VerbalExpressions
JavaScript Regular Expressions made easy
VerbalExpressions is a JavaScript library that helps construct difficult regular expressions.
How to get started
In the browser
<script src="VerbalExpressions.js"></script>
Or use the jsDelivr CDN.
On the server (node.js)
Install:
npm install verbal-expressions
Require:
const VerEx = require('verbal-expressions');
Or use ES6's import:
import VerEx from 'verbal-expressions';
Running tests
npm test
(or)
npm run test:verbose
Creating a minified version
npm run build
This will run Babel on VerbalExpressions.js and output the result to dist/verbalexpressions.js. A minified version of the same will also be written to dist/verbalexpressions.min.js.
A source map will also be created in dist, so you can use the original "un-babelified", unminified source file for debugging purposes.
API documentation
You can find the API documentation at verbalexpressions.github.io/JSVerbalExpressions. You can find the source code for the docs in docs.
Examples
Here are some simple examples to give an idea of how VerbalExpressions works:
Testing if we have a valid URL
// Create an example of how to test for correctly formed URLs
const tester = VerEx()
.startOfLine()
.then('http')
.maybe('s')
.then('://')
.maybe('www.')
.anythingBut(' ')
.endOfLine();
// Create an example URL
const testMe = 'https://www.google.com';
// Use RegExp object's native test() function
if (tester.test(testMe)) {
alert('We have a correct URL'); // This output will fire
} else {
alert('The URL is incorrect');
}
console.log(tester); // Outputs the actual expression used: /^(http)(s)?(\:\/\/)(www\.)?([^\ ]*)$/
Replacing strings
// Create a test string
const replaceMe = 'Replace bird with a duck';
// Create an expression that seeks for word "bird"
const expression = VerEx().find('bird');
// Execute the expression like a normal RegExp object
const result = expression.replace(replaceMe, 'duck');
// Outputs "Replace duck with a duck"
alert(result);
Shorthand for string replace
const result = VerEx().find('red').replace('We have a red house', 'blue');
// Outputs "We have a blue house"
alert(result);
Contributions
Pull requests are warmly welcome!
Clone the repo and fork:
git clone https://github.com/VerbalExpressions/JSVerbalExpressions.git
Style guide
The Airbnb style guide is loosely used as a basis for creating clean and readable JavaScript code. Check .eslintrc.
Check out these slide decks for handy Github & git tips:
Tools
- https://verbalregex.com - it's a wrapper of JSVerbalExpressions; users can write down the code and compile to regex
- https://jsbin.com/metukuzowi/edit?js,console - JSBin Playground
Other Implementations
You can see an up to date list of all ports on VerbalExpressions.github.io.
If you would like to contribute another port (which would be awesome!), please open an issue specifying the language in the VerbalExpressions/implementation repo. Please don't open PRs for other languages against this repo.