Behaviour of string.split with random input

[Tim Streater]

I have this:

splitter = /[ -\/.]/;
dateItems = dateString.split (splitter, 3);

where dateString might contain such as 3.4.5 or 3/4/5 or 3-4-5.

But it might also be nullstring or any junk the user types in. Now I
find that with the code above, and a null string, .split gives up and I
get a JavaScript error, instead of what I might expect which would be
that the dateItems array contains one item, itself a null string.

Is there something better to use/do in this context? It's completely
stupid to have to parse the string once to check it will not kill
..split, and then do the same again to extract the values I want.

(I get the error with Safari 1.3.1 and Netscape under XP).

Thanks,

-- tim

[Mick White]

Tim Streater wrote:

I have this:

splitter = /[ -\/.]/;
dateItems = dateString.split (splitter, 3);

where dateString might contain such as 3.4.5 or 3/4/5 or 3-4-5.

[snip]

splitter = /[^\d]/;
dateItems = dateString.split(splitter,3);

Perhaps?
Mick

[Tim Streater]

In article <wf*******************@twister.nyroc.rr.com>,
Mick White <mw***********@rochester.rr.com> wrote:

Tim Streater wrote:

I have this:

splitter = /[ -\/.]/;
dateItems = dateString.split (splitter, 3);

where dateString might contain such as 3.4.5 or 3/4/5 or 3-4-5.

[snip]

splitter = /[^\d]/;
dateItems = dateString.split(splitter,3);

Thanks but actually I had been too hasty due to not debugging properly
to see where the script failed. In fact after the .split I had:

Month = dateItems[1];
Month = month.substr(0,3);

which is where it failed with "month has no properties". So I shouldn't
have blamed .split which was not at fault. Now I check that the array
has three items.

-- tim

[Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn]

Tim Streater wrote:

Thanks but actually I had been too hasty due to not debugging properly
to see where the script failed. In fact after the .split I had:

Month = dateItems[1]; ^ Month = month.substr(0,3); ^ ^ which is where it failed with "month has no properties". [...]
Now I check that the array has three items.

You are sure about your case here?
PointedEars

[Dr John Stockton]

JRS: In article <ti********************************@individual.net >,
dated Fri, 21 Oct 2005 12:27:24, seen in news:comp.lang.javascript, Tim
Streater <ti**********@dante.org.uk> posted :

I have this:

splitter = /[ -\/.]/;
dateItems = dateString.split (splitter, 3);

where dateString might contain such as 3.4.5 or 3/4/5 or 3-4-5.

But it might also be nullstring or any junk the user types in. Now I
find that with the code above, and a null string, .split gives up and I
get a JavaScript error, instead of what I might expect which would be
that the dateItems array contains one item, itself a null string.

Is there something better to use/do in this context?

Use a RegExp.

Read the newsgroup FAQ; see below; js-valid.htm, js-date4.htm .

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