Is there a better way to extract information from a string?












5














Let's say I have an array of strings, and I need specific info from them, what would be an easy way to do that?



Suppose the array was this



let infoArr = [
"1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
"2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
"3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
"4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
"5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
];


Let's say I wanted the date extracted and saved into another array, well I could make a function like this



function extractDates(arr){
let dateRegex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g, dates = "";
let dateArr = ;
for(let i = 0; i<arr.length; i++){
dates = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g.exec(arr[i])
dates.pop();
dateArr.push(dates);
}
return dateArr.flat();
}


Although this works, it is clunky and requires I pop() because it will return an array of arrays, ie: ["12/16/1988", "16/"], plus I need to call flat afterwards.



Another option would be to substring the strings, with a given position, where I need to know a regex pattern.



function extractDates2(arr){
let dates = ;
for(let i = 0; i<arr.length; i++){
let begin = regexIndexOf(arr[i], /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
let end = regexIndexOf(arr[i], /[0-9] /g, begin) + 1;
dates.push(arr[i].substring(begin, end));
}
return dates;
}


And of course have a regexIndexOf function



function regexIndexOf(str, regex, start = 0){
let indexOf = str.substring(start).search(regex);
indexOf = (indexOf >= 0) ? (indexOf + start) : -1;
return indexOf;
}


Again this function also works, but it seems like an awful lot just to extract something simple. Is there an easier way to extract data into an array?










share|improve this question


















  • 3




    Why not use array.map?
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago










  • @HenryHoweson .map (alone) won't work if there's more than one date in one of the input strings, eg "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple 1/10/1999 ", he'd have to flatten it afterwards
    – CertainPerformance
    1 hour ago








  • 1




    @CertainPerformance With the regex global flag set it would work fine, also the OP doesn't appear to require that.
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago










  • @HenryHoweson Just using the global flag doesn't allow for (concise) extraction of matches from multiple strings into a single array, I thought? What code are you thinking of?
    – CertainPerformance
    1 hour ago


















5














Let's say I have an array of strings, and I need specific info from them, what would be an easy way to do that?



Suppose the array was this



let infoArr = [
"1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
"2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
"3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
"4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
"5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
];


Let's say I wanted the date extracted and saved into another array, well I could make a function like this



function extractDates(arr){
let dateRegex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g, dates = "";
let dateArr = ;
for(let i = 0; i<arr.length; i++){
dates = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g.exec(arr[i])
dates.pop();
dateArr.push(dates);
}
return dateArr.flat();
}


Although this works, it is clunky and requires I pop() because it will return an array of arrays, ie: ["12/16/1988", "16/"], plus I need to call flat afterwards.



Another option would be to substring the strings, with a given position, where I need to know a regex pattern.



function extractDates2(arr){
let dates = ;
for(let i = 0; i<arr.length; i++){
let begin = regexIndexOf(arr[i], /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
let end = regexIndexOf(arr[i], /[0-9] /g, begin) + 1;
dates.push(arr[i].substring(begin, end));
}
return dates;
}


And of course have a regexIndexOf function



function regexIndexOf(str, regex, start = 0){
let indexOf = str.substring(start).search(regex);
indexOf = (indexOf >= 0) ? (indexOf + start) : -1;
return indexOf;
}


Again this function also works, but it seems like an awful lot just to extract something simple. Is there an easier way to extract data into an array?










share|improve this question


















  • 3




    Why not use array.map?
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago










  • @HenryHoweson .map (alone) won't work if there's more than one date in one of the input strings, eg "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple 1/10/1999 ", he'd have to flatten it afterwards
    – CertainPerformance
    1 hour ago








  • 1




    @CertainPerformance With the regex global flag set it would work fine, also the OP doesn't appear to require that.
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago










  • @HenryHoweson Just using the global flag doesn't allow for (concise) extraction of matches from multiple strings into a single array, I thought? What code are you thinking of?
    – CertainPerformance
    1 hour ago
















5












5








5


2





Let's say I have an array of strings, and I need specific info from them, what would be an easy way to do that?



