JavaScript String search() Method
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Definition and Usage
search()
The method matches a string with a regular expression.
Note:If the search value is a string, it is converted to a regular expression.
search()
The method returns the index (position) of the first matching item.
If no match is found, then search()
The method returns -1
.
Tip:search()
The method distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase.
See also:
The difference between String search() and String indexOf()
search()
Cannot use the starting position parameter.
indexOf()
The method cannot search regular expressions.
The difference between String search() and String match()
search()
The method returns the position of the first match.
match()
The method returns an array of matches.
Instance
Example 1
Search "Blue":
let text = "Mr. Blue has a blue house"; let position = text.search("Blue");
Example 2
Search "blue":
let text = "Mr. Blue has a blue house"; let position = text.search("blue");
Example 3
Search /Blue/:
let text = "Mr. Blue has a blue house"; let position = text.search(/Blue/);
Example 4
search /blue/
:
let text = "Mr. Blue has a blue house"; let position = text.search(/blue/);
Example 5
Case-insensitive Search:
let text = "Mr. Blue has a blue house"; let position = text.search(/blue/i);
Syntax
string.search(regexp)
parameter
parameter | Description |
---|---|
regexp |
Required. Search value. Regular Expression (or a string that can be converted to a Regular Expression). |
Return Value
Type | Description |
---|---|
number | the first match position. If it does not match, it returns -1 . |
Technical Details
parameter regexp
The parameter is the string string is the RegExp object searched in the string, which has the specified pattern. If the parameter is not a RegExp object, it is first passed to the RegExp() constructor, and it is converted into a RegExp object.
Return Value
string the first occurrence of regexp the starting position of the matching substring.
Note:If no matching substring is found, it returns -1
.
Description
search()
method searches for string to search for regexp matching substrings, and returns the position of the first character of the first matching substring. If no matching substring is found, it returns -1
.
search()
method does not perform global matching, it will ignore the flag g
. It also ignores regexp the lastIndex property, and it always starts searching from the beginning of the string, which means it always returns string the first match position.
Regular Expression Search Methods
In JavaScript, regular expression text search can be completed with different methods.
These are the most commonly used methods by using the pattern as a regular expression:
Example | Description |
---|---|
text.match(pattern) | String Method match() |
text.search(pattern) | String Method search() |
pattern.exec(text) | Regular Expression Method exec() |
pattern.test(text) | Regular Expression Method test() |
Browser Support
search() is an ECMAScript1 (ES1) feature.
All browsers fully support ES1 (JavaScript 1997):
Chrome | IE | Edge | Firefox | Safari | Opera |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chrome | IE | Edge | Firefox | Safari | Opera |
Support | Support | Support | Support | Support | Support |
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