Replace multiple 's with only one

Question

How do I use JavaScript to detect

to become one

?

I trie

Answer 1

This solution is jQuery + DOM only, does not manipulate HTML as string, works with text nodes, ignores whitespace only text nodes:

$('br').each(function () {
  const {nodeName} = this;

  let node = this;

  while (node = node.previousSibling) {
    if (node.nodeType !== Node.TEXT_NODE || node.nodeValue.trim() !== '') {
      break;
    };
  }

  if (node && node !== this && node.nodeName === nodeName) {
    $(node).remove();
  }
});

See: https://jsfiddle.net/kov35jct/