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annotate lispref/strings.texi @ 12067:73dc8205d259
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author | Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org> |
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date | Mon, 05 Jun 1995 12:23:13 +0000 |
parents | 6f6c571ad0c0 |
children | a6eb5f12b0f3 |
rev | line source |
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6550 | 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 | |
12067 | 221 representation of the integer. @strong{Don't use this feature; we plan |
222 to eliminate it. If you already use this feature, change your programs | |
223 now!} The proper way to convert an integer to a decimal number in this | |
224 way is with @code{format} (@pxref{Formatting Strings}) or | |
11141
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
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|
225 @code{number-to-string} (@pxref{String Conversion}). |
6550 | 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 | |
12067 | 273 |
274 The function @code{string=} ignores the text properties of the | |
275 two strings. To compare strings in a way that compares their text | |
276 properties also, use @code{equal} (@pxref{Equality Predicates}). | |
6550 | 277 @end defun |
278 | |
279 @defun string-equal string1 string2 | |
280 @code{string-equal} is another name for @code{string=}. | |
281 @end defun | |
282 | |
283 @cindex lexical comparison | |
284 @defun string< string1 string2 | |
285 @c (findex string< causes problems for permuted index!!) | |
286 This function compares two strings a character at a time. First it | |
287 scans both the strings at once to find the first pair of corresponding | |
288 characters that do not match. If the lesser character of those two is | |
289 the character from @var{string1}, then @var{string1} is less, and this | |
290 function returns @code{t}. If the lesser character is the one from | |
291 @var{string2}, then @var{string1} is greater, and this function returns | |
292 @code{nil}. If the two strings match entirely, the value is @code{nil}. | |
293 | |
294 Pairs of characters are compared by their @sc{ASCII} codes. Keep in | |
295 mind that lower case letters have higher numeric values in the | |
296 @sc{ASCII} character set than their upper case counterparts; numbers and | |
297 many punctuation characters have a lower numeric value than upper case | |
298 letters. | |
299 | |
300 @example | |
301 @group | |
302 (string< "abc" "abd") | |
303 @result{} t | |
304 (string< "abd" "abc") | |
305 @result{} nil | |
306 (string< "123" "abc") | |
307 @result{} t | |
308 @end group | |
309 @end example | |
310 | |
311 When the strings have different lengths, and they match up to the | |
312 length of @var{string1}, then the result is @code{t}. If they match up | |
313 to the length of @var{string2}, the result is @code{nil}. A string of | |
314 no characters is less than any other string. | |
315 | |
316 @example | |
317 @group | |
318 (string< "" "abc") | |
319 @result{} t | |
320 (string< "ab" "abc") | |
321 @result{} t | |
322 (string< "abc" "") | |
323 @result{} nil | |
324 (string< "abc" "ab") | |
325 @result{} nil | |
326 (string< "" "") | |
327 @result{} nil | |
328 @end group | |
329 @end example | |
330 @end defun | |
331 | |
332 @defun string-lessp string1 string2 | |
333 @code{string-lessp} is another name for @code{string<}. | |
334 @end defun | |
335 | |
336 See also @code{compare-buffer-substrings} in @ref{Comparing Text}, for | |
337 a way to compare text in buffers. The function @code{string-match}, | |
338 which matches a regular expression against a string, can be used | |
339 for a kind of string comparison; see @ref{Regexp Search}. | |
340 | |
341 @node String Conversion | |
342 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
343 @section Conversion of Characters and Strings | |
344 @cindex conversion of strings | |
345 | |
346 This section describes functions for conversions between characters, | |
347 strings and integers. @code{format} and @code{prin1-to-string} | |
348 (@pxref{Output Functions}) can also convert Lisp objects into strings. | |
349 @code{read-from-string} (@pxref{Input Functions}) can ``convert'' a | |
350 string representation of a Lisp object into an object. | |
351 | |
352 @xref{Documentation}, for functions that produce textual descriptions | |
353 of text characters and general input events | |
354 (@code{single-key-description} and @code{text-char-description}). These | |
355 functions are used primarily for making help messages. | |
356 | |
357 @defun char-to-string character | |
358 @cindex character to string | |
359 This function returns a new string with a length of one character. | |
