell me to leave my OCD at home. Now I don't feel so bad after reading everyone else' ... read »
Jose Galdamez
Nov 6, 2009 at 10:10 PM
How To Unformat Your Code (Like A Pro)
The timing of this post is just uncanny. I spent the last 15-20 minutes manually un-formatting my "Ben Nadel" style code within a CFC of mine. I was really digging the readability a few weeks ago, bu ... read »
Roe
Nov 6, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Passing Arrays By Reference In ColdFusion - SWEEET!
ArraySort also reorders the results of these java obj's ... read »