diff options
| author | Richard M. Stallman | 1994-03-28 01:39:26 +0000 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Richard M. Stallman | 1994-03-28 01:39:26 +0000 |
| commit | 869f4785b87be47cbbcb8a2586dc4ff374a57ccb (patch) | |
| tree | f0faef0830205bb6215f69a2c79ec9f36afbbdfc | |
| parent | 80298193c30280e54da880c65f8ca071f1c132cf (diff) | |
| download | emacs-869f4785b87be47cbbcb8a2586dc4ff374a57ccb.tar.gz emacs-869f4785b87be47cbbcb8a2586dc4ff374a57ccb.zip | |
Initial revision
| -rw-r--r-- | lispref/strings.texi | 810 |
1 files changed, 810 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/lispref/strings.texi b/lispref/strings.texi new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..efca7aeea62 --- /dev/null +++ b/lispref/strings.texi | |||
| @@ -0,0 +1,810 @@ | |||
| 1 | @c -*-texinfo-*- | ||
| 2 | @c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual. | ||
| 3 | @c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Free Software Foundation, Inc. | ||
| 4 | @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions. | ||
| 5 | @setfilename ../info/strings | ||
| 6 | @node Strings and Characters, Lists, Numbers, Top | ||
| 7 | @comment node-name, next, previous, up | ||
| 8 | @chapter Strings and Characters | ||
| 9 | @cindex strings | ||
| 10 | @cindex character arrays | ||
| 11 | @cindex characters | ||
| 12 | @cindex bytes | ||
| 13 | |||
| 14 | A string in Emacs Lisp is an array that contains an ordered sequence | ||
| 15 | of characters. Strings are used as names of symbols, buffers, and | ||
| 16 | files, to send messages to users, to hold text being copied between | ||
| 17 | buffers, and for many other purposes. Because strings are so important, | ||
| 18 | Emacs Lisp has many functions expressly for manipulating them. Emacs | ||
| 19 | Lisp programs use strings more often than individual characters. | ||
| 20 | |||
| 21 | @xref{Strings of Events}, for special considerations for strings of | ||
| 22 | keyboard character events. | ||
| 23 | |||
| 24 | @menu | ||
| 25 | * Basics: String Basics. Basic properties of strings and characters. | ||
| 26 | * Predicates for Strings:: Testing whether an object is a string or char. | ||
| 27 | * Creating Strings:: Functions to allocate new strings. | ||
| 28 | * Text Comparison:: Comparing characters or strings. | ||
| 29 | * String Conversion:: Converting characters or strings and vice versa. | ||
| 30 | * Formatting Strings:: @code{format}: Emacs's analog of @code{printf}. | ||
| 31 | * Character Case:: Case conversion functions. | ||
| 32 | * Case Table:: Customizing case conversion. | ||
| 33 | @end menu | ||
| 34 | |||
| 35 | @node String Basics | ||
| 36 | @section String and Character Basics | ||
| 37 | |||
| 38 | Strings in Emacs Lisp are arrays that contain an ordered sequence of | ||
| 39 | characters. Characters are represented in Emacs Lisp as integers; | ||
| 40 | whether an integer was intended as a character or not is determined only | ||
| 41 | by how it is used. Thus, strings really contain integers. | ||
| 42 | |||
| 43 | The length of a string (like any array) is fixed and independent of | ||
| 44 | the string contents, and cannot be altered. Strings in Lisp are | ||
| 45 | @emph{not} terminated by a distinguished character code. (By contrast, | ||
| 46 | strings in C are terminated by a character with @sc{ASCII} code 0.) | ||
| 47 | This means that any character, including the null character (@sc{ASCII} | ||
| 48 | code 0), is a valid element of a string.@refill | ||
| 49 | |||
| 50 | Since strings are considered arrays, you can operate on them with the | ||
| 51 | general array functions. (@xref{Sequences Arrays Vectors}.) For | ||
| 52 | example, you can access or change individual characters in a string | ||
| 53 | using the functions @code{aref} and @code{aset} (@pxref{Array | ||
| 54 | Functions}). | ||
| 55 | |||
| 56 | Each character in a string is stored in a single byte. Therefore, | ||
| 57 | numbers not in the range 0 to 255 are truncated when stored into a | ||
| 58 | string. This means that a string takes up much less memory than a | ||
| 59 | vector of the same length. | ||
| 60 | |||
| 61 | Sometimes key sequences are represented as strings. When a string is | ||
| 62 | a key sequence, string elements in the range 128 to 255 represent meta | ||
| 63 | characters (which are extremely large integers) rather than keyboard | ||
| 64 | events in the range 128 to 255. | ||
| 65 | |||
| 66 | Strings cannot hold characters that have the hyper, super or alt | ||
| 67 | modifiers; they can hold @sc{ASCII} control characters, but no other | ||
| 68 | control characters. They do not distinguish case in @sc{ASCII} control | ||
| 69 | characters. @xref{Character Type}, for more information about | ||
