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@c -*-texinfo-*-
@c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual.
@c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999
@c   Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions.
@setfilename ../info/strings
@node Strings and Characters, Lists, Numbers, Top
@comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
@chapter Strings and Characters

used.  Thus, strings really contain integers.

  The length of a string (like any array) is fixed, and cannot be
altered once the string exists.  Strings in Lisp are @emph{not}
terminated by a distinguished character code.  (By contrast, strings in
C are terminated by a character with @sc{ascii} code 0.)

  Since strings are arrays, and therefore sequences as well, you can
operate on them with the general array and sequence functions.
(@xref{Sequences Arrays Vectors}.)  For example, you can access or
change individual characters in a string using the functions @code{aref}
and @code{aset} (@pxref{Array Functions}).

  There are two text representations for non-@sc{ascii} characters in
Emacs strings (and in buffers): unibyte and multibyte (@pxref{Text
Representations}).  An @sc{ascii} character always occupies one byte in a
string; in fact, when a string is all @sc{ascii}, there is no real
difference between the unibyte and multibyte representations.
For most Lisp programming, you don't need to be concerned with these two
representations.

  Sometimes key sequences are represented as strings.  When a string is
a key sequence, string elements in the range 128 to 255 represent meta
characters (which are large integers) rather than character
codes in the range 128 to 255.

  Strings cannot hold characters that have the hyper, super or alt
modifiers; they can hold @sc{ascii} control characters, but no other
control characters.  They do not distinguish case in @sc{ascii} control
characters.  If you want to store such characters in a sequence, such as
a key sequence, you must use a vector instead of a string.
@xref{Character Type}, for more information about the representation of meta
and other modifiers for keyboard input characters.

  Strings are useful for holding regular expressions.  You can also
match regular expressions against strings (@pxref{Regexp Search}).  The
functions @code{match-string} (@pxref{Simple Match Data}) and
@code{replace-match} (@pxref{Replacing Match}) are useful for
decomposing and modifying strings based on regular expression matching.

  Like a buffer, a string can contain text properties for the characters
in it, as well as the characters themselves.  @xref{Text Properties}.
All the Lisp primitives that copy text from strings to buffers or other
strings also copy the properties of the characters being copied.

@noindent
In this example, the index for @samp{e} is @minus{}3, the index for
@samp{f} is @minus{}2, and the index for @samp{g} is @minus{}1.
Therefore, @samp{e} and @samp{f} are included, and @samp{g} is excluded.

When @code{nil} is used as an index, it stands for the length of the
string.  Thus,

@example
@group
(substring "abcdefg" -3 nil)

@example
(substring [a b (c) "d"] 1 3)
     @result{} [b (c)]
@end example

A @code{wrong-type-argument} error is signaled if either @var{start} or
@var{end} is not an integer or @code{nil}.  An @code{args-out-of-range}
error is signaled if @var{start} indicates a character following
@var{end}, or if either integer is out of range for @var{string}.

Contrast this function with @code{buffer-substring} (@pxref{Buffer
Contents}), which returns a string containing a portion of the text in
the current buffer.  The beginning of a string is at index 0, but the
beginning of a buffer is at index 1.
@end defun

@defun concat &rest sequences
@cindex copying strings
@cindex concatenating strings

printed form is with @code{format} (@pxref{Formatting Strings}) or
@code{number-to-string} (@pxref{String Conversion}).

For information about other concatenation functions, see the
description of @code{mapconcat} in @ref{Mapping Functions},
@code{vconcat} in @ref{Vectors}, and @code{append} in @ref{Building
Lists}.
@end defun

@defun split-string string separators
This function splits @var{string} into substrings at matches for the regular
expression @var{separators}.  Each match for @var{separators} defines a
splitting point; the substrings between the splitting points are made
into a list, which is the value returned by @code{split-string}.
If @var{separators} is @code{nil} (or omitted),
the default is @code{"[ \f\t\n\r\v]+"}.

