The source
property returns a String
containing the source text of the regexp object, and it doesn't contain the two forward slashes on both sides and any flags.
The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.
The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.
Property attributes of RegExp.prototype.source |
|
---|---|
Writable | no |
Enumerable | no |
Configurable | yes |
Examples
Using source
var regex = /fooBar/ig;
console.log(regex.source); // "fooBar", doesn't contain /.../ and "ig".
Empty regular expressions and escaping
Starting with ECMAScript 5, the source
property no longer returns an empty string for empty regular expressions. Instead, the string (?:)
is returned. In addition, line terminators (such as "\n") are escaped now.
new RegExp().source; // "(?:)"
new RegExp('\n').source === '\n'; // true, prior to ES5
new RegExp('\n').source === '\\n'; // true, starting with ES5
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript (ECMA-262) The definition of 'RegExp.prototype.source' in that specification. |
Browser compatibility
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