| 70 | representation of meta and other modifiers for keyboard input | ||
| 71 | characters. | ||
| 72 | |||
| 73 | Like a buffer, a string can contain text properties for the characters | ||
| 74 | in it, as well as the characters themselves. @xref{Text Properties}. | ||
| 75 | |||
| 76 | @xref{Text}, for information about functions that display strings or | ||
| 77 | copy them into buffers. @xref{Character Type}, and @ref{String Type}, | ||
| 78 | for information about the syntax of characters and strings. | ||
| 79 | |||
| 80 | @node Predicates for Strings | ||
| 81 | @section The Predicates for Strings | ||
| 82 | |||
| 83 | For more information about general sequence and array predicates, | ||
| 84 | see @ref{Sequences Arrays Vectors}, and @ref{Arrays}. | ||
| 85 | |||
| 86 | @defun stringp object | ||
| 87 | This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a string, @code{nil} | ||
| 88 | otherwise. | ||
| 89 | @end defun | ||
| 90 | |||
| 91 | @defun char-or-string-p object | ||
| 92 | This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a string or a | ||
| 93 | character (i.e., an integer), @code{nil} otherwise. | ||
| 94 | @end defun | ||
| 95 | |||
| 96 | @node Creating Strings | ||
| 97 | @section Creating Strings | ||
| 98 | |||
| 99 | The following functions create strings, either from scratch, or by | ||
| 100 | putting strings together, or by taking them apart. | ||
| 101 | |||
| 102 | @defun make-string count character | ||
| 103 | This function returns a string made up of @var{count} repetitions of | ||
| 104 | @var{character}. If @var{count} is negative, an error is signaled. | ||
| 105 | |||
| 106 | @example | ||
| 107 | (make-string 5 ?x) | ||
| 108 | @result{} "xxxxx" | ||
| 109 | (make-string 0 ?x) | ||
| 110 | @result{} "" | ||
| 111 | @end example | ||
| 112 | |||
| 113 | Other functions to compare with this one include @code{char-to-string} | ||
| 114 | (@pxref{String Conversion}), @code{make-vector} (@pxref{Vectors}), and | ||
| 115 | @code{make-list} (@pxref{Building Lists}). | ||
| 116 | @end defun | ||
| 117 | |||
| 118 | @defun substring string start &optional end | ||
| 119 | This function returns a new string which consists of those characters | ||
| 120 | from @var{string} in the range from (and including) the character at the | ||
| 121 | index @var{start} up to (but excluding) the character at the index | ||
| 122 | @var{end}. The first character is at index zero. | ||
| 123 | |||
| 124 | @example | ||
| 125 | @group | ||
| 126 | (substring "abcdefg" 0 3) | ||
| 127 | @result{} "abc" | ||
| 128 | @end group | ||
| 129 | @end example | ||
| 130 | |||
| 131 | @noindent | ||
| 132 | Here the index for @samp{a} is 0, the index for @samp{b} is 1, and the | ||
| 133 | index for @samp{c} is 2. Thus, three letters, @samp{abc}, are copied | ||
| 134 | from the string @code{"abcdefg"}. The index 3 marks the character | ||
| 135 | position up to which the substring is copied. The character whose index | ||
| 136 | is 3 is actually the fourth character in the string. | ||
| 137 | |||
| 138 | A negative number counts from the end of the string, so that @minus{}1 | ||
| 139 | signifies the index of the last character of the string. For example: | ||
| 140 | |||
| 141 | @example | ||
| 142 | @group | ||
| 143 | (substring "abcdefg" -3 -1) | ||
| 144 | @result{} "ef" | ||
| 145 | @end group | ||
| 146 | @end example | ||
| 147 | |||
| 148 | @noindent | ||
| 149 | In this example, the index for @samp{e} is @minus{}3, the index for | ||
| 150 | @samp{f} is @minus{}2, and the index for @samp{g} is @minus{}1. | ||
| 151 | Therefore, @samp{e} and @samp{f} are included, and @samp{g} is excluded. | ||
| 152 | |||
| 153 | When @code{nil} is used as an index, it stands for the length of the | ||
| 154 | string. Thus, | ||
| 155 | |||
| 156 | @example | ||
| 157 | @group | ||
| 158 | (substring "abcdefg" -3 nil) | ||
| 159 | @result{} "efg" | ||
| 160 | @end group | ||
| 161 | @end example | ||
| 162 | |||
| 163 | Omitting the argument @var{end} is equivalent to specifying @code{nil}. | ||
| 164 | It follows that @code{(substring @var{string} 0)} returns a copy of all | ||
| 165 | of @var{string}. | ||
| 166 | |||
| 167 | @example | ||
| 168 | @group | ||
| 169 | (substring "abcdefg" 0) | ||
| 170 | @result{} "abcdefg" | ||
| 171 | @end group | ||
| 172 | @end example | ||
| 173 | |||
| 174 | @noindent | ||
| 175 | But we recommend @code{copy-sequence} for this purpose (@pxref{Sequence | ||
| 176 | Functions}). | ||
| 177 | |||
| 178 | A @code{wrong-type-argument} error is signaled if either @var{start} or | ||
| 179 | @var{end} is not an integer or @code{nil}. An @code{args-out-of-range} | ||
| 180 | error is signaled if @var{start} indicates a character following | ||