For example,

@example
(split-string "Soup is good food" "o")
@result{} ("S" "up is g" "" "d f" "" "d")
(split-string "Soup is good food" "o+")
@result{} ("S" "up is g" "d f" "d")
@end example

When there is a match adjacent to the beginning or end of the string,
this does not cause a null string to appear at the beginning or end
of the list:

@example
(split-string "out to moo" "o+")
@result{} ("ut t" " m")
@end example

Empty matches do count, when not adjacent to another match:

@example
(split-string "Soup is good food" "o*")
@result{}("S" "u" "p" " " "i" "s" " " "g" "d" " " "f" "d")
(split-string "Nice doggy!" "")
@result{}("N" "i" "c" "e" " " "d" "o" "g" "g" "y" "!")
@end example
@end defun

@node Modifying Strings
@section Modifying Strings

  The most basic way to alter the contents of an existing string is with

an error if @var{obj} doesn't fit within @var{string}'s actual length,
or if any new character requires a different number of bytes from the
character currently present at that point in @var{string}.
@end defun

@need 2000
@node Text Comparison
@section Comparison of Characters and Strings
@cindex string equality

@end example
@end defun

@defun string= string1 string2
This function returns @code{t} if the characters of the two strings
match exactly.
Case is always significant, regardless of @code{case-fold-search}.

@example
(string= "abc" "abc")
     @result{} t

The function @code{string=} ignores the text properties of the two
strings.  When @code{equal} (@pxref{Equality Predicates}) compares two
strings, it uses @code{string=}.

If the strings contain non-@sc{ascii} characters, and one is unibyte
while the other is multibyte, then they cannot be equal.  @xref{Text
Representations}.
@end defun

@defun string-equal string1 string2
@code{string-equal} is another name for @code{string=}.

@var{string2}, then @var{string1} is greater, and this function returns
@code{nil}.  If the two strings match entirely, the value is @code{nil}.

Pairs of characters are compared according to their character codes.
Keep in mind that lower case letters have higher numeric values in the
@sc{ascii} character set than their upper case counterparts; digits and
many punctuation characters have a lower numeric value than upper case
letters.  An @sc{ascii} character is less than any non-@sc{ascii}
character; a unibyte non-@sc{ascii} character is always less than any
multibyte non-@sc{ascii} character (@pxref{Text Representations}).

@example
@group
(string< "abc" "abd")
     @result{} t

     @result{} nil
(string< "" "")
     @result{} nil
@end group
@end example
@end defun

@defun string-lessp string1 string2
@code{string-lessp} is another name for @code{string<}.
@end defun

the end of the string).  The specified part of @var{string2} runs from
index @var{start2} up to index @var{end2} (@code{nil} means the end of
the string).

The strings are both converted to multibyte for the comparison
(@pxref{Text Representations}) so that a unibyte string can be equal to
a multibyte string.  If @var{ignore-case} is non-@code{nil}, then case
is ignored, so that upper case letters can be equal to lower case letters.

If the specified portions of the two strings match, the value is
@code{t}.  Otherwise, the value is an integer which indicates how many
leading characters agree, and which string is less.  Its absolute value
is one plus the number of characters that agree at the beginning of the
two strings.  The sign is negative if @var{string1} (or its specified
portion) is less.
@end defun

@defun assoc-ignore-case key alist
This function works like @code{assoc}, except that @var{key} must be a
string, and comparison is done using @code{compare-strings}, ignoring
case differences.  @xref{Association Lists}.
@end defun

@defun assoc-ignore-representation key alist
This function works like @code{assoc}, except that @var{key} must be a
string, and comparison is done using @code{compare-strings}.
Case differences are significant.
@end defun

  See also @code{compare-buffer-substrings} in @ref{Comparing Text}, for
a way to compare text in buffers.  The function @code{string-match},
which matches a regular expression against a string, can be used

@comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
@section Conversion of Characters and Strings
@cindex conversion of strings

  This section describes functions for conversions between characters,
strings and integers.  @code{format} and @code{prin1-to-string}
(@pxref{Output Functions}) can also convert Lisp objects into strings.
@code{read-from-string} (@pxref{Input Functions}) can ``convert'' a
string representation of a Lisp object into an object.  The functions
@code{string-make-multibyte} and @code{string-make-unibyte} convert the
text representation of a string (@pxref{Converting Representations}).

@defun string-to-char string
@cindex string to character
  This function returns the first character in @var{string}.  If the
string is empty, the function returns 0.  The value is also 0 when the
first character of @var{string} is the null character, @sc{ascii} code
0.

@example
(string-to-char "ABC")
     @result{} 65

negative.

@example
(number-to-string 256)
     @result{} "256"
(number-to-string -23)
     @result{} "-23"
(number-to-string -23.5)
     @result{} "-23.5"
@end example

@cindex int-to-string

@end defun

@defun string-to-number string &optional base
@cindex string to number
This function returns the numeric value of the characters in
@var{string}.  If @var{base} is non-@code{nil}, integers are converted
in that base.  If @var{base} is @code{nil}, then base ten is used.
Floating point conversion always uses base ten; we have not implemented
other radices for floating point numbers, because that would be much
more work and does not seem useful.  If @var{string} looks like an
integer but its value is too large to fit into a Lisp integer,
@code{string-to-number} returns a floating point result.