360 The value of @var{character}, modulo 256, is used to initialize the | |
361 element of the string. | |
362 | |
363 This function is similar to @code{make-string} with an integer argument | |
364 of 1. (@xref{Creating Strings}.) This conversion can also be done with | |
365 @code{format} using the @samp{%c} format specification. | |
366 (@xref{Formatting Strings}.) | |
367 | |
368 @example | |
369 (char-to-string ?x) | |
370 @result{} "x" | |
371 (char-to-string (+ 256 ?x)) | |
372 @result{} "x" | |
373 (make-string 1 ?x) | |
374 @result{} "x" | |
375 @end example | |
376 @end defun | |
377 | |
378 @defun string-to-char string | |
379 @cindex string to character | |
380 This function returns the first character in @var{string}. If the | |
381 string is empty, the function returns 0. The value is also 0 when the | |
382 first character of @var{string} is the null character, @sc{ASCII} code | |
383 0. | |
384 | |
385 @example | |
386 (string-to-char "ABC") | |
387 @result{} 65 | |
388 (string-to-char "xyz") | |
389 @result{} 120 | |
390 (string-to-char "") | |
391 @result{} 0 | |
392 (string-to-char "\000") | |
393 @result{} 0 | |
394 @end example | |
395 | |
396 This function may be eliminated in the future if it does not seem useful | |
397 enough to retain. | |
398 @end defun | |
399 | |
400 @defun number-to-string number | |
401 @cindex integer to string | |
402 @cindex integer to decimal | |
403 This function returns a string consisting of the printed | |
404 representation of @var{number}, which may be an integer or a floating | |
405 point number. The value starts with a sign if the argument is | |
406 negative. | |
407 | |
408 @example | |
409 (number-to-string 256) | |
410 @result{} "256" | |
411 (number-to-string -23) | |
412 @result{} "-23" | |
413 (number-to-string -23.5) | |
414 @result{} "-23.5" | |
415 @end example | |
416 | |
417 @cindex int-to-string | |
418 @code{int-to-string} is a semi-obsolete alias for this function. | |
419 | |
420 See also the function @code{format} in @ref{Formatting Strings}. | |
421 @end defun | |
422 | |
423 @defun string-to-number string | |
424 @cindex string to number | |
425 This function returns the numeric value of the characters in | |
426 @var{string}, read in base ten. It skips spaces and tabs at the | |
427 beginning of @var{string}, then reads as much of @var{string} as it can | |
428 interpret as a number. (On some systems it ignores other whitespace at | |
429 the beginning, not just spaces and tabs.) If the first character after | |
430 the ignored whitespace is not a digit or a minus sign, this function | |
431 returns 0. | |
432 | |
433 @example | |
434 (string-to-number "256") | |
435 @result{} 256 | |
436 (string-to-number "25 is a perfect square.") | |
437 @result{} 25 | |
438 (string-to-number "X256") | |
439 @result{} 0 | |
440 (string-to-number "-4.5") | |
441 @result{} -4.5 | |
442 @end example | |
443 | |
444 @findex string-to-int | |
445 @code{string-to-int} is an obsolete alias for this function. | |
446 @end defun | |
447 | |
448 @node Formatting Strings | |
449 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
450 @section Formatting Strings | |
451 @cindex formatting strings | |
452 @cindex strings, formatting them | |
453 | |
454 @dfn{Formatting} means constructing a string by substitution of | |
455 computed values at various places in a constant string. This string | |
456 controls how the other values are printed as well as where they appear; | |
457 it is called a @dfn{format string}. | |
458 | |
459 Formatting is often useful for computing messages to be displayed. In | |
460 fact, the functions @code{message} and @code{error} provide the same | |
461 formatting feature described here; they differ from @code{format} only | |
462 in how they use the result of formatting. | |
463 | |
464 @defun format string &rest objects | |
465 This function returns a new string that is made by copying | |
466 @var{string} and then replacing any format specification | |
467 in the copy with encodings of the corresponding @var{objects}. The | |
468 arguments @var{objects} are the computed values to be formatted. | |
469 @end defun | |
470 | |
471 @cindex @samp{%} in format | |
472 @cindex format specification | |
473 A format specification is a sequence of characters beginning with a | |
474 @samp{%}. Thus, if there is a @samp{%d} in @var{string}, the | |
475 @code{format} function replaces it with the printed representation of | |
476 one of the values to be formatted (one of the arguments @var{objects}). | |
477 For example: | |
478 | |
479 @example | |
480 @group | |
481 (format "The value of fill-column is %d." fill-column) | |
482 @result{} "The value of fill-column is 72." | |
483 @end group | |
484 @end example | |
485 | |
486 If @var{string} contains more than one format specification, the | |
