myString.replace( VARIABLE, "") ...... but globally
How can I use a variable to remove all instances of a substring from a string? (to remove, I'm thinking the best way is to replace, with nothing, globally... right?)
if I have these 2 strings,
myString = "This sentence is an example sentence."
oldWord = " sentence"
then something like this
myString.replace(oldWord, "");
only replaces the first instance of the variable in the string.
but if I add the global g like this myString.replace(/oldWord/g, "");
it doesn't work, because it thinks oldWord, in this case, is the substring, not a variable. How can I do this with the variable?
Well, you can use this:
var reg = new RegExp(oldWord, "g");
myString.replace(reg, "");
or simply:
myString.replace(new RegExp(oldWord, "g"), "");
You have to use the constructor rather than the literal syntax when passing variables. Stick with the literal syntax for literal strings to avoid confusing escape syntax.
var oldWordRegEx = new RegExp(oldWord,'g');
myString.replace(oldWordRegEx,"");
No need to use a regular expression here: split the string around matches of the substring you want to remove, then join the remaining parts together:
myString.split(oldWord).join('')
In the OP's example:
var myString = "This sentence is an example sentence.";
var oldWord = " sentence";
console.log(myString.split(oldWord).join(''));