| 181 | @var{end}, or if either integer is out of range for @var{string}. | ||
| 182 | |||
| 183 | Contrast this function with @code{buffer-substring} (@pxref{Buffer | ||
| 184 | Contents}), which returns a string containing a portion of the text in | ||
| 185 | the current buffer. The beginning of a string is at index 0, but the | ||
| 186 | beginning of a buffer is at index 1. | ||
| 187 | @end defun | ||
| 188 | |||
| 189 | @defun concat &rest sequences | ||
| 190 | @cindex copying strings | ||
| 191 | @cindex concatenating strings | ||
| 192 | This function returns a new string consisting of the characters in the | ||
| 193 | arguments passed to it. The arguments may be strings, lists of numbers, | ||
| 194 | or vectors of numbers; they are not themselves changed. If | ||
| 195 | @code{concat} receives no arguments, it returns an empty string. | ||
| 196 | |||
| 197 | @example | ||
| 198 | (concat "abc" "-def") | ||
| 199 | @result{} "abc-def" | ||
| 200 | (concat "abc" (list 120 (+ 256 121)) [122]) | ||
| 201 | @result{} "abcxyz" | ||
| 202 | ;; @r{@code{nil} is an empty sequence.} | ||
| 203 | (concat "abc" nil "-def") | ||
| 204 | @result{} "abc-def" | ||
| 205 | (concat "The " "quick brown " "fox.") | ||
| 206 | @result{} "The quick brown fox." | ||
| 207 | (concat) | ||
| 208 | @result{} "" | ||
| 209 | @end example | ||
| 210 | |||
| 211 | @noindent | ||
| 212 | The second example above shows how characters stored in strings are | ||
| 213 | taken modulo 256. In other words, each character in the string is | ||
| 214 | stored in one byte. | ||
| 215 | |||
| 216 | The @code{concat} function always constructs a new string that is | ||
| 217 | not @code{eq} to any existing string. | ||
| 218 | |||
| 219 | When an argument is an integer (not a sequence of integers), it is | ||
| 220 | converted to a string of digits making up the decimal printed | ||
| 221 | representation of the integer. This special case exists for | ||
| 222 | compatibility with Mocklisp, and we don't recommend you take advantage | ||
| 223 | of it. If you want to convert an integer to digits in this way, use | ||
| 224 | @code{format} (@pxref{Formatting Strings}) or @code{number-to-string} | ||
| 225 | (@pxref{String Conversion}). | ||
| 226 | |||
| 227 | @example | ||
| 228 | @group | ||
| 229 | (concat 137) | ||
| 230 | @result{} "137" | ||
| 231 | (concat 54 321) | ||
| 232 | @result{} "54321" | ||
| 233 | @end group | ||
| 234 | @end example | ||
| 235 | |||
| 236 | For information about other concatenation functions, see the | ||
| 237 | description of @code{mapconcat} in @ref{Mapping Functions}, | ||
| 238 | @code{vconcat} in @ref{Vectors}, and @code{append} in @ref{Building | ||
| 239 | Lists}. | ||
| 240 | @end defun | ||
| 241 | |||
| 242 | @node Text Comparison | ||
| 243 | @section Comparison of Characters and Strings | ||
| 244 | @cindex string equality | ||
| 245 | |||
| 246 | @defun char-equal character1 character2 | ||
| 247 | This function returns @code{t} if the arguments represent the same | ||
| 248 | character, @code{nil} otherwise. This function ignores differences | ||
| 249 | in case if @code{case-fold-search} is non-@code{nil}. | ||
| 250 | |||
| 251 | @example | ||
| 252 | (char-equal ?x ?x) | ||
| 253 | @result{} t | ||
| 254 | (char-to-string (+ 256 ?x)) | ||
| 255 | @result{} "x" | ||
| 256 | (char-equal ?x (+ 256 ?x)) | ||
| 257 | @result{} t | ||
| 258 | @end example | ||
| 259 | @end defun | ||
| 260 | |||
| 261 | @defun string= string1 string2 | ||
| 262 | This function returns @code{t} if the characters of the two strings | ||
| 263 | match exactly; case is significant. | ||
| 264 | |||
| 265 | @example | ||
| 266 | (string= "abc" "abc") | ||
| 267 | @result{} t | ||
| 268 | (string= "abc" "ABC") | ||
| 269 | @result{} nil | ||
| 270 | (string= "ab" "ABC") | ||
| 271 | @result{} nil | ||
| 272 | @end example | ||
| 273 | @end defun | ||
| 274 | |||
| 275 | @defun string-equal string1 string2 | ||
| 276 | @code{string-equal} is another name for @code{string=}. | ||
| 277 | @end defun | ||
| 278 | |||
| 279 | @cindex lexical comparison | ||
| 280 | @defun string< string1 string2 | ||
| 281 | @c (findex string< causes problems for permuted index!!) | ||
| 282 | This function compares two strings a character at a time. First it | ||
| 283 | scans both the strings at once to find the first pair of corresponding | ||
| 284 | characters that do not match. If the lesser character of those two is | ||
| 285 | the character from @var{string1}, then @var{string1} is less, and this | ||
| 286 | function returns @code{t}. If the lesser character is the one from | ||
| 287 | @var{string2}, then @var{string1} is greater, and this function returns | ||
| 288 | @code{nil}. If the two strings match entirely, the value is @code{nil}. | ||