The parsing skips spaces and tabs at the beginning of @var{string}, then
reads as much of @var{string} as it can interpret as a number.  (On some
systems it ignores other whitespace at the beginning, not just spaces
and tabs.)  If the first character after the ignored whitespace is
neither a digit, nor a plus or minus sign, nor the leading dot of a
floating point number, this function returns 0.

@example
(string-to-number "256")
     @result{} 256
(string-to-number "25 is a perfect square.")

@var{string} and then replacing any format specification
in the copy with encodings of the corresponding @var{objects}.  The
arguments @var{objects} are the computed values to be formatted.

The characters in @var{string}, other than the format specifications,
are copied directly into the output; starting in Emacs 21, if they have
text properties, these are copied into the output also.
@end defun

@cindex @samp{%} in format
@cindex format specification
  A format specification is a sequence of characters beginning with a

  If @var{string} contains more than one format specification, the
format specifications correspond to successive values from
@var{objects}.  Thus, the first format specification in @var{string}
uses the first such value, the second format specification uses the
second such value, and so on.  Any extra format specifications (those
for which there are no corresponding values) cause unpredictable
behavior.  Any extra values to be formatted are ignored.

  Certain format specifications require values of particular types.  If
you supply a value that doesn't fit the requirements, an error is
signaled.

made without quoting (that is, using @code{princ}, not
@code{prin1}---@pxref{Output Functions}).  Thus, strings are represented
by their contents alone, with no @samp{"} characters, and symbols appear
without @samp{\} characters.

Starting in Emacs 21, if the object is a string, its text properties are
copied into the output.  The text properties of the @samp{%s} itself
are also copied, but those of the object take priority.

If there is no corresponding object, the empty string is used.

@item %S
Replace the specification with the printed representation of the object,
made with quoting (that is, using @code{prin1}---@pxref{Output
Functions}).  Thus, strings are enclosed in @samp{"} characters, and
@samp{\} characters appear where necessary before special characters.

If there is no corresponding object, the empty string is used.

@item %o
@cindex integer to octal
Replace the specification with the base-eight representation of an
integer.

     @result{} "The octal value of 18 is 22,
         and the hex value is 12."
@end group
@end example

@cindex numeric prefix
@cindex field width
@cindex padding
  All the specification characters allow an optional numeric prefix
between the @samp{%} and the character.  The optional numeric prefix
defines the minimum width for the object.  If the printed representation
of the object contains fewer characters than this, then it is padded.
The padding is on the left if the prefix is positive (or starts with
zero) and on the right if the prefix is negative.  The padding character
is normally a space, but if the numeric prefix starts with a zero, zeros
are used for padding.  Here are some examples of padding:

@example
(format "%06d is padded on the left with zeros" 123)
     @result{} "000123 is padded on the left with zeros"

(format "%-6d is padded on the right" 123)
     @result{} "123    is padded on the right"
@end example

  @code{format} never truncates an object's printed representation, no
matter what width you specify.  Thus, you can use a numeric prefix to
specify a minimum spacing between columns with no risk of losing
information.

  In the following three examples, @samp{%7s} specifies a minimum width
of 7.  In the first case, the string inserted in place of @samp{%7s} has
only 3 letters, so 4 blank spaces are inserted for padding.  In the
second case, the string @code{"specification"} is 13 letters wide but is

(format "The word `%-7s' actually has %d letters in it."
        "foo" (length "foo"))
     @result{} "The word `foo    ' actually has 3 letters in it."
@end group
@end smallexample

@node Case Conversion
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
@section Case Conversion in Lisp
@cindex upper case

@cindex case conversion in Lisp

  The character case functions change the case of single characters or
of the contents of strings.  The functions normally convert only
alphabetic characters (the letters @samp{A} through @samp{Z} and
@samp{a} through @samp{z}, as well as non-@sc{ascii} letters); other
characters are not altered.  You can specify a different case
conversion mapping by specifying a case table (@pxref{Case Tables}).

  These functions do not modify the strings that are passed to them as
arguments.

  The examples below use the characters @samp{X} and @samp{x} which have
@sc{ascii} codes 88 and 120 respectively.

@defun downcase string-or-char
This function converts a character or a string to lower case.