487 format specifications correspond with successive values from | |
488 @var{objects}. Thus, the first format specification in @var{string} | |
489 uses the first such value, the second format specification uses the | |
490 second such value, and so on. Any extra format specifications (those | |
491 for which there are no corresponding values) cause unpredictable | |
492 behavior. Any extra values to be formatted are ignored. | |
493 | |
494 Certain format specifications require values of particular types. | |
495 However, no error is signaled if the value actually supplied fails to | |
496 have the expected type. Instead, the output is likely to be | |
497 meaningless. | |
498 | |
499 Here is a table of valid format specifications: | |
500 | |
501 @table @samp | |
502 @item %s | |
503 Replace the specification with the printed representation of the object, | |
504 made without quoting. Thus, strings are represented by their contents | |
505 alone, with no @samp{"} characters, and symbols appear without @samp{\} | |
506 characters. | |
507 | |
508 If there is no corresponding object, the empty string is used. | |
509 | |
510 @item %S | |
511 Replace the specification with the printed representation of the object, | |
512 made with quoting. Thus, strings are enclosed in @samp{"} characters, | |
513 and @samp{\} characters appear where necessary before special characters. | |
514 | |
515 If there is no corresponding object, the empty string is used. | |
516 | |
517 @item %o | |
518 @cindex integer to octal | |
519 Replace the specification with the base-eight representation of an | |
520 integer. | |
521 | |
522 @item %d | |
523 Replace the specification with the base-ten representation of an | |
524 integer. | |
525 | |
526 @item %x | |
527 @cindex integer to hexadecimal | |
528 Replace the specification with the base-sixteen representation of an | |
529 integer. | |
530 | |
531 @item %c | |
532 Replace the specification with the character which is the value given. | |
533 | |
534 @item %e | |
535 Replace the specification with the exponential notation for a floating | |
536 point number. | |
537 | |
538 @item %f | |
539 Replace the specification with the decimal-point notation for a floating | |
540 point number. | |
541 | |
542 @item %g | |
543 Replace the specification with notation for a floating point number, | |
544 using either exponential notation or decimal-point notation whichever | |
545 is shorter. | |
546 | |
547 @item %% | |
548 A single @samp{%} is placed in the string. This format specification is | |
549 unusual in that it does not use a value. For example, @code{(format "%% | |
550 %d" 30)} returns @code{"% 30"}. | |
551 @end table | |
552 | |
553 Any other format character results in an @samp{Invalid format | |
554 operation} error. | |
555 | |
556 Here are several examples: | |
557 | |
558 @example | |
559 @group | |
560 (format "The name of this buffer is %s." (buffer-name)) | |
561 @result{} "The name of this buffer is strings.texi." | |
562 | |
563 (format "The buffer object prints as %s." (current-buffer)) | |
564 @result{} "The buffer object prints as #<buffer strings.texi>." | |
565 | |
566 (format "The octal value of %d is %o, | |
567 and the hex value is %x." 18 18 18) | |
568 @result{} "The octal value of 18 is 22, | |
569 and the hex value is 12." | |
570 @end group | |
571 @end example | |
572 | |
573 @cindex numeric prefix | |
574 @cindex field width | |
575 @cindex padding | |
576 All the specification characters allow an optional numeric prefix | |
577 between the @samp{%} and the character. The optional numeric prefix | |
578 defines the minimum width for the object. If the printed representation | |
579 of the object contains fewer characters than this, then it is padded. | |
580 The padding is on the left if the prefix is positive (or starts with | |
581 zero) and on the right if the prefix is negative. The padding character | |
582 is normally a space, but if the numeric prefix starts with a zero, zeros | |
583 are used for padding. | |
584 | |
585 @example | |
586 (format "%06d is padded on the left with zeros" 123) | |
587 @result{} "000123 is padded on the left with zeros" | |
588 | |
589 (format "%-6d is padded on the right" 123) | |
590 @result{} "123 is padded on the right" | |
591 @end example | |
592 | |
593 @code{format} never truncates an object's printed representation, no | |
594 matter what width you specify. Thus, you can use a numeric prefix to | |
595 specify a minimum spacing between columns with no risk of losing | |
596 information. | |
597 | |
598 In the following three examples, @samp{%7s} specifies a minimum width | |
599 of 7. In the first case, the string inserted in place of @samp{%7s} has | |