| 289 | |||
| 290 | Pairs of characters are compared by their @sc{ASCII} codes. Keep in | ||
| 291 | mind that lower case letters have higher numeric values in the | ||
| 292 | @sc{ASCII} character set than their upper case counterparts; numbers and | ||
| 293 | many punctuation characters have a lower numeric value than upper case | ||
| 294 | letters. | ||
| 295 | |||
| 296 | @example | ||
| 297 | @group | ||
| 298 | (string< "abc" "abd") | ||
| 299 | @result{} t | ||
| 300 | (string< "abd" "abc") | ||
| 301 | @result{} nil | ||
| 302 | (string< "123" "abc") | ||
| 303 | @result{} t | ||
| 304 | @end group | ||
| 305 | @end example | ||
| 306 | |||
| 307 | When the strings have different lengths, and they match up to the | ||
| 308 | length of @var{string1}, then the result is @code{t}. If they match up | ||
| 309 | to the length of @var{string2}, the result is @code{nil}. A string of | ||
| 310 | no characters is less than any other string. | ||
| 311 | |||
| 312 | @example | ||
| 313 | @group | ||
| 314 | (string< "" "abc") | ||
| 315 | @result{} t | ||
| 316 | (string< "ab" "abc") | ||
| 317 | @result{} t | ||
| 318 | (string< "abc" "") | ||
| 319 | @result{} nil | ||
| 320 | (string< "abc" "ab") | ||
| 321 | @result{} nil | ||
| 322 | (string< "" "") | ||
| 323 | @result{} nil | ||
| 324 | @end group | ||
| 325 | @end example | ||
| 326 | @end defun | ||
| 327 | |||
| 328 | @defun string-lessp string1 string2 | ||
| 329 | @code{string-lessp} is another name for @code{string<}. | ||
| 330 | @end defun | ||
| 331 | |||
| 332 | See also @code{compare-buffer-substrings} in @ref{Comparing Text}, for | ||
| 333 | a way to compare text in buffers. The function @code{string-match}, | ||
| 334 | which matches a regular expression against a string, can be used | ||
| 335 | for a kind of string comparison; see @ref{Regexp Search}. | ||
| 336 | |||
| 337 | @node String Conversion | ||
| 338 | @comment node-name, next, previous, up | ||
| 339 | @section Conversion of Characters and Strings | ||
| 340 | @cindex conversion of strings | ||
| 341 | |||
| 342 | This section describes functions for conversions between characters, | ||
| 343 | strings and integers. @code{format} and @code{prin1-to-string} | ||
| 344 | (@pxref{Output Functions}) can also convert Lisp objects into strings. | ||
| 345 | @code{read-from-string} (@pxref{Input Functions}) can ``convert'' a | ||
| 346 | string representation of a Lisp object into an object. | ||
| 347 | |||
| 348 | @xref{Documentation}, for functions that produce textual descriptions | ||
| 349 | of text characters and general input events | ||
| 350 | (@code{single-key-description} and @code{text-char-description}). These | ||
| 351 | functions are used primarily for making help messages. | ||
| 352 | |||
| 353 | @defun char-to-string character | ||
| 354 | @cindex character to string | ||
| 355 | This function returns a new string with a length of one character. | ||
| 356 | The value of @var{character}, modulo 256, is used to initialize the | ||
| 357 | element of the string. | ||
| 358 | |||
| 359 | This function is similar to @code{make-string} with an integer argument | ||
| 360 | of 1. (@xref{Creating Strings}.) This conversion can also be done with | ||
| 361 | @code{format} using the @samp{%c} format specification. | ||
| 362 | (@xref{Formatting Strings}.) | ||
| 363 | |||
| 364 | @example | ||
| 365 | (char-to-string ?x) | ||
| 366 | @result{} "x" | ||
| 367 | (char-to-string (+ 256 ?x)) | ||
| 368 | @result{} "x" | ||
| 369 | (make-string 1 ?x) | ||
| 370 | @result{} "x" | ||
| 371 | @end example | ||
| 372 | @end defun | ||
| 373 | |||
| 374 | @defun string-to-char string | ||
| 375 | @cindex string to character | ||
| 376 | This function returns the first character in @var{string}. If the | ||
| 377 | string is empty, the function returns 0. The value is also 0 when the | ||
| 378 | first character of @var{string} is the null character, @sc{ASCII} code | ||
| 379 | 0. | ||
| 380 | |||
| 381 | @example | ||
| 382 | (string-to-char "ABC") | ||
| 383 | @result{} 65 | ||
| 384 | (string-to-char "xyz") | ||
| 385 | @result{} 120 | ||
| 386 | (string-to-char "") | ||
| 387 | @result{} 0 | ||
| 388 | (string-to-char "\000") | ||
| 389 | @result{} 0 | ||
| 390 | @end example | ||
| 391 | |||
| 392 | This function may be eliminated in the future if it does not seem useful | ||
| 393 | enough to retain. | ||
| 394 | @end defun | ||
| 395 | |||
| 396 | @defun number-to-string number | ||
| 397 | @cindex integer to string | ||
| 398 | @cindex integer to decimal | ||
| 399 | This function returns a string consisting of the printed | ||
| 400 | representation of @var{number}, which may be an integer or a floating | ||
| 401 | point number. The value starts with a sign if the argument is | ||
