[removed] replace last occurrence of text in a string

Question

See my code snippet below:

var list = [\'one\', \'two\', \'three\', \'four\'];
var str = \'one two, one three, one four, one\';
for ( var i = 0; i < list.         


        

Answer 1

Not as elegant as the regex answers above, but easier to follow for the not-as-savvy among us:

function removeLastInstance(badtext, str) {
    var charpos = str.lastIndexOf(badtext);
    if (charpos<0) return str;
    ptone = str.substring(0,charpos);
    pttwo = str.substring(charpos+(badtext.length));
    return (ptone+pttwo);
}

I realize this is likely slower and more wasteful than the regex examples, but I think it might be helpful as an illustration of how string manipulations can be done. (It can also be condensed a bit, but again, I wanted each step to be clear.)

Answer 2

If speed is important, use this:

/**
 * Replace last occurrence of a string with another string
 * x - the initial string
 * y - string to replace
 * z - string that will replace
 */
function replaceLast(x, y, z){
    var a = x.split("");
    var length = y.length;
    if(x.lastIndexOf(y) != -1) {
        for(var i = x.lastIndexOf(y); i < x.lastIndexOf(y) + length; i++) {
            if(i == x.lastIndexOf(y)) {
                a[i] = z;
            }
            else {
                delete a[i];
            }
        }
    }

    return a.join("");
}

It's faster than using RegExp.

Answer 3

Here's a method that only uses splitting and joining. It's a little more readable so thought it was worth sharing:

    String.prototype.replaceLast = function (what, replacement) {
        var pcs = this.split(what);
        var lastPc = pcs.pop();
        return pcs.join(what) + replacement + lastPc;
    };

Answer 4

Thought I'd answer here since this came up first in my Google search and there's no answer (outside of Matt's creative answer :)) that generically replaces the last occurrence of a string of characters when the text to replace might not be at the end of the string.

if (!String.prototype.replaceLast) {
    String.prototype.replaceLast = function(find, replace) {
        var index = this.lastIndexOf(find);

        if (index >= 0) {
            return this.substring(0, index) + replace + this.substring(index + find.length);
        }

        return this.toString();
    };
}

var str = 'one two, one three, one four, one';

// outputs: one two, one three, one four, finish
console.log(str.replaceLast('one', 'finish'));

// outputs: one two, one three, one four; one
console.log(str.replaceLast(',', ';'));

Answer 5

str = (str + '?').replace(list[i] + '?', 'finish');

Answer 6

A simple answer without any regex would be:

str = str.substr(0, str.lastIndexOf(list[i])) + 'finish'