When the argument to @code{downcase} is a string, the function creates

When the argument to @code{capitalize} is a character, @code{capitalize}
has the same result as @code{upcase}.

@example
(capitalize "The cat in the hat")
     @result{} "The Cat In The Hat"

(capitalize "THE 77TH-HATTED CAT")
     @result{} "The 77th-Hatted Cat"

@group
(capitalize ?x)
     @result{} 88
@end group
@end example
@end defun

@defun upcase-initials string
This function capitalizes the initials of the words in @var{string},
without altering any letters other than the initials.  It returns a new
string whose contents are a copy of @var{string}, in which each word has
had its initial letter converted to upper case.

The definition of a word is any sequence of consecutive characters that
are assigned to the word constituent syntax class in the current syntax
table (@pxref{Syntax Class Table}).

@example
@group
(upcase-initials "The CAT in the hAt")
     @result{} "The CAT In The HAt"

the same canonical equivalent character.  For example, since @samp{a}
and @samp{A} are related by case-conversion, they should have the same
canonical equivalent character (which should be either @samp{a} for both
of them, or @samp{A} for both of them).

  The extra table @var{equivalences} is a map that cyclicly permutes
each equivalence class (of characters with the same canonical
equivalent).  (For ordinary @sc{ascii}, this would map @samp{a} into
@samp{A} and @samp{A} into @samp{a}, and likewise for each set of
equivalent characters.)

  When you construct a case table, you can provide @code{nil} for
@var{canonicalize}; then Emacs fills in this slot from the lower case

@defun set-case-table table
This sets the current buffer's case table to @var{table}.
@end defun

  The following three functions are convenient subroutines for packages
that define non-@sc{ascii} character sets.  They modify the specified
case table @var{case-table}; they also modify the standard syntax table.
@xref{Syntax Tables}.  Normally you would use these functions to change
the standard case table.

@defun set-case-syntax-pair uc lc case-table

@deffn Command describe-buffer-case-table
This command displays a description of the contents of the current
buffer's case table.
@end deffn

88155:d7ddb3e565de

@c -*-texinfo-*-
@c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual.
@c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003,
@c   2004, 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions.
@setfilename ../info/strings
@node Strings and Characters, Lists, Numbers, Top
@comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
@chapter Strings and Characters

used.  Thus, strings really contain integers.

  The length of a string (like any array) is fixed, and cannot be
altered once the string exists.  Strings in Lisp are @emph{not}
terminated by a distinguished character code.  (By contrast, strings in
C are terminated by a character with @acronym{ASCII} code 0.)

  Since strings are arrays, and therefore sequences as well, you can
operate on them with the general array and sequence functions.
(@xref{Sequences Arrays Vectors}.)  For example, you can access or
change individual characters in a string using the functions @code{aref}
and @code{aset} (@pxref{Array Functions}).

  There are two text representations for non-@acronym{ASCII} characters in
Emacs strings (and in buffers): unibyte and multibyte (@pxref{Text
Representations}).  An @acronym{ASCII} character always occupies one byte in a
string; in fact, when a string is all @acronym{ASCII}, there is no real
difference between the unibyte and multibyte representations.
For most Lisp programming, you don't need to be concerned with these two
representations.

  Sometimes key sequences are represented as strings.  When a string is
a key sequence, string elements in the range 128 to 255 represent meta
characters (which are large integers) rather than character
codes in the range 128 to 255.

  Strings cannot hold characters that have the hyper, super or alt
modifiers; they can hold @acronym{ASCII} control characters, but no other
control characters.  They do not distinguish case in @acronym{ASCII} control
characters.  If you want to store such characters in a sequence, such as
a key sequence, you must use a vector instead of a string.
@xref{Character Type}, for more information about the representation of meta
and other modifiers for keyboard input characters.

  Strings are useful for holding regular expressions.  You can also
match regular expressions against strings with @code{string-match}
(@pxref{Regexp Search}).  The functions @code{match-string}
(@pxref{Simple Match Data}) and @code{replace-match} (@pxref{Replacing
Match}) are useful for decomposing and modifying strings after
matching regular expressions against them.

  Like a buffer, a string can contain text properties for the characters
in it, as well as the characters themselves.  @xref{Text Properties}.
All the Lisp primitives that copy text from strings to buffers or other
strings also copy the properties of the characters being copied.

@noindent
In this example, the index for @samp{e} is @minus{}3, the index for
@samp{f} is @minus{}2, and the index for @samp{g} is @minus{}1.
Therefore, @samp{e} and @samp{f} are included, and @samp{g} is excluded.

