Replace multiple characters in one replace call

Question

I need to replace every instance of '_' with a space, and every instance of '#' with nothing/empty.

var string = '#Please send_an_information_pack_to_the_following_address:'; 

I've tried this:

string.replace('#','').replace('_', ' '); 

I don't really like chaining commands like this. Is there another way to do it in one?

Answer 1

Use the OR operator (|):

var str = '#this #is__ __#a test###__'; str.replace(/#|_/g,''); // result: "this is a test" 

You could also use a character class:

str.replace(/[#_]/g,''); 

Fiddle

If you want to replace the hash with one thing and the underscore with another, then you will just have to chain. However, you could add a prototype:

String.prototype.allReplace = function(obj) {     var retStr = this;     for (var x in obj) {         retStr = retStr.replace(new RegExp(x, 'g'), obj[x]);     }     return retStr; };  console.log('aabbaabbcc'.allReplace({'a': 'h', 'b': 'o'})); // console.log 'hhoohhoocc'; 

Why not chain, though? I see nothing wrong with that.