How to find part of a string in array jQuery

Question

I've been trying to find a portion of a string in a couple of Array of strings without success:

I have array1 ['BA11', 'BA14', 'BA15']

and array2 ['GL156', 'GL24', 'GL31']

I wanted that it would return true when I searched for just part of the string "BA11AB", "BA15HB" or "GL156DC".

Here is the code I've been using but without success:

if($.inArray(userinput, array1) !== -1) 
        {
            alert("Found in Array1!");
        }

if($.inArray(userinput, array2) !== -1) 
        {
            alert("Found! in Array2");
        }

Thanks Nuno

possible duplicate of How can I check if one string contains another substring in JavaScript? — Igl3
– Igl3, Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 9:56
You don't want to check if the value is in array. You want to check if the value is in one of the arrays values. — eithed
– eithed, Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 10:00
You can use JavaScript search function msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ie/tbc7a78k(v=vs.94).aspx — AurA
– AurA, Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 10:06

eithed · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-05 17:56:31Z

5

Seeing that OP changed his original question: http://jsfiddle.net/c4qPX/2/ is a solution for both of them (there's no really difference for the algorithm if we're searching through the array of searched keys or searched values) - the point is what to compare.

var array1 = ['BA11', 'BA14', 'BA15'];
var array2 = ['GL156', 'GL24', 'GL31'];
var search = 'GL156DC';

$.each([array1, array2], function(index, value){
    $.each(value, function(key, cell){
        if (search.indexOf(cell) !== -1)
            console.log('found in array '+index, cell);
    });
});

edited Dec 5, 2013 at 17:56

answered Dec 5, 2013 at 17:45

eithed

4,3996 gold badges46 silver badges63 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

Maurice Perry · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-03 10:05:16Z

5

var found = false;
$.each(array, function(i, val) {
    if (val.indexOf(string) >= 0) {
        found = true;
        return false;
    }
});

answered Dec 3, 2013 at 10:05

Maurice Perry

32.8k9 gold badges72 silver badges97 bronze badges

2 Comments

Matt Over a year ago

Works fine, +1!. And here I've prepared a little jsFiddle to try it. N.B.: I've encapsulated into a handy function.

Bunkerbuster Over a year ago

@Maurice is it not string.indexOf(val), because val is always the same length, and the string length can be variable and val can be a part of the string, not the other way around.

MT0 · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-04 21:35:54Z

You can create a simple function and add it to the Array prototype (so that it can be called on any array) which searches through the array looking for sub-string matches:

JSFIDDLE

Array.prototype.containsSubString = function( text ){
    for ( var i = 0; i < this.length; ++i )
    {
        if ( this[i].toString().indexOf( text ) != -1 )
            return i;
    }
    return -1;
}

Then just use it on your arrays:

var array1 = ['12345', '78273', '34784'],
    array2 = ['JJJJJ', 'ABCDEF', 'FFDDFF'];

if( array1.containsSubString( 234 ) !== -1) 
{
    alert("Found in Array1!");
}

if( array2.containsSubString( 'DD' ) !== -1) 
{
    alert("Found! in Array2");
}

Edit

If you want to find whether an array has an element which is a sub-string of another string then:

JSFIDDLE

Array.prototype.hasSubStringOf = function( text ){
    for ( var i = 0; i < this.length; ++i )
    {
        if ( text.toString().indexOf( this[i].toString() ) != -1 )
            return i;
    }
    return -1;
}

var array3 = [ 'AB11' ];

if( array3.hasSubStringOf( 'AB11HA' ) !== -1) 
{
    alert("Array3 contains substring");
}

Edit 2

Just combine both the previous functions:

