Compiles a regular expression into an internal format for faster execution.

rgExp.compile(pattern, [flags]) 

Arguments

rgExp

Required. An instance of a Regular Expression object. Can be a variable name or a literal.

pattern

Required. A string expression containing a regular expression pattern to be compiled

flags

Optional. Available flags, which may be combined, are:

• g (global search for all occurrences of pattern)
• i (ignore case)
• m (multiline search)

Remarks

The compile method converts pattern into an internal format for faster execution. This allows for more efficient use of regular expressions in loops, for example. A compiled regular expression speeds things up when reusing the same expression repeatedly. No advantage is gained, however, if the regular expression changes.

Example

The following example illustrates the use of the compile method:

function CompileDemo(){
   var rs;
   var s = "AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPp"
   // Create regular expression for uppercase only.
   var r = new RegExp("[A-Z]", "g");
   var a1 = s.match(r)              // Find matches.
   // Compile the regular expression for lowercase only.
   r.compile("[a-z]", "g");
   var a2 = s.match(r)              // Find matches.
   return(a1 + "\n" + a2;
}

Requirements

Version 3

See Also

Regular Expression Object Methods | Regular Expression Object Properties | Regular Expression Syntax

Applies To: Regular Expression Object