RegExp.escape returns a string with escaped regular expression characters for use within a regular expression.
var strName = 'Dr. Doogie Howser, M.D.';
var escName = RegExp.escape(strName); // Dr\. Doogie Howser, M\.D\.
var regName = new RegExp('\\b' + escName + '\\b'); // /\bDr\. Doogie Howser, M\.D\.\b/
All modern browsers are supported, including:
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Chrome
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Internet Explorer
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Firefox
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Opera
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Safari
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Android 2.2+
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Blackberry 7+
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iOS Safari 4+
If you would like to see RegExp.escape in a JavaScript standard, subscribe to the ECMAScript List and request to have it added it to an [ECMA Specification].
This project was inspired by Stuart P. Bentley’s Specifiction Topic. After reading it, I decided to throw this together.