Replace multiple strings at once

Question

Is there an easy equivalent to this in JavaScript?

$find = array("<", ">", "\n"); $replace = array("&lt;", "&gt;", "<br/>");  $textarea = str_replace($find, $replace, $textarea);  

This is using PHP's str_replace, which allows you to use an array of words to look for and replace. Can I do something like this using JavaScript / jQuery?

... var textarea = $(this).val();  // string replace here  $("#output").html(textarea); ... 

Answer 1

You could extend the String object with your own function that does what you need (useful if there's ever missing functionality):

String.prototype.replaceArray = function(find, replace) {   var replaceString = this;   for (var i = 0; i < find.length; i++) {     replaceString = replaceString.replace(find[i], replace[i]);   }   return replaceString; }; 

For global replace you could use regex:

String.prototype.replaceArray = function(find, replace) {   var replaceString = this;   var regex;    for (var i = 0; i < find.length; i++) {     regex = new RegExp(find[i], "g");     replaceString = replaceString.replace(regex, replace[i]);   }   return replaceString; }; 

To use the function it'd be similar to your PHP example:

var textarea = $(this).val(); var find = ["<", ">", "\n"]; var replace = ["&lt;", "&gt;", "<br/>"]; textarea = textarea.replaceArray(find, replace);