| 402 | negative. | ||
| 403 | |||
| 404 | @example | ||
| 405 | (number-to-string 256) | ||
| 406 | @result{} "256" | ||
| 407 | (number-to-string -23) | ||
| 408 | @result{} "-23" | ||
| 409 | (number-to-string -23.5) | ||
| 410 | @result{} "-23.5" | ||
| 411 | @end example | ||
| 412 | |||
| 413 | @cindex int-to-string | ||
| 414 | @code{int-to-string} is a semi-obsolete alias for this function. | ||
| 415 | |||
| 416 | See also the function @code{format} in @ref{Formatting Strings}. | ||
| 417 | @end defun | ||
| 418 | |||
| 419 | @defun string-to-number string | ||
| 420 | @cindex string to number | ||
| 421 | This function returns the numeric value of the characters in | ||
| 422 | @var{string}, read in base ten. It skips spaces and tabs at the | ||
| 423 | beginning of @var{string}, then reads as much of @var{string} as it can | ||
| 424 | interpret as a number. (On some systems it ignores other whitespace at | ||
| 425 | the beginning, not just spaces and tabs.) If the first character after | ||
| 426 | the ignored whitespace is not a digit or a minus sign, this function | ||
| 427 | returns 0. | ||
| 428 | |||
| 429 | @example | ||
| 430 | (string-to-number "256") | ||
| 431 | @result{} 256 | ||
| 432 | (string-to-number "25 is a perfect square.") | ||
| 433 | @result{} 25 | ||
| 434 | (string-to-number "X256") | ||
| 435 | @result{} 0 | ||
| 436 | (string-to-number "-4.5") | ||
| 437 | @result{} -4.5 | ||
| 438 | @end example | ||
| 439 | |||
| 440 | @findex string-to-int | ||
| 441 | @code{string-to-int} is an obsolete alias for this function. | ||
| 442 | @end defun | ||
| 443 | |||
| 444 | @node Formatting Strings | ||
| 445 | @comment node-name, next, previous, up | ||
| 446 | @section Formatting Strings | ||
| 447 | @cindex formatting strings | ||
| 448 | @cindex strings, formatting them | ||
| 449 | |||
| 450 | @dfn{Formatting} means constructing a string by substitution of | ||
| 451 | computed values at various places in a constant string. This string | ||
| 452 | controls how the other values are printed as well as where they appear; | ||
| 453 | it is called a @dfn{format string}. | ||
| 454 | |||
| 455 | Formatting is often useful for computing messages to be displayed. In | ||
| 456 | fact, the functions @code{message} and @code{error} provide the same | ||
| 457 | formatting feature described here; they differ from @code{format} only | ||
| 458 | in how they use the result of formatting. | ||
| 459 | |||
| 460 | @defun format string &rest objects | ||
| 461 | This function returns a new string that is made by copying | ||
| 462 | @var{string} and then replacing any format specification | ||
| 463 | in the copy with encodings of the corresponding @var{objects}. The | ||
| 464 | arguments @var{objects} are the computed values to be formatted. | ||
| 465 | @end defun | ||
| 466 | |||
| 467 | @cindex @samp{%} in format | ||
| 468 | @cindex format specification | ||
| 469 | A format specification is a sequence of characters beginning with a | ||
| 470 | @samp{%}. Thus, if there is a @samp{%d} in @var{string}, the | ||
| 471 | @code{format} function replaces it with the printed representation of | ||
| 472 | one of the values to be formatted (one of the arguments @var{objects}). | ||
| 473 | For example: | ||
| 474 | |||
| 475 | @example | ||
| 476 | @group | ||
| 477 | (format "The value of fill-column is %d." fill-column) | ||
| 478 | @result{} "The value of fill-column is 72." | ||
| 479 | @end group | ||
| 480 | @end example | ||
| 481 | |||
| 482 | If @var{string} contains more than one format specification, the | ||
| 483 | format specifications correspond with successive values from | ||
| 484 | @var{objects}. Thus, the first format specification in @var{string} | ||
| 485 | uses the first such value, the second format specification uses the | ||
| 486 | second such value, and so on. Any extra format specifications (those | ||
| 487 | for which there are no corresponding values) cause unpredictable | ||
| 488 | behavior. Any extra values to be formatted are ignored. | ||
| 489 | |||
| 490 | Certain format specifications require values of particular types. | ||
| 491 | However, no error is signaled if the value actually supplied fails to | ||
| 492 | have the expected type. Instead, the output is likely to be | ||
| 493 | meaningless. | ||
| 494 | |||
| 495 | Here is a table of valid format specifications: | ||
| 496 | |||
| 497 | @table @samp | ||
| 498 | @item %s | ||
| 499 | Replace the specification with the printed representation of the object, | ||
| 500 | made without quoting. Thus, strings are represented by their contents | ||
| 501 | alone, with no @samp{"} characters, and symbols appear without @samp{\} | ||
| 502 | characters. | ||