600 only 3 letters, so 4 blank spaces are inserted for padding. In the | |
601 second case, the string @code{"specification"} is 13 letters wide but is | |
602 not truncated. In the third case, the padding is on the right. | |
603 | |
604 @smallexample | |
605 @group | |
606 (format "The word `%7s' actually has %d letters in it." | |
607 "foo" (length "foo")) | |
608 @result{} "The word ` foo' actually has 3 letters in it." | |
609 @end group | |
610 | |
611 @group | |
612 (format "The word `%7s' actually has %d letters in it." | |
613 "specification" (length "specification")) | |
614 @result{} "The word `specification' actually has 13 letters in it." | |
615 @end group | |
616 | |
617 @group | |
618 (format "The word `%-7s' actually has %d letters in it." | |
619 "foo" (length "foo")) | |
620 @result{} "The word `foo ' actually has 3 letters in it." | |
621 @end group | |
622 @end smallexample | |
623 | |
624 @node Character Case | |
625 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
626 @section Character Case | |
627 @cindex upper case | |
628 @cindex lower case | |
629 @cindex character case | |
630 | |
631 The character case functions change the case of single characters or | |
632 of the contents of strings. The functions convert only alphabetic | |
633 characters (the letters @samp{A} through @samp{Z} and @samp{a} through | |
634 @samp{z}); other characters are not altered. The functions do not | |
635 modify the strings that are passed to them as arguments. | |
636 | |
637 The examples below use the characters @samp{X} and @samp{x} which have | |
638 @sc{ASCII} codes 88 and 120 respectively. | |
639 | |
640 @defun downcase string-or-char | |
641 This function converts a character or a string to lower case. | |
642 | |
643 When the argument to @code{downcase} is a string, the function creates | |
644 and returns a new string in which each letter in the argument that is | |
645 upper case is converted to lower case. When the argument to | |
646 @code{downcase} is a character, @code{downcase} returns the | |
647 corresponding lower case character. This value is an integer. If the | |
648 original character is lower case, or is not a letter, then the value | |
649 equals the original character. | |
650 | |
651 @example | |
652 (downcase "The cat in the hat") | |
653 @result{} "the cat in the hat" | |
654 | |
655 (downcase ?X) | |
656 @result{} 120 | |
657 @end example | |
658 @end defun | |
659 | |
660 @defun upcase string-or-char | |
661 This function converts a character or a string to upper case. | |
662 | |
663 When the argument to @code{upcase} is a string, the function creates | |
664 and returns a new string in which each letter in the argument that is | |
665 lower case is converted to upper case. | |
666 | |
667 When the argument to @code{upcase} is a character, @code{upcase} | |
668 returns the corresponding upper case character. This value is an integer. | |
669 If the original character is upper case, or is not a letter, then the | |
670 value equals the original character. | |
671 | |
672 @example | |
673 (upcase "The cat in the hat") | |
674 @result{} "THE CAT IN THE HAT" | |
675 | |
676 (upcase ?x) | |
677 @result{} 88 | |
678 @end example | |
679 @end defun | |
680 | |
681 @defun capitalize string-or-char | |
682 @cindex capitalization | |
683 This function capitalizes strings or characters. If | |
684 @var{string-or-char} is a string, the function creates and returns a new | |
685 string, whose contents are a copy of @var{string-or-char} in which each | |
686 word has been capitalized. This means that the first character of each | |
687 word is converted to upper case, and the rest are converted to lower | |
688 case. | |
689 | |
690 The definition of a word is any sequence of consecutive characters that | |
691 are assigned to the word constituent syntax class in the current syntax | |
692 table (@xref{Syntax Class Table}). | |
693 | |
694 When the argument to @code{capitalize} is a character, @code{capitalize} | |
695 has the same result as @code{upcase}. | |
696 | |
697 @example | |
698 (capitalize "The cat in the hat") | |
699 @result{} "The Cat In The Hat" | |
700 | |
701 (capitalize "THE 77TH-HATTED CAT") | |
702 @result{} "The 77th-Hatted Cat" | |
703 | |
704 @group | |
705 (capitalize ?x) | |
706 @result{} 88 | |
707 @end group | |
708 @end example | |
709 @end defun | |
710 | |
711 @node Case Table | |
712 @section The Case Table | |
713 | |
714 You can customize case conversion by installing a special @dfn{case | |
715 table}. A case table specifies the mapping between upper case and lower | |
716 case letters. It affects both the string and character case conversion | |
717 functions (see the previous section) and those that apply to text in the | |
718 buffer (@pxref{Case Changes}). You need a case table if you are using a | |
