Split string in JavaScript using RegExp ignoring the delimiter inside brackets
Problem
I have various instances of strings that I need to Split. Following are some examples and the desired output scenarios. The rules to split are also listed:
Example 1:
input: 'filename.ext|someattributes'
output array:
'filename.ext',
'someattributes'
Example 2:
input: qualifier1[filename.ext|someattributes]|qualifier2[another_filename.ext|some_other_attributes]
output array:
'qualifier1[filename.ext|someattributes]',
'qualifier2[another_filename.ext|some_other_attributes]'
Example 3:
input: dummyqualifier|qualifier1[filename.ext|someattributes]
output array:
'dummyqualifier',
'qualifier1[filename.ext|someattributes]'
The rules are simple. Split the string using '|' as delimiter only when it does not appear inside square brackets. Note: The string may not have any square brackets. There are no spaces in the input strings.
I am looking for a solution in JavaScript as this is for a node.js module.
Solution
This regex should work for the cases you've outlined:
/\|(?!(?:\w+\|?)+])/
Here's an example of it running: http://jsfiddle.net/UFq3h/1/ (you will need to have the console opened to see the results).
Crude explanation: any | character not followed by (word characters or | followed by ]). If you need a more precise explanation post a comment and I'll try to make it clearer.
Edit: Thanks to Lolo for the improved version, which handles the last example in the use case.
Discussion
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