# HG changeset patch # User Glenn Morris # Date 1189052597 0 # Node ID 7f7b0f58bb386adb3b476645b4592f62c10f0f32 # Parent 083e24ed6f4d31da858f4e9fb7a6305755b07e26 Move here from ../../lispref diff -r 083e24ed6f4d -r 7f7b0f58bb38 doc/lispref/strings.texi --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/doc/lispref/strings.texi Thu Sep 06 04:23:17 2007 +0000 @@ -0,0 +1,1163 @@ +@c -*-texinfo-*- +@c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual. +@c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, +@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 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 +@cindex strings +@cindex character arrays +@cindex characters +@cindex bytes + + A string in Emacs Lisp is an array that contains an ordered sequence +of characters. Strings are used as names of symbols, buffers, and +files; to send messages to users; to hold text being copied between +buffers; and for many other purposes. Because strings are so important, +Emacs Lisp has many functions expressly for manipulating them. Emacs +Lisp programs use strings more often than individual characters. + + @xref{Strings of Events}, for special considerations for strings of +keyboard character events. + +@menu +* Basics: String Basics. Basic properties of strings and characters. +* Predicates for Strings:: Testing whether an object is a string or char. +* Creating Strings:: Functions to allocate new strings. +* Modifying Strings:: Altering the contents of an existing string. +* Text Comparison:: Comparing characters or strings. +* String Conversion:: Converting to and from characters and strings. +* Formatting Strings:: @code{format}: Emacs's analogue of @code{printf}. +* Case Conversion:: Case conversion functions. +* Case Tables:: Customizing case conversion. +@end menu + +@node String Basics +@section String and Character Basics + + Characters are represented in Emacs Lisp as integers; +whether an integer is a character or not is determined only by how it is +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. + + @xref{Text}, for information about functions that display strings or +copy them into buffers. @xref{Character Type}, and @ref{String Type}, +for information about the syntax of characters and strings. +@xref{Non-ASCII Characters}, for functions to convert between text +representations and to encode and decode character codes. + +@node Predicates for Strings +@section The Predicates for Strings + +For more information about general sequence and array predicates, +see @ref{Sequences Arrays Vectors}, and @ref{Arrays}. + +@defun stringp object +This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a string, @code{nil} +otherwise. +@end defun + +@defun string-or-null-p object +This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a string or nil, +@code{nil} otherwise. +@end defun + +@defun char-or-string-p object +This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a string or a +character (i.e., an integer), @code{nil} otherwise. +@end defun + +@node Creating Strings +@section Creating Strings + + The following functions create strings, either from scratch, or by +putting strings together, or by taking them apart. + +@defun make-string count character +This function returns a string made up of @var{count} repetitions of +@var{character}. If @var{count} is negative, an error is signaled. + +@example +(make-string 5 ?x) + @result{} "xxxxx" +(make-string 0 ?x) + @result{} "" +@end example + + Other functions to compare with this one include @code{char-to-string} +(@pxref{String Conversion}), @code{make-vector} (@pxref{Vectors}), and +@code{make-list} (@pxref{Building Lists}). +@end defun + +@defun string &rest characters +This returns a string containing the characters @var{characters}. + +@example +(string ?a ?b ?c) + @result{} "abc" +@end example +@end defun + +@defun substring string start &optional end +This function returns a new string which consists of those characters +from @var{string} in the range from (and including) the character at the +index @var{start} up to (but excluding) the character at the index +@var{end}. The first character is at index zero. + +@example +@group +(substring "abcdefg" 0 3) + @result{} "abc" +@end group +@end example + +@noindent +Here the index for @samp{a} is 0, the index for @samp{b} is 1, and the +index for @samp{c} is 2. Thus, three letters, @samp{abc}, are copied +from the string @code{"abcdefg"}. The index 3 marks the character +position up to which the substring is copied. The character whose index +is 3 is actually the fourth character in the string. + +A negative number counts from the end of the string, so that @minus{}1 +signifies the index of the last character of the string. For example: + +@example +@group +(substring "abcdefg" -3 -1) + @result{} "ef" +@end group +@end example + +@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) + @result{} "efg" +@end