Suppose the array was this



let infoArr = [
"1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
"2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
"3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
"4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
"5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
];


Let's say I wanted the date extracted and saved into another array, well I could make a function like this



function extractDates(arr){
let dateRegex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g, dates = "";
let dateArr = ;
for(let i = 0; i<arr.length; i++){
dates = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g.exec(arr[i])
dates.pop();
dateArr.push(dates);
}
return dateArr.flat();
}


Although this works, it is clunky and requires I pop() because it will return an array of arrays, ie: ["12/16/1988", "16/"], plus I need to call flat afterwards.



Another option would be to substring the strings, with a given position, where I need to know a regex pattern.



function extractDates2(arr){
let dates = ;
for(let i = 0; i<arr.length; i++){
let begin = regexIndexOf(arr[i], /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
let end = regexIndexOf(arr[i], /[0-9] /g, begin) + 1;
dates.push(arr[i].substring(begin, end));
}
return dates;
}


And of course have a regexIndexOf function



function regexIndexOf(str, regex, start = 0){
let indexOf = str.substring(start).search(regex);
indexOf = (indexOf >= 0) ? (indexOf + start) : -1;
return indexOf;
}


Again this function also works, but it seems like an awful lot just to extract something simple. Is there an easier way to extract data into an array?










share|improve this question













Let's say I have an array of strings, and I need specific info from them, what would be an easy way to do that?



Suppose the array was this



let infoArr = [
"1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
"2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
"3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
"4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
"5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
];


Let's say I wanted the date extracted and saved into another array, well I could make a function like this



function extractDates(arr){
let dateRegex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g, dates = "";
let dateArr = ;
for(let i = 0; i<arr.length; i++){
dates = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g.exec(arr[i])
dates.pop();
dateArr.push(dates);
}
return dateArr.flat();
}


Although this works, it is clunky and requires I pop() because it will return an array of arrays, ie: ["12/16/1988", "16/"], plus I need to call flat afterwards.



Another option would be to substring the strings, with a given position, where I need to know a regex pattern.



function extractDates2(arr){
let dates = ;
for(let i = 0; i<arr.length; i++){
let begin = regexIndexOf(arr[i], /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
let end = regexIndexOf(arr[i], /[0-9] /g, begin) + 1;
dates.push(arr[i].substring(begin, end));
}
return dates;
}


And of course have a regexIndexOf function



function regexIndexOf(str, regex, start = 0){
let indexOf = str.substring(start).search(regex);
indexOf = (indexOf >= 0) ? (indexOf + start) : -1;
return indexOf;
}


Again this function also works, but it seems like an awful lot just to extract something simple. Is there an easier way to extract data into an array?







javascript






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 1 hour ago









Travis

63258




63258








  • 3




    Why not use array.map?
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago










  • @HenryHoweson .map (alone) won't work if there's more than one date in one of the input strings, eg "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple 1/10/1999 ", he'd have to flatten it afterwards
    – CertainPerformance
    1 hour ago








  • 1




    @CertainPerformance With the regex global flag set it would work fine, also the OP doesn't appear to require that.
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago










  • @HenryHoweson Just using the global flag doesn't allow for (concise) extraction of matches from multiple strings into a single array, I thought? What code are you thinking of?
    – CertainPerformance
    1 hour ago
















  • 3




    Why not use array.map?
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago










  • @HenryHoweson .map (alone) won't work if there's more than one date in one of the input strings, eg "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple 1/10/1999 ", he'd have to flatten it afterwards
    – CertainPerformance
    1 hour ago








  • 1




    @CertainPerformance With the regex global flag set it would work fine, also the OP doesn't appear to require that.
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago










  • @HenryHoweson Just using the global flag doesn't allow for (concise) extraction of matches from multiple strings into a single array, I thought? What code are you thinking of?
    – CertainPerformance
    1 hour ago










3




3




Why not use array.map?
– Henry Howeson
1 hour ago




Why not use array.map?
– Henry Howeson
1 hour ago












@HenryHoweson .map (alone) won't work if there's more than one date in one of the input strings, eg "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple 1/10/1999 ", he'd have to flatten it afterwards
– CertainPerformance
1 hour ago






@HenryHoweson .map (alone) won't work if there's more than one date in one of the input strings, eg "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple 1/10/1999 ", he'd have to flatten it afterwards
– CertainPerformance
1 hour ago






1




1




@CertainPerformance With the regex global flag set it would work fine, also the OP doesn't appear to require that.
– Henry Howeson
1 hour ago




