Behaviour of string.split with random input

[Tim Streater]

I have this:

splitter = /[ -\/.]/;
dateItems = dateString.spli t (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]

Re: Behaviour of string.split with random input

Tim Streater wrote:
[color=blue]
> I have this:
>
> splitter = /[ -\/.]/;
> dateItems = dateString.spli t (splitter, 3);
>
> where dateString might contain such as 3.4.5 or 3/4/5 or 3-4-5.
>[/color]
[snip]

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

Perhaps?
Mick

[Tim Streater]

Re: Behaviour of string.split with random input

In article <wf66f.88164$7b 6.13791@twister .nyroc.rr.com>,
Mick White <mwhite13BOGUS@ rochester.rr.co m> wrote:
[color=blue]
> Tim Streater wrote:
>[color=green]
> > I have this:
> >
> > splitter = /[ -\/.]/;
> > dateItems = dateString.spli t (splitter, 3);
> >
> > where dateString might contain such as 3.4.5 or 3/4/5 or 3-4-5.
> >[/color]
> [snip]
>
> splitter = /[^\d]/;
> dateItems = dateString.spli t(splitter,3);[/color]

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]

Re: Behaviour of string.split with random input

Tim Streater wrote:
[color=blue]
> 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];[/color]
^[color=blue]
> Month = month.substr(0, 3);[/color]
^ ^[color=blue]
> which is where it failed with "month has no properties". [...]
> Now I check that the array has three items.[/color]

You are sure about your case here?


PointedEars

[Dr John Stockton]

Re: Behaviour of string.split with random input

JRS: In article <tim.streater-584DBF.12272421 102005@individu al.net>,
dated Fri, 21 Oct 2005 12:27:24, seen in news:comp.lang. javascript, Tim
Streater <tim.streater@d ante.org.uk> posted :[color=blue]
>I have this:
>
>splitter = /[ -\/.]/;
>dateItems = dateString.spli t (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?[/color]

Use a RegExp.

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

--
© John Stockton, Surrey, UK. ?@merlyn.demon. co.uk Turnpike v4.00 IE 4 ©
<URL:http://www.jibbering.c om/faq/> JL/RC: FAQ of news:comp.lang. javascript
<URL:http://www.merlyn.demo n.co.uk/js-index.htm> jscr maths, dates, sources.
<URL:http://www.merlyn.demo n.co.uk/> TP/BP/Delphi/jscr/&c, FAQ items, links.