JSFIDDLE

Array.prototype.containsSubStringOrHasSubstringOf = function( text ){
    for ( var i = 0; i < this.length; ++i )
    {
        if (    this[i].toString().indexOf( text.toString() ) != -1
             || text.toString().indexOf( this[i].toString() ) != -1 )
            return i;
    }
    return -1;
}

var testArrays = [
        ['BA11ABC', 'BAGL156DC14', 'BA15HC'],
        ['GL156DC', 'GL166DC', 'GL31BA11AB'],
        ['BA11', 'BA14', 'BA15'],
        ['GL156', 'GL24', 'GL31']
    ],
    testValues   = [ "BA11AB", "BA15HB", "GL156DC" ],
    results = [ 'Results:' ];

var test = function( str, arr ){
    var i = arr.containsSubStringOrHasSubstringOf( str );
    if ( i !== -1 )
        results.push( JSON.stringify( arr ) + ' matches ' + str + ' on ' + arr[i] );
    else
        results.push( JSON.stringify( arr ) + ' does not match ' + str );
};

for ( var i = 0; i < testArrays.length; ++i )
    for ( var j = 0; j < testValues.length; ++j )
        test( testValues[j], testArrays[i] );

alert( results.join('\n') );

If you have a problem extending native JS objects: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/… you can define the function as a "normal" function and call it the following way: containsSubString.call(array1,"234");
Hi, thank you for the answer however if the user inputs a value such as "AB11HB" and I I have an entry on my array that I want this to match, such as "AB11" it will return false.
That is not what you asked for in your original post and none of your examples are like that.
Edit added - if that does not do what you want then please make it explicitly clear what your requirements are and provide a decent set of test data and pass/fail criteria.
Thank you for your answer, what I asked for is the same thing. The only difference is in the data I want to compare. And this is where I am having trouble since if I compare a string which is larger than the data on the array it will always returns false even if part of the string is present in the array.

rajesh kakawat · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-03 10:09:22Z

1

try something like this

 return array1.toString().indexOf(userinput)!=-1;

if problem with comma than

 return array1.join('|').indexOf(userinput)!=-1;

use space if any problem arrive

return array1.join(' ').indexOf(userinput)!=-1;

edited Dec 3, 2013 at 10:09

answered Dec 3, 2013 at 10:01

rajesh kakawat

10.9k1 gold badge24 silver badges40 bronze badges

3 Comments

eithed Over a year ago

A nice approach, but if he searches for 345,7, it will be found in array1.

eithed Over a year ago

Any join approach is doomed, as we don't know the OPs data. True, you can separate them with magic characters hoping they won't appear.

MT0 Over a year ago

var array1 = [ 'A A', 'A,A', 'A|A' ]; and with userinput of 'A A' or 'A,A' or 'A|A' then there can be matches across the boundary between array elements with each of your tests.

R. Oosterholt · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-03 10:00:49Z

0

I'm not sure if you are familiar with underscore js, but you could use something like this:

var array = ['JJJJJ', 'ABCDEF', 'FFDDFF'];
var search = "JJJ";
var found = _.some(array, function(value) {
    return value.indexOf(search)!=-1;
});

alert(found);

see fiddle.

seen the answers of the others and I really like the toString() answers: array.toString().indexOf(search)!=-1

answered Dec 3, 2013 at 10:00

R. Oosterholt

8,2003 gold badges56 silver badges80 bronze badges

4 Comments

R. Oosterholt Over a year ago

updated jQuery fiddle to stop when string is found

R. Oosterholt Over a year ago

tried which one, underscore or jQuery one? And what didn't work?

Nuno Luz Over a year ago

Yes, the second one works, but I need it to find partial results, such returning true if the user inputed "BA11HB" and it would partially correspond to this entry on the array: "BA11".

R. Oosterholt Over a year ago

you could use join('SEPERATOR') (e.g. array1.join('|')) to fix this. The first solution is bullet proof (no hassle with choosing the correct separator).

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

How to find part of a string in array jQuery

5 Answers 5

Comments

2 Comments

6 Comments

3 Comments

4 Comments

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

5 Answers 5

Comments

2 Comments

6 Comments

3 Comments

4 Comments

Linked

Related