When @code{nil} is used for @var{end}, it stands for the length of the
string.  Thus,

@example
@group
(substring "abcdefg" -3 nil)

@example
(substring [a b (c) "d"] 1 3)
     @result{} [b (c)]
@end example

A @code{wrong-type-argument} error is signaled if @var{start} is not
an integer or if @var{end} is neither an integer nor @code{nil}.  An
@code{args-out-of-range} error is signaled if @var{start} indicates a
character following @var{end}, or if either integer is out of range
for @var{string}.

Contrast this function with @code{buffer-substring} (@pxref{Buffer
Contents}), which returns a string containing a portion of the text in
the current buffer.  The beginning of a string is at index 0, but the
beginning of a buffer is at index 1.
@end defun

@defun substring-no-properties string &optional start end
This works like @code{substring} but discards all text properties from
the value.  Also, @var{start} may be omitted or @code{nil}, which is
equivalent to 0.  Thus, @w{@code{(substring-no-properties
@var{string})}} returns a copy of @var{string}, with all text
properties removed.
@end defun

@defun concat &rest sequences
@cindex copying strings
@cindex concatenating strings

printed form is with @code{format} (@pxref{Formatting Strings}) or
@code{number-to-string} (@pxref{String Conversion}).

For information about other concatenation functions, see the
description of @code{mapconcat} in @ref{Mapping Functions},
@code{vconcat} in @ref{Vector Functions}, and @code{append} in @ref{Building
Lists}.
@end defun

@defun split-string string &optional separators omit-nulls
This function splits @var{string} into substrings at matches for the
regular expression @var{separators}.  Each match for @var{separators}
defines a splitting point; the substrings between the splitting points
are made into a list, which is the value returned by
@code{split-string}.

If @var{omit-nulls} is @code{nil}, the result contains null strings
whenever there are two consecutive matches for @var{separators}, or a
match is adjacent to the beginning or end of @var{string}.  If
@var{omit-nulls} is @code{t}, these null strings are omitted from the
result list.

If @var{separators} is @code{nil} (or omitted),
the default is the value of @code{split-string-default-separators}.

As a special case, when @var{separators} is @code{nil} (or omitted),
null strings are always omitted from the result.  Thus:

@example
(split-string "  two words ")
     @result{} ("two" "words")
@end example

The result is not @samp{("" "two" "words" "")}, which would rarely be
useful.  If you need such a result, use an explicit value for
@var{separators}:

@example
(split-string "  two words "
              split-string-default-separators)
     @result{} ("" "two" "words" "")
@end example

More examples:

@example
(split-string "Soup is good food" "o")
     @result{} ("S" "up is g" "" "d f" "" "d")
(split-string "Soup is good food" "o" t)
     @result{} ("S" "up is g" "d f" "d")
(split-string "Soup is good food" "o+")
     @result{} ("S" "up is g" "d f" "d")
@end example

Empty matches do count, except that @code{split-string} will not look
for a final empty match when it already reached the end of the string
using a non-empty match or when @var{string} is empty:

@example
(split-string "aooob" "o*")
     @result{} ("" "a" "" "b" "")
(split-string "ooaboo" "o*")
     @result{} ("" "" "a" "b" "")
(split-string "" "")
     @result{} ("")
@end example

However, when @var{separators} can match the empty string,
@var{omit-nulls} is usually @code{t}, so that the subtleties in the
three previous examples are rarely relevant:

@example
(split-string "Soup is good food" "o*" t)
     @result{} ("S" "u" "p" " " "i" "s" " " "g" "d" " " "f" "d")
(split-string "Nice doggy!" "" t)
     @result{} ("N" "i" "c" "e" " " "d" "o" "g" "g" "y" "!")
(split-string "" "" t)
     @result{} nil
@end example

Somewhat odd, but predictable, behavior can occur for certain
``non-greedy'' values of @var{separators} that can prefer empty
matches over non-empty matches.  Again, such values rarely occur in
practice:

@example
(split-string "ooo" "o*" t)
     @result{} nil
(split-string "ooo" "\\|o+" t)
     @result{} ("o" "o" "o")
@end example
@end defun

@defvar split-string-default-separators
The default value of @var{separators} for @code{split-string}.  Its
usual value is @w{@samp{"[ \f\t\n\r\v]+"}}.
@end defvar

