How can I extract data from a string using another string as a template?

Question

I am looking for an efficient way to generically extract data from a string using another string as a template. Pseudocode:

var mystring = \"NET,1:1,0,ipv4,192.1         


        

Answer 1

One solution is at http://jsfiddle.net/CrossEye/Kxe6W/

var templatizedStringParser = function(myTemplate, myString) {

    var names = [];
    var parts = myTemplate.replace( /\[([^\]]+)]/g, function(str, name) {
        names.push(name);
        return "~";
    }).split("~");

    var parser = function(myString) {
        var result = {};
        remainder = myString;
        var i, len, index;
        for (i = 0, len = names.length; i < len; i++) {
            remainder = remainder.substring(parts[i].length);
            index = remainder.indexOf(parts[i + 1]);
            result[names[i]] = remainder.substring(0, index);
            remainder = remainder.substring(index);
        }
        result[names[names.length - 1]] = remainder;
        return result;
    };

    return myString ? parser(myString) : parser;
};

You can use it like this

console.log(templatizedStringParser(myTemplate, myString));

or this:

var parser = templatizedStringParser(myTemplate);
console.log(parser(myString));

There is almost certainly some cruft in there as I did this in a hurry. The use of the "~" might not work for you. And there are likely other problems if you have boundary issues, but it might cover many cases. ​