simple javascript string template engine

simple_template.js

/**
Usage:
var engine = SimpleJsTemplator({
  value: '{pattern}'
})
engine.compile('string with {pattern}', { value: 'PATTERN' })
will produce:
'string with PATTERN'
*/
var SimpleJsTemplator = (function () {
  var Template = function (patterns) {
    if ( $.isEmptyObject( patterns ) ) {
      throw new Error('non-empty pattern list object required');
    }

    var _matchTable = {};
    var regexps = [];

    $.each(patterns, function (dataParam, templateValue) {
      regexps.push('(' + escapeRegExp(templateValue) + ')');
      _matchTable[templateValue] = dataParam;
    });

    this._pattern = new RegExp('(?:'+ regexps.join('|') +')', 'giu')
    this._matchTable = _matchTable;
  };

  Template.prototype.compile = function (string, data) {
    var _matchTable = this._matchTable;

    return string.replace(this._pattern, function (match) {
      return data[_matchTable[match]];
    });
  };

  // src: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions
  function escapeRegExp(string) {
    return string.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&'); // $& means the whole matched string
  }
  
  return Template;
})();