regExp problem

[datactrl]

Hi, all
I tried this and it works.
------
var s1=" xxxx ";
alert(">>"+s1.replace(/^\s+/, " ")+"<<");


But why this won't work
------
var s1=" xxxx";
var reg=new RegExp("^\s+");
alert(">>"+s1.replace(reg," ")+"<<");



jack

 

[Lee]

datactrl said:

But why this won't work

var reg=new RegExp("^\s+");

The value of the string being passed to the RegExp constructor
is "^s+". The backslash is consumed as the literal string is
parsed. If you want the string to contain a backslash, you
have to escape it by preceding it with another backslash:

new RegExp("^\\s+");

or simply use a RegExp literal:

var reg=/^\s+/;

 

[datactrl]

Thanks Lee. It works.

Jack

datactrl said:



The value of the string being passed to the RegExp constructor
is "^s+". The backslash is consumed as the literal string is
parsed. If you want the string to contain a backslash, you
have to escape it by preceding it with another backslash:

new RegExp("^\\s+");

or simply use a RegExp literal:

var reg=/^\s+/;