@node Modifying Strings
@section Modifying Strings

  The most basic way to alter the contents of an existing string is with

an error if @var{obj} doesn't fit within @var{string}'s actual length,
or if any new character requires a different number of bytes from the
character currently present at that point in @var{string}.
@end defun

  To clear out a string that contained a password, use
@code{clear-string}:

@defun clear-string string
This clears the contents of @var{string} to zeros.
It may also change @var{string}'s length and convert it to
a unibyte string.
@end defun

@need 2000
@node Text Comparison
@section Comparison of Characters and Strings
@cindex string equality

@end example
@end defun

@defun string= string1 string2
This function returns @code{t} if the characters of the two strings
match exactly.  Symbols are also allowed as arguments, in which case
their print names are used.
Case is always significant, regardless of @code{case-fold-search}.

@example
(string= "abc" "abc")
     @result{} t

The function @code{string=} ignores the text properties of the two
strings.  When @code{equal} (@pxref{Equality Predicates}) compares two
strings, it uses @code{string=}.

For technical reasons, a unibyte and a multibyte string are
@code{equal} if and only if they contain the same sequence of
character codes and all these codes are either in the range 0 through
127 (@acronym{ASCII}) or 160 through 255 (@code{eight-bit-graphic}).
However, when a unibyte string gets converted to a multibyte string,
all characters with codes in the range 160 through 255 get converted
to characters with higher codes, whereas @acronym{ASCII} characters
remain unchanged.  Thus, a unibyte string and its conversion to
multibyte are only @code{equal} if the string is all @acronym{ASCII}.
Character codes 160 through 255 are not entirely proper in multibyte
text, even though they can occur.  As a consequence, the situation
where a unibyte and a multibyte string are @code{equal} without both
being all @acronym{ASCII} is a technical oddity that very few Emacs
Lisp programmers ever get confronted with.  @xref{Text
Representations}.
@end defun

@defun string-equal string1 string2
@code{string-equal} is another name for @code{string=}.

@var{string2}, then @var{string1} is greater, and this function returns
@code{nil}.  If the two strings match entirely, the value is @code{nil}.

Pairs of characters are compared according to their character codes.
Keep in mind that lower case letters have higher numeric values in the
@acronym{ASCII} character set than their upper case counterparts; digits and
many punctuation characters have a lower numeric value than upper case
letters.  An @acronym{ASCII} character is less than any non-@acronym{ASCII}
character; a unibyte non-@acronym{ASCII} character is always less than any
multibyte non-@acronym{ASCII} character (@pxref{Text Representations}).

@example
@group
(string< "abc" "abd")
     @result{} t

     @result{} nil
(string< "" "")
     @result{} nil
@end group
@end example

Symbols are also allowed as arguments, in which case their print names
are used.
@end defun

@defun string-lessp string1 string2
@code{string-lessp} is another name for @code{string<}.
@end defun

the end of the string).  The specified part of @var{string2} runs from
index @var{start2} up to index @var{end2} (@code{nil} means the end of
the string).

The strings are both converted to multibyte for the comparison
(@pxref{Text Representations}) so that a unibyte string and its
conversion to multibyte are always regarded as equal.  If
@var{ignore-case} is non-@code{nil}, then case is ignored, so that
upper case letters can be equal to lower case letters.

If the specified portions of the two strings match, the value is
@code{t}.  Otherwise, the value is an integer which indicates how many
leading characters agree, and which string is less.  Its absolute value
is one plus the number of characters that agree at the beginning of the
two strings.  The sign is negative if @var{string1} (or its specified
portion) is less.
@end defun

@defun assoc-string key alist &optional case-fold
This function works like @code{assoc}, except that @var{key} must be a
string, and comparison is done using @code{compare-strings}.  If
@var{case-fold} is non-@code{nil}, it ignores case differences.
Unlike @code{assoc}, this function can also match elements of the alist
that are strings rather than conses.  In particular, @var{alist} can
be a list of strings rather than an actual alist.
@xref{Association Lists}.
@end defun

  See also @code{compare-buffer-substrings} in @ref{Comparing Text}, for
a way to compare text in buffers.  The function @code{string-match},
which matches a regular expression against a string, can be used

@comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
@section Conversion of Characters and Strings
@cindex conversion of strings

  This section describes functions for conversions between characters,
strings and integers.  @code{format} (@pxref{Formatting Strings})
and @code{prin1-to-string}
(@pxref{Output Functions}) can also convert Lisp objects into strings.
@code{read-from-string} (@pxref{Input Functions}) can ``convert'' a
string representation of a Lisp object into an object.  The functions
@code{string-make-multibyte} and @code{string-make-unibyte} convert the
text representation of a string (@pxref{Converting Representations}).

