Minecraft Color Decoder in 140byte.es JavaScript

Converts a Minecraft chat line to HTML.

You can use color codes in the Minecraft chat. I tried to create a parser in 140byte.es that converts a Minecraft chat line to HTML. I found two possible solutions, both 150 bytes. One with a lookup table and another with an algorithmic aproach (which I think is very cool).

Here are some things I learned while golfing this down:

• Do you know String.slice() is the new String.substring()? It's shorter and more reliable. Be aware of the few different behaviors.
• To convert a hexadecimal string to a number (“hex2dec”) you can use parseInt('FF', 16) or eval('0x' + 'FF') or ('0x' + 'FF') * 1 or '0x' + 'FF' | 0. Take care of the operator precedence.
• The eight main colors are ordered like they are binary numbers: 000₂, 001₂, 010₂, 011₂, 100₂, 101₂, 110₂, 111₂. Thats why I can do this: 6₁₆ → 110₂ → convert to a binary and parse as a hexadecimal string → 110₁₆ → multiply with A₁₆ → AA0₁₆ → add 555₁₆ → FF5₁₆.
• The most reliable solution would be to use /&[\dA-F].*/i in a loop. Solutions with [^&] stop coloring on additional ampersands (I can live with this). Solutions with &. either fail (not acceptable) or go black for invalid colors (may be acceptable on a bright background).
• String.fontcolor() is a fascinating relic from the 90s. You should never use it. ;-)

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