How to use JavaScript regex over multiple lines?

Question

var ss= \"
aaaa\\nbbb\\nccc
ffffd\";
var arr= ss.match( //gm );
alert(arr);     // null

I\'d want the PR

Answer 1

DON'T use (.|[\r\n]) instead of . for multiline matching.

DO use [\s\S] instead of . for multiline matching

Also, avoid greediness where not needed by using *? or +? quantifier instead of * or +. This can have a huge performance impact.

See the benchmark I have made: http://jsperf.com/javascript-multiline-regexp-workarounds

Using [^]: fastest
Using [\s\S]: 0.83% slower
Using (.|\r|\n): 96% slower
Using (.|[\r\n]): 96% slower

NB: You can also use [^] but it is deprecated in the below comment.