@defun string-to-char string
@cindex string to character
  This function returns the first character in @var{string}.  If the
string is empty, the function returns 0.  The value is also 0 when the
first character of @var{string} is the null character, @acronym{ASCII} code
0.

@example
(string-to-char "ABC")
     @result{} 65

negative.

@example
(number-to-string 256)
     @result{} "256"
@group
(number-to-string -23)
     @result{} "-23"
@end group
(number-to-string -23.5)
     @result{} "-23.5"
@end example

@cindex int-to-string

@end defun

@defun string-to-number string &optional base
@cindex string to number
This function returns the numeric value of the characters in
@var{string}.  If @var{base} is non-@code{nil}, it must be an integer
between 2 and 16 (inclusive), and integers are converted in that base.
If @var{base} is @code{nil}, then base ten is used.  Floating point
conversion only works in base ten; we have not implemented other
radices for floating point numbers, because that would be much more
work and does not seem useful.  If @var{string} looks like an integer
but its value is too large to fit into a Lisp integer,
@code{string-to-number} returns a floating point result.

The parsing skips spaces and tabs at the beginning of @var{string},
then reads as much of @var{string} as it can interpret as a number in
the given base.  (On some systems it ignores other whitespace at the
beginning, not just spaces and tabs.)  If the first character after
the ignored whitespace is neither a digit in the given base, nor a
plus or minus sign, nor the leading dot of a floating point number,
this function returns 0.

@example
(string-to-number "256")
     @result{} 256
(string-to-number "25 is a perfect square.")

@var{string} and then replacing any format specification
in the copy with encodings of the corresponding @var{objects}.  The
arguments @var{objects} are the computed values to be formatted.

The characters in @var{string}, other than the format specifications,
are copied directly into the output; if they have text properties,
these are copied into the output also.
@end defun

@cindex @samp{%} in format
@cindex format specification
  A format specification is a sequence of characters beginning with a

  If @var{string} contains more than one format specification, the
format specifications correspond to successive values from
@var{objects}.  Thus, the first format specification in @var{string}
uses the first such value, the second format specification uses the
second such value, and so on.  Any extra format specifications (those
for which there are no corresponding values) cause an error.  Any
extra values to be formatted are ignored.

  Certain format specifications require values of particular types.  If
you supply a value that doesn't fit the requirements, an error is
signaled.

made without quoting (that is, using @code{princ}, not
@code{prin1}---@pxref{Output Functions}).  Thus, strings are represented
by their contents alone, with no @samp{"} characters, and symbols appear
without @samp{\} characters.

If the object is a string, its text properties are
copied into the output.  The text properties of the @samp{%s} itself
are also copied, but those of the object take priority.

@item %S
Replace the specification with the printed representation of the object,
made with quoting (that is, using @code{prin1}---@pxref{Output
Functions}).  Thus, strings are enclosed in @samp{"} characters, and
@samp{\} characters appear where necessary before special characters.

@item %o
@cindex integer to octal
Replace the specification with the base-eight representation of an
integer.

     @result{} "The octal value of 18 is 22,
         and the hex value is 12."
@end group
@end example

@cindex field width
@cindex padding
  All the specification characters allow an optional ``width'', which
is a digit-string between the @samp{%} and the character.  If the
printed representation of the object contains fewer characters than
this width, then it is padded.  The padding is on the left if the
width is positive (or starts with zero) and on the right if the
width is negative.  The padding character is normally a space, but if
the width starts with a zero, zeros are used for padding.  Some of
these conventions are ignored for specification characters for which
they do not make sense.  That is, @samp{%s}, @samp{%S} and @samp{%c}
accept a width starting with 0, but still pad with @emph{spaces} on
the left.  Also, @samp{%%} accepts a width, but ignores it.  Here are
some examples of padding:

@example
(format "%06d is padded on the left with zeros" 123)
     @result{} "000123 is padded on the left with zeros"

(format "%-6d is padded on the right" 123)
     @result{} "123    is padded on the right"
@end example

If the width is too small, @code{format} does not truncate the
object's printed representation.  Thus, you can use a width to specify
a minimum spacing between columns with no risk of losing information.

