Javascript Split Space Delimited String and Trim Extra Commas and Spaces

Question

I need to split a keyword string and turn it into a comma delimited string. However, I need to get rid of extra spaces and any commas that the user has already input.

Answer 1

In addition to Felix Kling's answer

If you have preceding and trailing white spaces, you should remove those first.

It's possible to add an "extension method" to a JavaScript String by hooking into it's prototype. I've been using the following to trim preceding and trailing white-spaces, and thus far it's worked a treat:

// trims the leading and proceeding white-space
String.prototype.trim = function()
{
    return this.replace(/^\s\s*/, '').replace(/\s\s*$/, '');
};