| 503 | |||
| 504 | If there is no corresponding object, the empty string is used. | ||
| 505 | |||
| 506 | @item %S | ||
| 507 | Replace the specification with the printed representation of the object, | ||
| 508 | made with quoting. Thus, strings are enclosed in @samp{"} characters, | ||
| 509 | and @samp{\} characters appear where necessary before special characters. | ||
| 510 | |||
| 511 | If there is no corresponding object, the empty string is used. | ||
| 512 | |||
| 513 | @item %o | ||
| 514 | @cindex integer to octal | ||
| 515 | Replace the specification with the base-eight representation of an | ||
| 516 | integer. | ||
| 517 | |||
| 518 | @item %d | ||
| 519 | Replace the specification with the base-ten representation of an | ||
| 520 | integer. | ||
| 521 | |||
| 522 | @item %x | ||
| 523 | @cindex integer to hexadecimal | ||
| 524 | Replace the specification with the base-sixteen representation of an | ||
| 525 | integer. | ||
| 526 | |||
| 527 | @item %c | ||
| 528 | Replace the specification with the character which is the value given. | ||
| 529 | |||
| 530 | @item %e | ||
| 531 | Replace the specification with the exponential notation for a floating | ||
| 532 | point number. | ||
| 533 | |||
| 534 | @item %f | ||
| 535 | Replace the specification with the decimal-point notation for a floating | ||
| 536 | point number. | ||
| 537 | |||
| 538 | @item %g | ||
| 539 | Replace the specification with notation for a floating point number, | ||
| 540 | using either exponential notation or decimal-point notation whichever | ||
| 541 | is shorter. | ||
| 542 | |||
| 543 | @item %% | ||
| 544 | A single @samp{%} is placed in the string. This format specification is | ||
| 545 | unusual in that it does not use a value. For example, @code{(format "%% | ||
| 546 | %d" 30)} returns @code{"% 30"}. | ||
| 547 | @end table | ||
| 548 | |||
| 549 | Any other format character results in an @samp{Invalid format | ||
| 550 | operation} error. | ||
| 551 | |||
| 552 | Here are several examples: | ||
| 553 | |||
| 554 | @example | ||
| 555 | @group | ||
| 556 | (format "The name of this buffer is %s." (buffer-name)) | ||
| 557 | @result{} "The name of this buffer is strings.texi." | ||
| 558 | |||
| 559 | (format "The buffer object prints as %s." (current-buffer)) | ||
| 560 | @result{} "The buffer object prints as #<buffer strings.texi>." | ||
| 561 | |||
| 562 | (format "The octal value of %d is %o, | ||
| 563 | and the hex value is %x." 18 18 18) | ||
| 564 | @result{} "The octal value of 18 is 22, | ||
| 565 | and the hex value is 12." | ||
| 566 | @end group | ||
| 567 | @end example | ||
| 568 | |||
| 569 | @cindex numeric prefix | ||
| 570 | @cindex field width | ||
| 571 | @cindex padding | ||
| 572 | All the specification characters allow an optional numeric prefix | ||
| 573 | between the @samp{%} and the character. The optional numeric prefix | ||
| 574 | defines the minimum width for the object. If the printed representation | ||
| 575 | of the object contains fewer characters than this, then it is padded. | ||
| 576 | The padding is on the left if the prefix is positive (or starts with | ||
| 577 | zero) and on the right if the prefix is negative. The padding character | ||
| 578 | is normally a space, but if the numeric prefix starts with a zero, zeros | ||
| 579 | are used for padding. | ||
| 580 | |||
| 581 | @example | ||
| 582 | (format "%06d is padded on the left with zeros" 123) | ||
| 583 | @result{} "000123 is padded on the left with zeros" | ||
| 584 | |||
| 585 | (format "%-6d is padded on the right" 123) | ||
| 586 | @result{} "123 is padded on the right" | ||
| 587 | @end example | ||
| 588 | |||
| 589 | @code{format} never truncates an object's printed representation, no | ||
| 590 | matter what width you specify. Thus, you can use a numeric prefix to | ||
| 591 | specify a minimum spacing between columns with no risk of losing | ||
| 592 | information. | ||
| 593 | |||
| 594 | In the following three examples, @samp{%7s} specifies a minimum width | ||
| 595 | of 7. In the first case, the string inserted in place of @samp{%7s} has | ||
| 596 | only 3 letters, so 4 blank spaces are inserted for padding. In the | ||
| 597 | second case, the string @code{"specification"} is 13 letters wide but is | ||
| 598 | not truncated. In the third case, the padding is on the right. | ||
| 599 | |||
| 600 | @smallexample | ||
| 601 | @group | ||
| 602 | (format "The word `%7s' actually has %d letters in it." | ||
| 603 | "foo" (length "foo")) | ||
| 604 | @result{} "The word ` foo' actually has 3 letters in it." | ||
| 605 | @end group | ||
| 606 | |||
| 607 | @group | ||
| 608 | (format "The word `%7s' actually has %d letters in it." | ||
| 609 | "specification" (length "specification")) | ||
