NodeJS RegExp: how to access full list of results

Question

I'm having trouble accessing the full list of results when I .exec() a regular expression in Node. Here is my code:

var p = /(aaa)/g;
var t = "someaaa textaaa toaaa testaaa aaagainst";
p.exec(t);
> [ 'aaa', 'aaa', index: 4, input: 'someaaa textaaa toaaa testaaa aaagainst' ]

I only get two results, no matter what. Is my error on the RegExp itself?

Any help will be appreciated!

Use `match`, `exec` will return only first match – Tushar Oct 15 '15 at 06:46 — Tushar, Oct 15 '15 at 06:46
Thanks! That's all I needed! – Jo Colina Oct 15 '15 at 06:48 — Jo Colina, Oct 15 '15 at 06:48

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:58

exec will only return the first matched result. To get all the results

Use match

var p = /(aaa)/g;
var t = "someaaa textaaa toaaa testaaa aaagainst";
var matches = t.match(p);

var p = /(aaa)/g,
  t = "someaaa textaaa toaaa testaaa aaagainst";
var matches = t.match(p);

console.log(matches);

Use while with exec

while(match = p.exec(t)) console.log(match);

var p = /(aaa)/g,
  t = "someaaa textaaa toaaa testaaa aaagainst";

var matches = [];
while (match = p.exec(t)) {
  matches.push(match[0]);
}

console.log(matches);

Read: match Vs exec in JavaScript

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 15 '15 at 06:49

1

var p = /(aaa)/g;
var t = "someaaa textaaa toaaa testaaa aaagainst";
t.match(p);

answered Oct 15 '15 at 06:49

slomek

4,593
3
15
16

NodeJS RegExp: how to access full list of results

2 Answers2