Trying to get number for each character in string - JavaScript

We are required to write a JavaScript function that takes in a string. It should print out each number for every corresponding letter in the string.

For example,

a = 1
b = 2
c = 3
d = 4
e = 5
.
.
.
Y = 25
Z = 26

Therefore, if the input is "hello man",

Then the output should be a number for each character ?

"8,5,12,12,15,13,1,14"

How It Works

The solution uses the charCodeAt() method to get the ASCII value of each character, then subtracts 96 to convert lowercase letters to their position numbers (a=1, b=2, etc.).

Example

Following is the code ?

const str = 'hello man';
const charPosition = str => {
    str = str.split('');
    const arr = [];
    const alpha = /^[A-Za-z]+$/;
    
    for(let i = 0; i < str.length; i++){
        if(str[i].match(alpha)){
            const num = str[i].toLowerCase().charCodeAt(0) - 96;
            arr.push(num);
        }
    }
    return arr.toString();
}

console.log(charPosition(str));

Output

This will produce the following output in console ?

8,5,12,12,15,13,1,14

Alternative Approach Using Map

Here's a more modern approach using array methods:

const str = 'hello man';

const getCharNumbers = (text) => {
    return text.split('')
        .filter(char => /[a-zA-Z]/.test(char))
        .map(char => char.toLowerCase().charCodeAt(0) - 96)
        .join(',');
}

console.log(getCharNumbers(str));

8,5,12,12,15,13,1,14

Key Points

• charCodeAt(0) returns the ASCII code of the character
• Subtracting 96 converts lowercase letters to position numbers (a=97, 97-96=1)
• Using toLowerCase() ensures both uppercase and lowercase letters work
• The regex /[a-zA-Z]/ filters out non-alphabetic characters like spaces

Conclusion

This method effectively converts each letter in a string to its alphabetical position using ASCII values. The approach works for both uppercase and lowercase letters while ignoring non-alphabetic characters.