Replace multiple strings with multiple other strings
javascript, node.js, regex, replace, string
Solution
As an answer to:
looking for an up-to-date answer
If you are using "words" as in your current example, you might extend the answer of Ben McCormick using a non capture group and add word boundaries `\b` at the left and at the right to prevent partial matches.
\b(?:cathy|cat|catch)\b
- `\b` A word boundary to prevent a partial match
- `(?:` Non capture group
- `cathy|cat|catch` match one of the alternatives
- `)` Close non capture group
- `\b` A word boundary to prevent a partial match
Example for the original question:
let str = "I have a cat, a dog, and a goat.";
const mapObj = {
cat: "dog",
dog: "goat",
goat: "cat"
};
str = str.replace(/\b(?:cat|dog|goat)\b/gi, matched => mapObj[matched]);
console.log(str);
Example for the example in the comments that not seems to be working well:
let str = "I have a cat, a catch, and a cathy.";
const mapObj = {
cathy: "cat",
cat: "catch",
catch: "cathy"
};
str = str.replace(/\b(?:cathy|cat|catch)\b/gi, matched => mapObj[matched]);
console.log(str);
Problem
I'm trying to replace multiple words in a string with multiple other words. The string is "I have a cat, a dog, and a goat." However, this does not produce "I have a dog, a goat, and a cat", but instead it produces "I have a cat, a cat, and a cat". Is it possible to replace multiple strings with multiple other strings at the same time in JavaScript, so that the correct result will be produced? ``` var str = "I have a cat, a dog, and a goat."; str = str.replace(/cat/gi, "dog"); str = str.replace(/dog/gi, "goat"); str = str.replace(/goat/gi, "cat"); //this produces "I have a cat, a cat, and a cat" //but I wanted to produce the string "I have a dog, a goat, and a cat". ```