@CertainPerformance With the regex global flag set it would work fine, also the OP doesn't appear to require that.
– Henry Howeson
1 hour ago












@HenryHoweson Just using the global flag doesn't allow for (concise) extraction of matches from multiple strings into a single array, I thought? What code are you thinking of?
– CertainPerformance
1 hour ago






@HenryHoweson Just using the global flag doesn't allow for (concise) extraction of matches from multiple strings into a single array, I thought? What code are you thinking of?
– CertainPerformance
1 hour ago














3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















5














One option would be to join the strings by a separator that won't be matched, like ,, then just perform the global match to get an array of dates from it:






let infoArr = [
"1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
"2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
"3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
"4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
"5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
];
const result = infoArr
.join(',')
.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
console.log(result);








share|improve this answer

















  • 1




    Works great, and is very concise and easy to reason about.
    – Travis
    1 hour ago






  • 2




    This solution appears to be the quickest: jsben.ch/w9geK additionally it has the advantage that it handles array elements without dates (doesn't create null values in the array), do keep in mind however that if you are trying to get the date of a specific element by its' index based on the original array then it may not line up if some elements don't have dates
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago





















4














One approach could be using map() over the elements of the array applying the match on each element, and finally call flat() to get the desired result:






let infoArr = [
"1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
"2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
"3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
"4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
"5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
];

const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g)).flat();

console.log(result);





Alternatively, you could use flatMap():






let infoArr = [
"1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
"2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
"3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
"4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
"5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
];

const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g));

console.log(result);





Also, if you need to remove null values from the final array in the case there are strings without dates, you can apply filter(), like this:



const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
.flat()
.filter(date => date !== null);

const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
.filter(date => date !== null);





share|improve this answer



















  • 2




    You will end up with null values in the array if any of the lines don't contain dates.
    – Mark Meyer
    1 hour ago










  • Thanks for feedback, going to think a workaround for that...
    – Shidersz
    1 hour ago






  • 1




    @Shidersz add .filter((e) => {return e}) to the end
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago












  • Yeah, thank you, I was writing about that, but I used a more readable syntax
    – Shidersz
    1 hour ago



















0














You can use reduce() rather than the loops to pair down the code. Just be careful to keep the null out of the array if there is no match.






let infoArr = [
"1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
"2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
"3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
"4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
"5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
];

let regex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g
let dates = infoArr.reduce((arr, s) => arr.concat(s.match(regex) || ) , )
console.log(dates)








share|improve this answer























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    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes








    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    5














    One option would be to join the strings by a separator that won't be matched, like ,, then just perform the global match to get an array of dates from it:






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];
    const result = infoArr
    .join(',')
    .match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
    console.log(result);








    share|improve this answer

















    • 1




      Works great, and is very concise and easy to reason about.
      – Travis
      1 hour ago






    • 2




      This solution appears to be the quickest: jsben.ch/w9geK additionally it has the advantage that it handles array elements without dates (doesn't create null values in the array), do keep in mind however that if you are trying to get the date of a specific element by its' index based on the original array then it may not line up if some elements don't have dates
      – Henry Howeson
      1 hour ago


















    5














    One option would be to join the strings by a separator that won't be matched, like ,, then just perform the global match to get an array of dates from it:






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];
    const result = infoArr
    .join(',')
    .match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
    console.log(result);








    share|improve this answer

















    • 1




      Works great, and is very concise and easy to reason about.
      – Travis
      1 hour ago






    • 2




      This solution appears to be the quickest: jsben.ch/w9geK additionally it has the advantage that it handles array elements without dates (doesn't create null values in the array), do keep in mind however that if you are trying to get the date of a specific element by its' index based on the original array then it may not line up if some elements don't have dates
      – Henry Howeson
      1 hour ago
















    5












    5








    5






    One option would be to join the strings by a separator that won't be matched, like ,, then just perform the global match to get an array of dates from it:






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];
    const result = infoArr
    .join(',')
    .match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
    console.log(result);








    share|improve this answer












    One option would be to join the strings by a separator that won't be matched, like ,, then just perform the global match to get an array of dates from it:






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];
    const result = infoArr
    .join(',')
    .match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
    console.log(result);








    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];
    const result = infoArr
    .join(',')
    .match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
    console.log(result);





    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];
    const result = infoArr
    .join(',')
    .match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g);
    console.log(result);






