JavaScript RegExp Group [abc]
Example
A global search for the character "h" in a string:
let text = "Is this all there is?";
let pattern = /[h]/g;
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Definition and Usage
Brackets [abc] specifies matches for the characters inside the brackets.
Brackets can define single characters, groups, or character spans:
| [abc] | Any of the characters a, b, or c |
| [A-Z] | Any character from uppercase A to uppercase Z |
| [a-z] | Any character from lowercase a to lowercase z |
| [A-z] | Any character from uppercase A to lowercase z |
Browser Support
/[abc]/ is an ECMAScript1 (ES1) feature.
ES1 (JavaScript 1997) is fully supported in all browsers:
| Chrome | IE | Edge | Firefox | Safari | Opera |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Syntax
new RegExp("[abc]")
or simply:
/[abc]/
Syntax with modifiers
new RegExp("[abc]", "g")
or simply:
/[abc]/g
Tip
Use the [^abc] expression to find any character NOT between the brackets.
Example
Do a global search for the characters "i" and "s" in a string:
let text = "Do you know if this is all there is?";
let pattern = /[is]/gi;
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Example
A global search for the character span from lowercase "a" to lowercase "h" in a string:
let text = "Is this all there is?";
let pattern = /[a-h]/g;
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Example
Do a global search for the character-span from uppercase "A" to uppercase "E":
let text = "I SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!";
let pattern = /[A-E]/g;
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Example
A global search for the character span from uppercase "A" to lowercase "e" (will search for all uppercase letters, but only lowercase letters from a to e.)
let text = "I Scream For Ice Cream, is that OK?!";
let pattern = /[A-e]/g;
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Example
A global, case-insensitive search for the character span [a-s]:
let text = "I Scream For Ice Cream, is that OK?!";
let pattern = /[a-s]/gi;
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Example
A "g" and "gi" search for characters:
let text = "THIS This this";
let result1 = text.match(/[THIS]/g);
let result2 = text.match(/[THIS]/gi);
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Regular Expression Search Methods
In JavaScript, a regular expression text search, can be done with different methods.
With a pattern as a regular expression, these are the most common methods:
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| text.match(pattern) | The String method match() |
| text.search(pattern) | The String method search() |
| pattern.exec(text) | The RexExp method exec() |
| pattern.test(text) | The RegExp method test() |
