Lookahead assertion: Matches “x” only if “x” is followed by “y”. For example, /Jack(?=Sprat)/ matches “Jack” only if it is followed by “Sprat”. /Jack(?=Sprat|Frost)/ matches “Jack” only if it is followed by “Sprat” or “Frost”. However, neither “Sprat” nor “Frost” is part of the match results.
x(?!y)
Negative lookahead assertion: Matches “x” only if “x” is not followed by “y”. For example, /\d+(?!\.)/ matches a number only if it is not followed by a decimal point. /\d+(?!\.)/.exec('3.141') matches “141” but not “3”.
(?<=y)x
Lookbehind assertion: Matches “x” only if “x” is preceded by “y”. For example,/(?<=Jack)Sprat/ matches “Sprat” only if it is preceded by “Jack”. /(?<=Jack|Tom)Sprat/ matches “Sprat” only if it is preceded by “Jack” or “Tom”. However, neither “Jack” nor “Tom” is part of the match results.
(?<!y)x
Negative lookbehind assertion: Matches “x” only if “x” is not preceded by “y”. For example, /(?<!-)\d+/ matches a number only if it is not preceded by a minus sign. /(?<!-)\d+/.exec('3') matches “3”. /(?<!-)\d+/.exec('-3') match is not found because the number is preceded by the minus sign.