| 610 | @result{} "The word `specification' actually has 13 letters in it." | ||
| 611 | @end group | ||
| 612 | |||
| 613 | @group | ||
| 614 | (format "The word `%-7s' actually has %d letters in it." | ||
| 615 | "foo" (length "foo")) | ||
| 616 | @result{} "The word `foo ' actually has 3 letters in it." | ||
| 617 | @end group | ||
| 618 | @end smallexample | ||
| 619 | |||
| 620 | @node Character Case | ||
| 621 | @comment node-name, next, previous, up | ||
| 622 | @section Character Case | ||
| 623 | @cindex upper case | ||
| 624 | @cindex lower case | ||
| 625 | @cindex character case | ||
| 626 | |||
| 627 | The character case functions change the case of single characters or | ||
| 628 | of the contents of strings. The functions convert only alphabetic | ||
| 629 | characters (the letters @samp{A} through @samp{Z} and @samp{a} through | ||
| 630 | @samp{z}); other characters are not altered. The functions do not | ||
| 631 | modify the strings that are passed to them as arguments. | ||
| 632 | |||
| 633 | The examples below use the characters @samp{X} and @samp{x} which have | ||
| 634 | @sc{ASCII} codes 88 and 120 respectively. | ||
| 635 | |||
| 636 | @defun downcase string-or-char | ||
| 637 | This function converts a character or a string to lower case. | ||
| 638 | |||
| 639 | When the argument to @code{downcase} is a string, the function creates | ||
| 640 | and returns a new string in which each letter in the argument that is | ||
| 641 | upper case is converted to lower case. When the argument to | ||
| 642 | @code{downcase} is a character, @code{downcase} returns the | ||
| 643 | corresponding lower case character. This value is an integer. If the | ||
| 644 | original character is lower case, or is not a letter, then the value | ||
| 645 | equals the original character. | ||
| 646 | |||
| 647 | @example | ||
| 648 | (downcase "The cat in the hat") | ||
| 649 | @result{} "the cat in the hat" | ||
| 650 | |||
| 651 | (downcase ?X) | ||
| 652 | @result{} 120 | ||
| 653 | @end example | ||
| 654 | @end defun | ||
| 655 | |||
| 656 | @defun upcase string-or-char | ||
| 657 | This function converts a character or a string to upper case. | ||
| 658 | |||
| 659 | When the argument to @code{upcase} is a string, the function creates | ||
| 660 | and returns a new string in which each letter in the argument that is | ||
| 661 | lower case is converted to upper case. | ||
| 662 | |||
| 663 | When the argument to @code{upcase} is a character, @code{upcase} | ||
| 664 | returns the corresponding upper case character. This value is an integer. | ||
| 665 | If the original character is upper case, or is not a letter, then the | ||
| 666 | value equals the original character. | ||
| 667 | |||
| 668 | @example | ||
| 669 | (upcase "The cat in the hat") | ||
| 670 | @result{} "THE CAT IN THE HAT" | ||
| 671 | |||
| 672 | (upcase ?x) | ||
| 673 | @result{} 88 | ||
| 674 | @end example | ||
| 675 | @end defun | ||
| 676 | |||
| 677 | @defun capitalize string-or-char | ||
| 678 | @cindex capitalization | ||
| 679 | This function capitalizes strings or characters. If | ||
| 680 | @var{string-or-char} is a string, the function creates and returns a new | ||
| 681 | string, whose contents are a copy of @var{string-or-char} in which each | ||
| 682 | word has been capitalized. This means that the first character of each | ||
| 683 | word is converted to upper case, and the rest are converted to lower | ||
| 684 | case. | ||
| 685 | |||
| 686 | The definition of a word is any sequence of consecutive characters that | ||
| 687 | are assigned to the word constituent syntax class in the current syntax | ||
| 688 | table (@xref{Syntax Class Table}). | ||
| 689 | |||
| 690 | When the argument to @code{capitalize} is a character, @code{capitalize} | ||
| 691 | has the same result as @code{upcase}. | ||
| 692 | |||
| 693 | @example | ||
| 694 | (capitalize "The cat in the hat") | ||
| 695 | @result{} "The Cat In The Hat" | ||
| 696 | |||
| 697 | (capitalize "THE 77TH-HATTED CAT") | ||
| 698 | @result{} "The 77th-Hatted Cat" | ||
| 699 | |||
| 700 | @group | ||
| 701 | (capitalize ?x) | ||
| 702 | @result{} 88 | ||
| 703 | @end group | ||
| 704 | @end example | ||
| 705 | @end defun | ||
| 706 | |||
| 707 | @node Case Table | ||
| 708 | @section The Case Table | ||
| 709 | |||
| 710 | You can customize case conversion by installing a special @dfn{case | ||
| 711 | table}. A case table specifies the mapping between upper case and lower | ||
| 712 | case letters. It affects both the string and character case conversion | ||
| 713 | functions (see the previous section) and those that apply to text in the | ||
| 714 | buffer (@pxref{Case Changes}). You need a case table if you are using a | ||
