Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global objects/RegExp/compile

DeprecatedThis feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

The deprecated compile() method is used to (re-)compile a regular expression during execution of a script. It is basically the same as the RegExp constructor.

Syntax

regexObj.compile(pattern, flags)

Parameters

pattern

The text of the regular expression.

flags

If specified, flags can have any combination of the following values:

g

global match

i

ignore case

m

multiline; treat beginning and end characters (^ and $) as working over multiple lines (i.e., match the beginning or end of each line (delimited by \n or \r), not only the very beginning or end of the whole input string)

y

sticky; matches only from the index indicated by the lastIndex property of this regular expression in the target string (and does not attempt to match from any later indexes).

Description

 The compile method is deprecated. You can just use the RegExp constructor to achieve the same effect.

Examples

Using compile()

The following example shows how to recompile a regular expression with a new pattern and a new flag.

var regexObj = new RegExp('foo', 'gi'); 
regexObj.compile('new foo', 'g');

Specifications

Specification

ECMAScript (ECMA-262)The definition of 'RegExp.prototype.compile' in that specification.

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile						Server
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet	Node.js
compile Deprecated'	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 4	Opera Full support 6	Safari Full support 3.1	WebView Android Full support 1	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0	nodejs Full support Yes

Legend

Full support  

Full support

Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.'

Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.

See also

• RegExp

RegExp.prototype.compile() by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.