group +@end example + +Omitting the argument @var{end} is equivalent to specifying @code{nil}. +It follows that @code{(substring @var{string} 0)} returns a copy of all +of @var{string}. + +@example +@group +(substring "abcdefg" 0) + @result{} "abcdefg" +@end group +@end example + +@noindent +But we recommend @code{copy-sequence} for this purpose (@pxref{Sequence +Functions}). + +If the characters copied from @var{string} have text properties, the +properties are copied into the new string also. @xref{Text Properties}. + +@code{substring} also accepts a vector for the first argument. +For example: + +@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 +This function returns a new string consisting of the characters in the +arguments passed to it (along with their text properties, if any). The +arguments may be strings, lists of numbers, or vectors of numbers; they +are not themselves changed. If @code{concat} receives no arguments, it +returns an empty string. + +@example +(concat "abc" "-def") + @result{} "abc-def" +(concat "abc" (list 120 121) [122]) + @result{} "abcxyz" +;; @r{@code{nil} is an empty sequence.} +(concat "abc" nil "-def") + @result{} "abc-def" +(concat "The " "quick brown " "fox.") + @result{} "The quick brown fox." +(concat) + @result{} "" +@end example + +@noindent +The @code{concat} function always constructs a new string that is +not @code{eq} to any existing string. + +In Emacs versions before 21, when an argument was an integer (not a +sequence of integers), it was converted to a string of digits making up +the decimal printed representation of the integer. This obsolete usage +no longer works. The proper way to convert an integer to its decimal +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. + +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 @code{("" "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{@code{"[ \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 +@code{aset} (@pxref{Array Functions}). @code{(aset @var{string} +@var{idx} @var{char})} stores @var{char} into @var{string} at index +@var{idx}. Each character occupies one or more bytes, and if @var{char} +needs a different number of bytes from the character already present at +that index, @code{aset} signals an error. + + A more powerful function is @code{store-substring}: + +@defun store-substring string idx obj +This function alters part of the contents of the string @var{string}, by +storing @var{obj} starting at index @var{idx}. The argument @var{obj} +may be either a character or a (smaller) string. + +Since it is impossible to change the length of an existing string, it is +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 makes @var{string} a unibyte string and clears its contents to +zeros. It may also change @var{string}'s length. +@end defun + +@need 2000 +@node Text Comparison +@section Comparison of Characters and Strings +@cindex string equality + +@defun char-equal character1 character2 +This function returns @code{t} if the arguments represent the same +character, @code{nil} otherwise. This function ignores differences +in case if @code{case-fold-search} is non-@code{nil}. + +@example +(char-equal ?x ?x) + @result{} t +(let ((case-fold-search nil)) + (char-equal ?x ?X)) + @result{} nil +@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 +(string= "abc" "ABC") + @result{} nil +(string= "ab" "ABC") + @result{} nil +@end example + +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=}. +@end defun + +@cindex lexical comparison +@defun string< string1 string2 +@c (findex string< causes problems for permuted index!!) +This function compares two strings a character at a time. It +scans both the strings at the same time to find the first pair of corresponding +characters that do not match. If the lesser character of these two is +the character from @var{string1}, then @var{string1} is less, and this +function returns @code{t}. If the lesser character is the one from +@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 +(string< "abd" "abc") + @result{} nil +(string< "123" "abc") + @result{} t +@end group +@end example + +When the strings have different lengths, and they match up to the +length of @var{string1}, then the result is @code{t}. If they match up +to the length of @var{string2}, the result is @code{nil}. A string of +no characters is less than any other string. + +@example +@group +(string< "" "abc") + @result{} t +(string< "ab" "abc") + @result{} t +(string< "abc" "") + @result{} nil +(string< "abc" "ab") + @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 + +@defun compare-strings string1 start1 end1 string2 start2 end2 &optional ignore-case +This function compares the specified part of @var{string1} with the +specified part of @var{string2}. The specified part of @var{string1} +runs from index @var{start1} up to index @var{end1} (@code{nil} means +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 or symbol, and comparison is done using @code{compare-strings}. +Symbols are converted to strings before testing. +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 or symbols rather than conses. In particular, @var{alist} can +be a list of strings or symbols rather than an actual alist. +@xref{Association Lists}. +@end defun + + See also the @code{compare-buffer-substrings} function 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 for a kind of string comparison; see +@ref{Regexp Search}. + +@node String Conversion +@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}). + + @xref{Documentation}, for functions that produce textual descriptions +of text characters and general input events +(@code{single-key-description} and @code{text-char-description}). These +are used primarily for making help messages. + +@defun char-to-string character +@cindex character to string +This function returns a new string containing one character, +@var{character}. This function is semi-obsolete because the function +@code{string} is more general. @xref{Creating Strings}. +@end defun + +@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 + +(string-to-char "xyz") + @result{} 120 +(string-to-char "") + @result{} 0 +@group +(string-to-char "\000") + @result{} 0 +@end group +@end example + +This function may be eliminated in the future if it does not seem useful +enough to retain. +@end defun + +@defun number-to-string number +@cindex integer to string +@cindex integer to decimal +This function returns a string consisting of the printed base-ten +representation of @var{number}, which may be an integer or a floating +point number. The returned value starts with a minus sign if the argument is +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 +@code{int-to-string} is a semi-obsolete alias for this function. + +See also the function @code{format} in @ref{Formatting Strings}. +@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.") + @result{} 25 +(string-to-number "X256") + @result{} 0 +(string-to-number "-4.5") + @result{} -4.5 +(string-to-number "1e5") + @result{} 100000.0 +@end example + +@findex string-to-int +@code{string-to-int} is an obsolete alias for this function. +@end defun + + Here are some other functions that can convert to or from a string: + +@table @code +@item concat +@code{concat} can convert a vector or a list into a string. +@xref{Creating Strings}. + +@item vconcat +@code{vconcat} can convert a string into a vector. @xref{Vector +Functions}. + +@item append +@code{append} can convert a string into a list. @xref{Building Lists}. +@end table + +@node Formatting Strings +@comment node-name, next, previous, up +@section Formatting Strings +@cindex formatting strings +@cindex strings, formatting them + + @dfn{Formatting} means constructing a string by substitution of +computed values at various places in a constant string. This constant string +controls how the other values are printed, as well as where they appear; +it is called a @dfn{format string}. + + Formatting is often useful for computing messages to be displayed. In +fact, the functions @code{message} and @code{error} provide the same +formatting feature described here; they differ from @code{format} only +in how they use the result of formatting. + +@defun format string &rest objects +This function returns a new string that is made by copying +@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, including their text properties, +if any. +@end defun + +@cindex @samp{%} in format +@cindex format specification + A format specification is a sequence of characters beginning with a +@samp{%}. Thus, if there is a @samp{%d} in @var{string}, the +@code{format} function replaces it with the printed representation of +one of the values to be formatted (one of the arguments @var{objects}). +For example: + +@example +@group +(format "The value of fill-column is %d." fill-column) + @result{} "The value of fill-column is 72." +@end group +@end example + + Since @code{format} interprets @samp{%} characters as format +specifications, you should @emph{never} pass an arbitrary string as +the first argument. This is particularly true when the string is +generated by some Lisp code. Unless the string is @emph{known} to +never include any @samp{%} characters, pass @code{"%s"}, described +below, as the first argument, and the string as the second, like this: + +@example + (format "%s" @var{arbitrary-string}) +@end example + + 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. + + Here is a table of valid format specifications: + +@table @samp +@item %s +Replace the specification with the printed representation of the object, +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. + +@item %d +Replace the specification with the base-ten representation of an +integer. + +@item %x +@itemx %X +@cindex integer to hexadecimal +Replace the specification with the base-sixteen representation of an +integer. @samp{%x} uses lower case and @samp{%X} uses upper case. + +@item %c +Replace the specification with the character which is the value given. + +@item %e +Replace the specification with the exponential notation for a floating +point number. + +@item %f +Replace the specification with the decimal-point notation for a floating +point number. + +@item %g +Replace the specification with notation for a floating point number, +using either exponential notation or decimal-point notation, whichever +is shorter. + +@item %% +Replace the specification with a single @samp{%}. This format +specification is unusual in that it does not use a value. For example, +@code{(format "%% %d" 30)} returns @code{"% 30"}. +@end table + + Any other format character results in an @samp{Invalid format +operation} error. + + Here are several examples: + +@example +@group +(format "The name of this buffer is %s." (buffer-name)) + @result{} "The name of this buffer is strings.texi." + +(format "The buffer object prints as %s." (current-buffer)) + @result{} "The buffer object prints as strings.texi." + +(format "The octal value of %d is %o, + and the hex value is %x." 18 18 18) + @result{} "The octal value of 18 is 22, + and the hex value is 12." +@end group +@end example + +@cindex field width +@cindex padding + A specification can have a @dfn{width}, which is a signed decimal +number between the @samp{%} and the specification character. If the +printed representation of the object contains fewer characters than +this width, @code{format} extends it with padding. The padding goes +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 it's @samp{0} if the width starts with a zero. + + 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 + +@noindent +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, it needs 4 blank spaces as padding. In +the second case, the string @code{"specification"} is 13 letters wide +but is not truncated. In the third case, the padding is on the right. + +@smallexample +@group +(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 + +@group +(format "The word `%7s' actually has %d letters in it." + "specification" (length "specification")) + @result{} "The word `specification' actually has 13 letters in it." +@end group + +@group +(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 @dfn{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 has no effect 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. + + @samp{+} as a flag inserts a plus sign before a positive number, so +that it always has a sign. A space character as flag inserts a space +before a positive number. (Otherwise, positive numbers start with the +first digit.) Either of these two flags ensures that positive numbers +and negative numbers use the same number of columns. These flags are +ignored except for @samp{%d}, @samp{%e}, @samp{%f}, @samp{%g}, and if +both flags are used, the @samp{+} takes precedence. + + The flag @samp{#} specifies an ``alternate form'' which depends on +the format in use. For @samp{%o} it ensures that the result begins +with a @samp{0}. For @samp{%x} and @samp{%X}, it prefixes the result +with @samp{0x} or @samp{0X}. For @samp{%e}, @samp{%f}, and @samp{%g}, +the @samp{#} flag means include a decimal point even if the precision +is zero. + +@node Case Conversion +@comment node-name, next, previous, up +@section Case Conversion in Lisp +@cindex upper case +@cindex lower case +@cindex character 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 +and returns a new string in which each letter in the argument that is +upper case is converted to lower case. When the argument to +@code{downcase} is a character, @code{downcase} returns the +corresponding lower case character. This value is an integer. If the +original character is lower case, or is not a letter, then the value +equals the original character. + +@example +(downcase "The cat in the hat") + @result{} "the cat in the hat" + +(downcase ?X) + @result{} 120 +@end example +@end defun + +@defun upcase string-or-char +This function converts a character or a string to upper case. + +When the argument to @code{upcase} is a string, the function creates +and returns a new string in which each letter in the argument that is +lower case is converted to upper case. + +When the argument to @code{upcase} is a character, @code{upcase} +returns the corresponding upper case character. This value is an integer. +If the original character is upper case, or is not a letter, then the +value returned equals the original character. + +@example +(upcase "The cat in the hat") + @result{} "THE CAT IN THE HAT" + +(upcase ?x) + @result{} 88 +@end example +@end defun + +@defun capitalize string-or-char +@cindex capitalization +This function capitalizes