| 715 | language which has letters other than the standard @sc{ASCII} letters. | ||
| 716 | |||
| 717 | A case table is a list of this form: | ||
| 718 | |||
| 719 | @example | ||
| 720 | (@var{downcase} @var{upcase} @var{canonicalize} @var{equivalences}) | ||
| 721 | @end example | ||
| 722 | |||
| 723 | @noindent | ||
| 724 | where each element is either @code{nil} or a string of length 256. The | ||
| 725 | element @var{downcase} says how to map each character to its lower-case | ||
| 726 | equivalent. The element @var{upcase} maps each character to its | ||
| 727 | upper-case equivalent. If lower and upper case characters are in | ||
| 728 | one-to-one correspondence, use @code{nil} for @var{upcase}; then Emacs | ||
| 729 | deduces the upcase table from @var{downcase}. | ||
| 730 | |||
| 731 | For some languages, upper and lower case letters are not in one-to-one | ||
| 732 | correspondence. There may be two different lower case letters with the | ||
| 733 | same upper case equivalent. In these cases, you need to specify the | ||
| 734 | maps for both directions. | ||
| 735 | |||
| 736 | The element @var{canonicalize} maps each character to a canonical | ||
| 737 | equivalent; any two characters that are related by case-conversion have | ||
| 738 | the same canonical equivalent character. | ||
| 739 | |||
| 740 | The element @var{equivalences} is a map that cyclicly permutes each | ||
| 741 | equivalence class (of characters with the same canonical equivalent). | ||
| 742 | (For ordinary @sc{ASCII}, this would map @samp{a} into @samp{A} and | ||
| 743 | @samp{A} into @samp{a}, and likewise for each set of equivalent | ||
| 744 | characters.) | ||
| 745 | |||
| 746 | When you construct a case table, you can provide @code{nil} for both | ||
| 747 | @var{canonicalize} and @var{equivalences}. When you specify the case | ||
| 748 | table for use, Emacs fills in these strings, computing them from | ||
| 749 | @var{upcase} and @var{downcase}. In a case table that is actually in | ||
| 750 | use, those components are non-@code{nil}. Do not try to make just one | ||
| 751 | of these components @code{nil}; that is not meaningful. | ||
| 752 | |||
| 753 | Each buffer has a case table. Emacs also has a @dfn{standard case | ||
| 754 | table} which is copied into each buffer when you create the buffer. | ||
| 755 | Changing the standard case table doesn't affect any existing buffers. | ||
| 756 | |||
| 757 | Here are the functions for working with case tables: | ||
| 758 | |||
| 759 | @defun case-table-p object | ||
| 760 | This predicate returns non-@code{nil} if @var{object} is a valid case | ||
| 761 | table. | ||
| 762 | @end defun | ||
| 763 | |||
| 764 | @defun set-standard-case-table table | ||
| 765 | This function makes @var{table} the standard case table, so that it will | ||
| 766 | apply to any buffers created subsequently. | ||
| 767 | @end defun | ||
| 768 | |||
| 769 | @defun standard-case-table | ||
| 770 | This returns the standard case table. | ||
| 771 | @end defun | ||
| 772 | |||
| 773 | @defun current-case-table | ||
| 774 | This function returns the current buffer's case table. | ||
| 775 | @end defun | ||
| 776 | |||
| 777 | @defun set-case-table table | ||
| 778 | This sets the current buffer's case table to @var{table}. | ||
| 779 | @end defun | ||
| 780 | |||
| 781 | The following three functions are convenient subroutines for packages | ||
| 782 | that define non-@sc{ASCII} character sets. They modify a string | ||
| 783 | @var{downcase-table} provided as an argument; this should be a string to | ||
| 784 | be used as the @var{downcase} part of a case table. They also modify | ||
| 785 | the standard syntax table. @xref{Syntax Tables}. | ||
| 786 | |||
| 787 | @defun set-case-syntax-pair uc lc downcase-table | ||
| 788 | This function specifies a pair of corresponding letters, one upper case | ||
| 789 | and one lower case. | ||
| 790 | @end defun | ||
| 791 | |||
| 792 | @defun set-case-syntax-delims l r downcase-table | ||
| 793 | This function makes characters @var{l} and @var{r} a matching pair of | ||
| 794 | case-invariant delimiters. | ||
| 795 | @end defun | ||
| 796 | |||
| 797 | @defun set-case-syntax char syntax downcase-table | ||
| 798 | This function makes @var{char} case-invariant, with syntax | ||
| 799 | @var{syntax}. | ||
| 800 | @end defun | ||
| 801 | |||
| 802 | @deffn Command describe-buffer-case-table | ||
| 803 | This command displays a description of the contents of the current | ||
| 804 | buffer's case table. | ||
| 805 | @end deffn | ||
| 806 | |||
| 807 | @cindex ISO Latin 1 | ||
| 808 | @pindex iso-syntax | ||
| 809 | You can load the library @file{iso-syntax} to set up the standard syntax | ||
| 810 | table and define a case table for the 256-bit ISO Latin 1 character set. | ||