719 language which has letters other than the standard @sc{ASCII} letters. | |
720 | |
721 A case table is a list of this form: | |
722 | |
723 @example | |
724 (@var{downcase} @var{upcase} @var{canonicalize} @var{equivalences}) | |
725 @end example | |
726 | |
727 @noindent | |
728 where each element is either @code{nil} or a string of length 256. The | |
729 element @var{downcase} says how to map each character to its lower-case | |
730 equivalent. The element @var{upcase} maps each character to its | |
731 upper-case equivalent. If lower and upper case characters are in | |
732 one-to-one correspondence, use @code{nil} for @var{upcase}; then Emacs | |
733 deduces the upcase table from @var{downcase}. | |
734 | |
735 For some languages, upper and lower case letters are not in one-to-one | |
736 correspondence. There may be two different lower case letters with the | |
737 same upper case equivalent. In these cases, you need to specify the | |
738 maps for both directions. | |
739 | |
740 The element @var{canonicalize} maps each character to a canonical | |
741 equivalent; any two characters that are related by case-conversion have | |
742 the same canonical equivalent character. | |
743 | |
744 The element @var{equivalences} is a map that cyclicly permutes each | |
745 equivalence class (of characters with the same canonical equivalent). | |
746 (For ordinary @sc{ASCII}, this would map @samp{a} into @samp{A} and | |
747 @samp{A} into @samp{a}, and likewise for each set of equivalent | |
748 characters.) | |
749 | |
6938
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750 When you construct a case table, you can provide @code{nil} for |
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751 @var{canonicalize}; then Emacs fills in this string from @var{upcase} |
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752 and @var{downcase}. You can also provide @code{nil} for |
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753 @var{equivalences}; then Emacs fills in this string from |
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754 @var{canonicalize}. In a case table that is actually in use, those |
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755 components are non-@code{nil}. Do not try to specify @var{equivalences} |
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756 without also specifying @var{canonicalize}. |
6550 | 757 |
758 Each buffer has a case table. Emacs also has a @dfn{standard case | |
759 table} which is copied into each buffer when you create the buffer. | |
760 Changing the standard case table doesn't affect any existing buffers. | |
761 | |
762 Here are the functions for working with case tables: | |
763 | |
764 @defun case-table-p object | |
765 This predicate returns non-@code{nil} if @var{object} is a valid case | |
766 table. | |
767 @end defun | |
768 | |
769 @defun set-standard-case-table table | |
770 This function makes @var{table} the standard case table, so that it will | |
771 apply to any buffers created subsequently. | |
772 @end defun | |
773 | |
774 @defun standard-case-table | |
775 This returns the standard case table. | |
776 @end defun | |
777 | |
778 @defun current-case-table | |
779 This function returns the current buffer's case table. | |
780 @end defun | |
781 | |
782 @defun set-case-table table | |
783 This sets the current buffer's case table to @var{table}. | |
784 @end defun | |
785 | |
786 The following three functions are convenient subroutines for packages | |
787 that define non-@sc{ASCII} character sets. They modify a string | |
788 @var{downcase-table} provided as an argument; this should be a string to | |
789 be used as the @var{downcase} part of a case table. They also modify | |
790 the standard syntax table. @xref{Syntax Tables}. | |
791 | |
792 @defun set-case-syntax-pair uc lc downcase-table | |
793 This function specifies a pair of corresponding letters, one upper case | |
794 and one lower case. | |
795 @end defun | |
796 | |
797 @defun set-case-syntax-delims l r downcase-table | |
798 This function makes characters @var{l} and @var{r} a matching pair of | |
799 case-invariant delimiters. | |
800 @end defun | |
801 | |
802 @defun set-case-syntax char syntax downcase-table | |
803 This function makes @var{char} case-invariant, with syntax | |
804 @var{syntax}. | |
805 @end defun | |
806 | |
807 @deffn Command describe-buffer-case-table | |
808 This command displays a description of the contents of the current | |
809 buffer's case table. | |
810 @end deffn | |
811 | |
812 @cindex ISO Latin 1 | |
813 @pindex iso-syntax | |
814 You can load the library @file{iso-syntax} to set up the standard syntax | |
8590 | 815 table and define a case table for the 8-bit ISO Latin 1 character set. |