  In the following three examples, @samp{%7s} specifies a minimum width
of 7.  In the first case, the string inserted in place of @samp{%7s} has
only 3 letters, so 4 blank spaces are inserted for padding.  In the
second case, the string @code{"specification"} is 13 letters wide but is

(format "The word `%-7s' actually has %d letters in it."
        "foo" (length "foo"))
     @result{} "The word `foo    ' actually has 3 letters in it."
@end group
@end smallexample

@cindex precision in format specifications
  All the specification characters allow an optional ``precision''
before the character (after the width, if present).  The precision is
a decimal-point @samp{.} followed by a digit-string.  For the
floating-point specifications (@samp{%e}, @samp{%f}, @samp{%g}), the
precision specifies how many decimal places to show; if zero, the
decimal-point itself is also omitted.  For @samp{%s} and @samp{%S},
the precision truncates the string to the given width, so
@samp{%.3s} shows only the first three characters of the
representation for @var{object}.  Precision is ignored for other
specification characters.

@cindex flags in format specifications
Immediately after the @samp{%} and before the optional width and
precision, you can put certain ``flag'' characters.

A space character inserts a space for positive numbers (otherwise
nothing is inserted for positive numbers).  This flag is ignored
except for @samp{%d}, @samp{%e}, @samp{%f}, @samp{%g}.

The flag @samp{#} indicates ``alternate form''.  For @samp{%o} it
ensures that the result begins with a 0.  For @samp{%x} and @samp{%X}
the result is prefixed with @samp{0x} or @samp{0X}. For @samp{%e},
@samp{%f}, and @samp{%g} a decimal point is always shown even if the
precision is zero.

@node Case Conversion
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
@section Case Conversion in Lisp
@cindex upper case

@cindex case conversion in Lisp

  The character case functions change the case of single characters or
of the contents of strings.  The functions normally convert only
alphabetic characters (the letters @samp{A} through @samp{Z} and
@samp{a} through @samp{z}, as well as non-@acronym{ASCII} letters); other
characters are not altered.  You can specify a different case
conversion mapping by specifying a case table (@pxref{Case Tables}).

  These functions do not modify the strings that are passed to them as
arguments.

  The examples below use the characters @samp{X} and @samp{x} which have
@acronym{ASCII} codes 88 and 120 respectively.

@defun downcase string-or-char
This function converts a character or a string to lower case.

When the argument to @code{downcase} is a string, the function creates

When the argument to @code{capitalize} is a character, @code{capitalize}
has the same result as @code{upcase}.

@example
@group
(capitalize "The cat in the hat")
     @result{} "The Cat In The Hat"
@end group

@group
(capitalize "THE 77TH-HATTED CAT")
     @result{} "The 77th-Hatted Cat"
@end group

@group
(capitalize ?x)
     @result{} 88
@end group
@end example
@end defun

@defun upcase-initials string-or-char
If @var{string-or-char} is a string, this function capitalizes the
initials of the words in @var{string-or-char}, without altering any
letters other than the initials.  It returns a new string whose
contents are a copy of @var{string-or-char}, in which each word has
had its initial letter converted to upper case.

The definition of a word is any sequence of consecutive characters that
are assigned to the word constituent syntax class in the current syntax
table (@pxref{Syntax Class Table}).

When the argument to @code{upcase-initials} is a character,
@code{upcase-initials} has the same result as @code{upcase}.

@example
@group
(upcase-initials "The CAT in the hAt")
     @result{} "The CAT In The HAt"

the same canonical equivalent character.  For example, since @samp{a}
and @samp{A} are related by case-conversion, they should have the same
canonical equivalent character (which should be either @samp{a} for both
of them, or @samp{A} for both of them).

  The extra table @var{equivalences} is a map that cyclically permutes
each equivalence class (of characters with the same canonical
equivalent).  (For ordinary @acronym{ASCII}, this would map @samp{a} into
@samp{A} and @samp{A} into @samp{a}, and likewise for each set of
equivalent characters.)

  When you construct a case table, you can provide @code{nil} for
@var{canonicalize}; then Emacs fills in this slot from the lower case

@defun set-case-table table
This sets the current buffer's case table to @var{table}.
@end defun

  The following three functions are convenient subroutines for packages
that define non-@acronym{ASCII} character sets.  They modify the specified
case table @var{case-table}; they also modify the standard syntax table.
@xref{Syntax Tables}.  Normally you would use these functions to change
the standard case table.

@defun set-case-syntax-pair uc lc case-table

@deffn Command describe-buffer-case-table
This command displays a description of the contents of the current
buffer's case table.
@end deffn

@ignore
   arch-tag: 700b8e95-7aa5-4b52-9eb3-8f2e1ea152b4
@end ignore