    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered 1 hour ago









    CertainPerformance

    76.1k143761




    76.1k143761








    • 1




      Works great, and is very concise and easy to reason about.
      – Travis
      1 hour ago






    • 2




      This solution appears to be the quickest: jsben.ch/w9geK additionally it has the advantage that it handles array elements without dates (doesn't create null values in the array), do keep in mind however that if you are trying to get the date of a specific element by its' index based on the original array then it may not line up if some elements don't have dates
      – Henry Howeson
      1 hour ago
















    • 1




      Works great, and is very concise and easy to reason about.
      – Travis
      1 hour ago






    • 2




      This solution appears to be the quickest: jsben.ch/w9geK additionally it has the advantage that it handles array elements without dates (doesn't create null values in the array), do keep in mind however that if you are trying to get the date of a specific element by its' index based on the original array then it may not line up if some elements don't have dates
      – Henry Howeson
      1 hour ago










    1




    1




    Works great, and is very concise and easy to reason about.
    – Travis
    1 hour ago




    Works great, and is very concise and easy to reason about.
    – Travis
    1 hour ago




    2




    2




    This solution appears to be the quickest: jsben.ch/w9geK additionally it has the advantage that it handles array elements without dates (doesn't create null values in the array), do keep in mind however that if you are trying to get the date of a specific element by its' index based on the original array then it may not line up if some elements don't have dates
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago






    This solution appears to be the quickest: jsben.ch/w9geK additionally it has the advantage that it handles array elements without dates (doesn't create null values in the array), do keep in mind however that if you are trying to get the date of a specific element by its' index based on the original array then it may not line up if some elements don't have dates
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago















    4














    One approach could be using map() over the elements of the array applying the match on each element, and finally call flat() to get the desired result:






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g)).flat();

    console.log(result);





    Alternatively, you could use flatMap():






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g));

    console.log(result);





    Also, if you need to remove null values from the final array in the case there are strings without dates, you can apply filter(), like this:



    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
    .flat()
    .filter(date => date !== null);

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
    .filter(date => date !== null);





    share|improve this answer



















    • 2




      You will end up with null values in the array if any of the lines don't contain dates.
      – Mark Meyer
      1 hour ago










    • Thanks for feedback, going to think a workaround for that...
      – Shidersz
      1 hour ago






    • 1




      @Shidersz add .filter((e) => {return e}) to the end
      – Henry Howeson
      1 hour ago












    • Yeah, thank you, I was writing about that, but I used a more readable syntax
      – Shidersz
      1 hour ago
















    4














    One approach could be using map() over the elements of the array applying the match on each element, and finally call flat() to get the desired result:






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g)).flat();

    console.log(result);





    Alternatively, you could use flatMap():






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g));

    console.log(result);





    Also, if you need to remove null values from the final array in the case there are strings without dates, you can apply filter(), like this:



    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
    .flat()
    .filter(date => date !== null);

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
    .filter(date => date !== null);





    share|improve this answer



















    • 2




      You will end up with null values in the array if any of the lines don't contain dates.
      – Mark Meyer
      1 hour ago










    • Thanks for feedback, going to think a workaround for that...
      – Shidersz
      1 hour ago






    • 1




      @Shidersz add .filter((e) => {return e}) to the end
      – Henry Howeson
      1 hour ago












    • Yeah, thank you, I was writing about that, but I used a more readable syntax
      – Shidersz
      1 hour ago














    4












    4








    4






    One approach could be using map() over the elements of the array applying the match on each element, and finally call flat() to get the desired result:






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g)).flat();

    console.log(result);





    Alternatively, you could use flatMap():






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g));

    console.log(result);





    Also, if you need to remove null values from the final array in the case there are strings without dates, you can apply filter(), like this:



    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
    .flat()
    .filter(date => date !== null);

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
    .filter(date => date !== null);





    share|improve this answer














    One approach could be using map() over the elements of the array applying the match on each element, and finally call flat() to get the desired result:






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g)).flat();

    console.log(result);





    Alternatively, you could use flatMap():






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g));

    console.log(result);





    Also, if you need to remove null values from the final array in the case there are strings without dates, you can apply filter(), like this:



    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
    .flat()
    .filter(date => date !== null);

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g))
    .filter(date => date !== null);





