Regex to match forward or backward slash

Question

I have a string like this :

whatever/aaazzzzz

and sometimes a string like that :

whatever\bbbbzzzzz

I would like to split the string when I match / or \

The regex I tried seems to work

https://regex101.com/r/gP5gL0/1

When I use it in the fiddle, it works with / but not with \

Any ideas?

It should be `test = "whatever\\aaaaaa"` (two slashes). – georg Feb 01 '16 at 16:59 — georg, Feb 01 '16 at 16:59
Add you actual code, so we can se why isn't working – Jorge Campos Feb 01 '16 at 16:59 — Jorge Campos, Feb 01 '16 at 16:59
Seems to work: https://jsfiddle.net/vjxtwt2m/ – sp00m Feb 01 '16 at 16:59 — sp00m, Feb 01 '16 at 16:59
What if I only have `aa\bb` and not `aa\\bb` – DeseaseSparta Feb 01 '16 at 17:00 — DeseaseSparta, Feb 01 '16 at 17:00

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:44

The issue here is not the regex itself, but the unavoidable fact that JavaScript doesn't implicitly support string literals (i.e. ones where backslashes are interpreted as printed as opposed to denoting an escape sequence. Much more can read here).

Strings derived from any source other than source code are interpreted as literal by default, as demonstrated in this fiddle.

<script>
function splitTheString()
{
  //test = escape("whatever\aaaaaa");
  var test = document.getElementById("strToSplit").value;
  a = test.split(/(\\|\/)/)[0];
  alert(a);
}
</script>
<form>
Split this string:<br>
  <input type="text" id="strToSplit">
  <a href="javascript:splitTheString();">Split the string</a>
</form>

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 01 '16 at 17:06

2

Use this

var arr = str.split(/[\\|\/]/);

var str = 'whatever\\bbbbzzzzz';
alert(str.split(/[\\|\/]/))

answered Feb 01 '16 at 17:06

Siva

2,735
16
14

As I said I don't have \\ – DeseaseSparta Feb 01 '16 at 17:12
@DeseaseSparta, (\\|\/) will not split properly, you must use /[\\|\/]/ – Siva Feb 01 '16 at 17:15

Regex to match forward or backward slash

2 Answers2