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Remove Escape Characters From String JavaScript

Last Updated : Mar 11, 2024

Remove Escape Characters From String JavaScript

In this article we will show you the solution of remove escape characters from string JavaScript, in JavaScript, special characters within strings are represented by escape characters. A backslash () is placed in front of them to denote that the character that follows should be handled differently.

For obtaining the original unescaped string, we may have to remove there escape characters from the given string.

We will outline how to accomplish this in JavaScript in this tutorial.

In order to replace the escape sequences in a string in JavaScript, we will utilise regular expressions to recognise them.

A strong and adaptable method for matching and modifying strings based on specified patterns is provided by regular expressions.

The string's escape sequences can all be located using a regular expression, and then their unescaped counterparts can be used in their stead.

Step By Step Guide On Remove Escape Characters From String JavaScript :-

const input = "Given String is with escape characters: \\n newline, \\t tab, and \\' single quote.";
const escapeRegex = /\\([bfnrtv'"\\])/g;
function removeEscapeCharacters(str) {
  return str.replace(escapeRegex, (match, escapeChar) => {
    switch (escapeChar) {
      case "b": return "\b";
      case "f": return "\f";
      case "n": return "\n";
      case "r": return "\r";
      case "t": return "\t";
      case "v": return "\v";
      case "'": return "'";
      case "\"": return "\"";
      case "\\": return "\\";
      default: return match;
    }
  });
}
const unescapedString = removeEscapeCharacters(input);
console.log(unescapedString);
  1. As a first step, we declare a sample string input, A string with different escape patterns. Because we want to use single quotes as a representation of an escape sequence, the string is encased in double quotations.
  2. To match escape sequences, we create a regular expression called escapeRegex. A backslash is followed by one of the letters b, f, n, r, t, v, ', or another backslash in the regular expression ([bfnrtv'"]). The character that follows the backslash is captured by the capturing group created by the brackets ().
  3. The removeEscapeCharacters method is created, which accepts a string, str as input.
  4. We apply the replace method with the escapeRegex to the input string str within the removeEscapeCharacters function. A regular expression and a callback function are required by the replace method.
  5. The callback method accepts two arguments: escapeChar, which represents the character that was captured by the regular expression's capturing group, and match, which represents the full substring that was matched.
  6. We utilise a switch statement within the callback function to determine the value of escapeChar.
  7. The backspace character (b) is substituted by a form feed (f), a newline (n), a carriage return (r), a tab (t), a vertical tab (v), and their respective characters (', ", ). For each case, we return the corresponding unescaped character (b).
  8. We return the match itself if the escapeChar matches none of the circumstances, indicating that it is not an escape sequence.
  9. Input is passed as the final argument when we use the removeEscapeCharacters function, and the output is saved as an unescapedString. The original string, devoid of escape characters, is displayed on the console after we log the unescapedString.

Conclusion :-

Regular expressions and the replace method in JavaScript can be used to remove escape characters from a string.

We can get the original unescaped string by locating and swapping out escape sequences, which is handy in a variety of circumstances.

Effective string manipulation and processing in JavaScript require an understanding of how to work with escape characters.

I hope this article on remove escape characters from string JavaScript helps you and the steps and method mentioned above are easy to follow and implement.

Author Image About Pragati

Experienced coding content writer who enjoys breaking down complex concepts in programming languages like Java, Python, C, and C++. Over three years of experience producing interesting and relevant content for a variety of entities. Committed to providing concise and easy-to-understand articles that assist readers in easily understanding technology and industry trends in the world of coding and software development.

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