Regex to replace multiple spaces with a single space

Question

Given a string like:

\"The dog      has a long   tail, and it     is RED!\"

What kind of jQuery or JavaScript magic can be used to keep spaces to only o

Answer 1

var string = "The dog      has a long   tail, and it     is RED!";
var replaced = string.replace(/ +/g, " ");

Or if you also want to replace tabs:

var replaced = string.replace(/\s+/g, " ");

Answer 2

is replace is not used, string = string.split(/\W+/);

Answer 3

This script removes any white space (multiple spaces, tabs, returns, etc) between words and trims:

// Trims & replaces any wihtespacing to single space between words
String.prototype.clearExtraSpace = function(){
  var _trimLeft  = /^\s+/,
      _trimRight = /\s+$/,
      _multiple  = /\s+/g;

  return this.replace(_trimLeft, '').replace(_trimRight, '').replace(_multiple, ' ');
};

Answer 4

For more control you can use the replace callback to handle the value.

value = "tags:HUNT  tags:HUNT         tags:HUNT  tags:HUNT"
value.replace(new RegExp(`(?:\\s+)(?:tags)`, 'g'), $1 => ` ${$1.trim()}`)
//"tags:HUNT tags:HUNT tags:HUNT tags:HUNT"

Answer 5

I know we have to use regex, but during an interview, I was asked to do WITHOUT USING REGEX.

@slightlytyler helped me in coming with the below approach.

const testStr = "I   LOVE    STACKOVERFLOW   LOL";

const removeSpaces = str  => {
  const chars = str.split('');
  const nextChars = chars.reduce(
    (acc, c) => {
      if (c === ' ') {
        const lastChar = acc[acc.length - 1];
        if (lastChar === ' ') {
          return acc;
        }
      }
      return [...acc, c];
    },
    [],
  );
  const nextStr = nextChars.join('');
  return nextStr
};

console.log(removeSpaces(testStr));