Javascript Regex: How can I surround all words starting with @ with <b> tags?

Question

I'd like to surround all words in a haystack starting with @ with <b> tags with javascript regex. What pattern would I use?

Answer 1

var sample = "@sample";
sample = sample.replace(/(^|\s|-)+@(\w+)/g, "<b>$&</b>");
//^^that's assuming you want the @ to stay
//if not, use $2 instead of $&

$& inserts the matched substring.

Using functions:

var sample = "@sample";
sample = sample.replace(/(^|\s|-)+@(\w+)/g, function(str) {
    return "<b>"+str+"</b>";
}

Using functions is a good idea when you want to have greater or finer control. You might want to process the current matched piece. Whatever you want.

See more here at MDC.

Answer 2

George's example will match everything after @, including [email protected]. Try:

function BoldMyText(text) {
    var words = text.split(" ");
    var returnText = '';

    for(var i=0;i<words.length;i++) {
         word = words[i].replace(/^@(\w+)/, '<b>$1</b>');
         returnText += ' ' + word;
    }

    return returnText;
}

var myBoldedText = BoldMyText("You should @not bold [email protected]");

If its not what you want.