    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g)).flat();

    console.log(result);





    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.map(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g)).flat();

    console.log(result);





    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g));

    console.log(result);





    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    const result = infoArr.flatMap(o => o.match(/(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g));

    console.log(result);






    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited 1 hour ago

























    answered 1 hour ago









    Shidersz

    3,5792526




    3,5792526








    • 2




      You will end up with null values in the array if any of the lines don't contain dates.
      – Mark Meyer
      1 hour ago










    • Thanks for feedback, going to think a workaround for that...
      – Shidersz
      1 hour ago






    • 1




      @Shidersz add .filter((e) => {return e}) to the end
      – Henry Howeson
      1 hour ago












    • Yeah, thank you, I was writing about that, but I used a more readable syntax
      – Shidersz
      1 hour ago














    • 2




      You will end up with null values in the array if any of the lines don't contain dates.
      – Mark Meyer
      1 hour ago










    • Thanks for feedback, going to think a workaround for that...
      – Shidersz
      1 hour ago






    • 1




      @Shidersz add .filter((e) => {return e}) to the end
      – Henry Howeson
      1 hour ago












    • Yeah, thank you, I was writing about that, but I used a more readable syntax
      – Shidersz
      1 hour ago








    2




    2




    You will end up with null values in the array if any of the lines don't contain dates.
    – Mark Meyer
    1 hour ago




    You will end up with null values in the array if any of the lines don't contain dates.
    – Mark Meyer
    1 hour ago












    Thanks for feedback, going to think a workaround for that...
    – Shidersz
    1 hour ago




    Thanks for feedback, going to think a workaround for that...
    – Shidersz
    1 hour ago




    1




    1




    @Shidersz add .filter((e) => {return e}) to the end
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago






    @Shidersz add .filter((e) => {return e}) to the end
    – Henry Howeson
    1 hour ago














    Yeah, thank you, I was writing about that, but I used a more readable syntax
    – Shidersz
    1 hour ago




    Yeah, thank you, I was writing about that, but I used a more readable syntax
    – Shidersz
    1 hour ago











    0














    You can use reduce() rather than the loops to pair down the code. Just be careful to keep the null out of the array if there is no match.






    let infoArr = [
    "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
    "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
    "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
    "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
    "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
    ];

    let regex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g
    let dates = infoArr.reduce((arr, s) => arr.concat(s.match(regex) || ) , )
    console.log(dates)








    share|improve this answer




























      0














      You can use reduce() rather than the loops to pair down the code. Just be careful to keep the null out of the array if there is no match.






      let infoArr = [
      "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
      "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
      "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
      "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
      "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
      ];

      let regex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g
      let dates = infoArr.reduce((arr, s) => arr.concat(s.match(regex) || ) , )
      console.log(dates)








      share|improve this answer


























        0












        0








        0






        You can use reduce() rather than the loops to pair down the code. Just be careful to keep the null out of the array if there is no match.






        let infoArr = [
        "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
        "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
        "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
        "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
        "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
        ];

        let regex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g
        let dates = infoArr.reduce((arr, s) => arr.concat(s.match(regex) || ) , )
        console.log(dates)








        share|improve this answer














        You can use reduce() rather than the loops to pair down the code. Just be careful to keep the null out of the array if there is no match.






        let infoArr = [
        "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
        "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
        "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
        "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
        "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
        ];

        let regex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g
        let dates = infoArr.reduce((arr, s) => arr.concat(s.match(regex) || ) , )
        console.log(dates)








        let infoArr = [
        "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
        "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
        "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
        "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
        "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
        ];

        let regex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g
        let dates = infoArr.reduce((arr, s) => arr.concat(s.match(regex) || ) , )
        console.log(dates)





        let infoArr = [
        "1 Ben Howard 12/16/1988 apple",
        "2 James Smith 1/10/1999 orange",
        "3 Andy Bloss 10/25/1956 apple",
        "4 Carrie Walters 8/20/1975 peach",
        "5 Doug Jones 11/10/1975 peach"
        ];

        let regex = /(d{1,2}/){2}d{4}/g
        let dates = infoArr.reduce((arr, s) => arr.concat(s.match(regex) || ) , )
        console.log(dates)






        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited 1 hour ago

























        answered 1 hour ago









        Mark Meyer

        35.9k32958




        35.9k32958






























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