How To Extract The Hostname Portion Of A Url In Javascript

When working with web development, there may come a time when you need to extract the hostname portion of a URL using JavaScript. This can be a handy technique when you are dealing with links and need to manipulate them in various ways. In this article, we'll walk you through a simple and effective method to achieve this task effortlessly.

To start, let's dive into the code. Here's a straightforward function that you can use to extract the hostname from a given URL:

Javascript

function extractHostname(url) {
    let hostname;
    
    // Find &amp; remove protocol (http, ftp, etc.) and get hostname
    if (url.indexOf("//") &gt; -1) {
        hostname = url.split('/')[2];
    } else {
        hostname = url.split('/')[0];
    }
    
    // Find &amp; remove port number
    hostname = hostname.split(':')[0];
    
    // Find &amp; remove "?"
    hostname = hostname.split('?')[0];

    return hostname;
}

In this JavaScript function, we first declare a variable `hostname` to store the extracted hostname. We then use a series of `split()` operations to isolate and extract the required information from the URL string.

Now let's break down the code step by step for better understanding:

1. The function `extractHostname` takes a URL as its input parameter.

2. We check if the URL contains a protocol separator ('//'). If it does, we split the URL by slashes ('/') and retrieve the value at index 2, which represents the hostname. If not, we directly split the URL by slashes and take the value at index 0.

3. After obtaining the hostname, we further split it by colon (':') to remove the port number if it exists.

4. Lastly, we split the hostname by question mark ('?') to eliminate any query parameters.

By following this method, you can reliably extract the hostname from a URL in JavaScript. This code snippet is concise, efficient, and easy to integrate into your projects.

Let's demonstrate the function in action with a practical example:

Javascript

const url = "https://www.example.com:8080/path?query=123";
const hostname = extractHostname(url);

console.log(hostname); // Output: www.example.com

In this example, we pass a sample URL containing a protocol, port, path, and query parameters to the `extractHostname` function. The function successfully isolates and returns the hostname part, which, in this case, is "www.example.com".

When you're working on web applications or projects that involve handling URLs on the client side, knowing how to extract the hostname from a URL using JavaScript can prove to be a valuable skill. It enables you to manipulate URLs effectively and enhance the user experience by providing accurate and relevant information.

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