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JavaScript String Search

The indexOf() method returns the index of (the position of) the first occurrence of a specified text in a string

JavaScript String indexOf()

The indexOf() method returns the index of (the position of) the first occurrence of a specified text in a string:

Example

let str = "Please locate where 'locate' occurs!";
str.indexOf("locate");

Note

JavaScript counts positions from zero.

0 is the first position in a string, 1 is the second, 2 is the third, ...

JavaScript String lastIndexOf()

The lastIndexOf() method returns the index of the last occurrence of a specified text in a string:

Example

let str = "Please locate where 'locate' occurs!";
str.lastIndexOf("locate");

Both indexOf(), and lastIndexOf() return -1 if the text is not found:

Example

let str = "Please locate where 'locate' occurs!";
str.lastIndexOf("John");

Both methods accept a second parameter as the starting position for the search:

Example

let str = "Please locate where 'locate' occurs!";
str.indexOf("locate", 15);

The lastIndexOf() methods searches backwards (from the end to the beginning), meaning: if the second parameter is 15, the search starts at position 15, and searches to the beginning of the string.

Example

let str = "Please locate where 'locate' occurs!";
str.lastIndexOf("locate", 15);

JavaScript String search()

The search() method searches a string for a specified value and returns the position of the match:

Example

let str = "Please locate where 'locate' occurs!";
str.search("locate");

Did You Notice?

The two methods, indexOf() and search(), are equal?

They accept the same arguments (parameters), and return the same value?

The two methods are NOT equal. These are the differences:

  • The search() method cannot take a second start position argument.
  • The indexOf() method cannot take powerful search values (regular expressions).

    • You will learn more about regular expressions in a later chapter.

    JavaScript String match()

    The match() method searches a string for a match against a regular expression, and returns the matches, as an Array object.

    Example 1

    Search a string for "ain":

    let text = "The rain in SPAIN stays mainly in the plain";
    text.match(/ain/g);

    Read more about regular expressions in the chapter JS RegExp.

    Note

    If a regular expression does not include the g modifier (to perform a global search), the match() method will return only the first match in the string.

    Syntax

    string.match(regexp)
    regexp Required. The value to search for, as a regular expression.
    Returns: An Array, containing the matches, one item for each match, or null if no match is found

    Example 2

    Perform a global, case-insensitive search for "ain":

    let text = "The rain in SPAIN stays mainly in the plain";
    text.match(/ain/gi);

    JavaScript String includes()

    The includes() method returns true if a string contains a specified value.

    Example

    let text = "Hello world, welcome to the universe.";
    text.includes("world");

    Syntax

    string.includes(searchvalue, start)
    searchvalue Required. The string to search for
    start Optional. Default 0. Position to start the search
    Returns: Returns true if the string contains the value, otherwise false
    JS Version: ES6 (2015)

    Check if a string includes "world", starting the search at position 12:

    let text = "Hello world, welcome to the universe.";
    text.includes("world", 12);

    Browser Support

    includes() is an ES6 feature (JavaScript 2015).

    It is supported in all modern browsers:

    Chrome Edge Firefox Safari Opera
    Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
    includes() is not supported in Internet Explorer.

    JavaScript String startsWith()

    The startsWith() method returns true if a string begins with a specified value, otherwise false:

    Example

    let text = "Hello world, welcome to the universe.";

    text.startsWith("Hello");

    Syntax

    string.startsWith(searchvalue, start)

    Parameter Values

    Parameter Description
    searchvalue Required. The value to search for.
    start Optional. Default 0. The position to start the search.

    Examples

    let text = "Hello world, welcome to the universe.";

    text.startsWith("world")    // Returns false
    let text = "Hello world, welcome to the universe.";

    text.startsWith("world", 5)    // Returns false
    let text = "Hello world, welcome to the universe.";

    text.startsWith("world", 6)    // Returns true

    Note

    The startsWith() method is case sensitive.

    Browser Support

    startsWith() is an ES6 feature (JavaScript 2015).

    It is supported in all modern browsers:

    Chrome Edge Firefox Safari Opera
    Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
    startsWith() is not supported in Internet Explorer.

    JavaScript String endsWith()

    The endsWith() method returns true if a string ends with a specified value, otherwise false:

    Example

    Check if a string ends with "Doe":

    let text = "John Doe";
    text.endsWith("Doe");

    Syntax

    string.endsWith(searchvalue, length)

    Parameter Values

    Parameter Description
    searchvalue Required. The value to search for.
    length Optional. The length to search.

    Check if the 11 first characters of a string ends with "world":

    let text = "Hello world, welcome to the universe.";
    text.endsWith("world", 11);

    Try it Yourself »

    Note

    The endsWith() method is case sensitive.

    Browser Support

    endsWith() is an ES6 feature (JavaScript 2015).

    It is supported in all modern browsers:

    Chrome Edge Firefox Safari Opera
    Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
    endsWith() is not supported in Internet Explorer.

    Complete String Reference

    For a complete String reference, go to our:

    Complete JavaScript String Reference.

    The reference contains descriptions and examples of all string properties and methods.

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