strings or characters. If +@var{string-or-char} is a string, the function creates and returns a new +string, whose contents are a copy of @var{string-or-char} in which each +word has been capitalized. This means that the first character of each +word is converted to upper case, and the rest are converted to lower +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{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" +@end group +@end example +@end defun + + @xref{Text Comparison}, for functions that compare strings; some of +them ignore case differences, or can optionally ignore case differences. + +@node Case Tables +@section The Case Table + + You can customize case conversion by installing a special @dfn{case +table}. A case table specifies the mapping between upper case and lower +case letters. It affects both the case conversion functions for Lisp +objects (see the previous section) and those that apply to text in the +buffer (@pxref{Case Changes}). Each buffer has a case table; there is +also a standard case table which is used to initialize the case table +of new buffers. + + A case table is a char-table (@pxref{Char-Tables}) whose subtype is +@code{case-table}. This char-table maps each character into the +corresponding lower case character. It has three extra slots, which +hold related tables: + +@table @var +@item upcase +The upcase table maps each character into the corresponding upper +case character. +@item canonicalize +The canonicalize table maps all of a set of case-related characters +into a particular member of that set. +@item equivalences +The equivalences table maps each one of a set of case-related characters +into the next character in that set. +@end table + + In simple cases, all you need to specify is the mapping to lower-case; +the three related tables will be calculated automatically from that one. + + For some languages, upper and lower case letters are not in one-to-one +correspondence. There may be two different lower case letters with the +same upper case equivalent. In these cases, you need to specify the +maps for both lower case and upper case. + + The extra table @var{canonicalize} maps each character to a canonical +equivalent; any two characters that are related by case-conversion have +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 +and upper case mappings. You can also provide @code{nil} for +@var{equivalences}; then Emacs fills in this slot from +@var{canonicalize}. In a case table that is actually in use, those +components are non-@code{nil}. Do not try to specify @var{equivalences} +without also specifying @var{canonicalize}. + + Here are the functions for working with case tables: + +@defun case-table-p object +This predicate returns non-@code{nil} if @var{object} is a valid case +table. +@end defun + +@defun set-standard-case-table table +This function makes @var{table} the standard case table, so that it will +be used in any buffers created subsequently. +@end defun + +@defun standard-case-table +This returns the standard case table. +@end defun + +@defun current-case-table +This function returns the current buffer's case table. +@end defun + +@defun set-case-table table +This sets the current buffer's case table to @var{table}. +@end defun + +@defmac with-case-table table body@dots{} +The @code{with-case-table} macro saves the current case table, makes +@var{table} the current case table, evaluates the @var{body} forms, +and finally restores the case table. The return value is the value of +the last form in @var{body}. The case table is restored even in case +of an abnormal exit via @code{throw} or error (@pxref{Nonlocal +Exits}). +@end defmac + + Some language environments may modify the case conversions of +@acronym{ASCII} characters; for example, in the Turkish language +environment, the @acronym{ASCII} character @samp{I} is downcased into +a Turkish ``dotless i''. This can interfere with code that requires +ordinary ASCII case conversion, such as implementations of +@acronym{ASCII}-based network protocols. In that case, use the +@code{with-case-table} macro with the variable @var{ascii-case-table}, +which stores the unmodified case table for the @acronym{ASCII} +character set. + +@defvar ascii-case-table +The case table for the @acronym{ASCII} character set. This should not be +modified by any language environment settings. +@end defvar + + 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 +This function specifies a pair of corresponding letters, one upper case +and one lower case. +@end defun + +@defun set-case-syntax-delims l r case-table +This function makes characters @var{l} and @var{r} a matching pair of +case-invariant delimiters. +@end defun + +@defun set-case-syntax char syntax case-table +This function makes @var{char} case-invariant, with syntax +@var{syntax}. +@end defun + +@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