Microsoft® JScript™ compile Method | Language Reference Version 3

See Also Applies To

##### Description

> Compiles a regular expression into an internal format.

##### Syntax

> rgexp.compile(pattern)

> The compile method syntax has these parts:

> Part | Description
> rgexp | Required. A Regular Expression object. Can be a variable name or a literal.
> pattern | Required. A string expression containing a regular expression pattern to be compiled.

##### Remarks

> The compile method converts pattern into an internal format for faster execution. This allows for more efficient use of regular expressions in loops, for example.

> The following example illustrates the use of the compile method:

> >     function CompileDemo()
> >     {
> >       var s = "AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPp"
> >       // Create regular expression for uppercase only.
> >       var r = new RegExp("[A-Z]", "g");
> >       var a = s.match(r) // Find matches.
> >       document.write(a);
> >       // Compile regular expression for lowercase only.
> >       r.compile("[a-z]", "g");
> >       var a = s.match(r) // Find matches.
> >       document.write(a);
> >     }

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