TAGGED_PATTERN Function
Syntax
Arguments
- tagged_input
A formatted string that identifies the tags of the Input_String and the characters that separate the tags. The general format of the Input_String is: Placeholder [ Input_Format_Characters ] Separator_Character Placeholder [ IInput_Format_Characters ] Separator_Character... The syntax for the Input_Format string is described below:
- 1-99
Placeholder for tagged elements (i.e. "fields"). "1" indicates first tagged element, "2" is second tagged element, and so on.
- Input Format Characters
Allow you to refine the search process. This is useful when the formatting of the Input_String is irregular.
- Separator Character
Typically, a non-alpha, non-numeric character. Also excluding "?", "*", "", and "".
- Input Format Characters
- Meaning
- *
Wildcard - 0 to N characters. You cannot use "*" as a separator between elements. You must use "\*".
- + [ N ]
Match N or more characters. When N is missing, the expression means match 0 or more characters.
- ?
Single wildcard character. You cannot use "?" as a separator between elements. You must use "\?".
- []
Square brackets denote a set of characters.
- ^
Indicates characters that do not match.
- a-z
Lowercase letters.
- A-Z
Uppercase letters.
- 0-9
Numbers.
- \
Escape character. Used in front of * ? or \ when you want to use these characters in the output_string.
- tagged_output
A formatted string that identifies the new sequence of the tags of the Input_String and the new characters that separate the tags.
- String
A character string.
Description
Perform tagged expression replacement on a string.
Discussion
TAGGED_PATTERN() parses the Input_String (into "tags", or "fields") using the format specified by the Input_Format string and creates a formatted character string based on the format specified by Output_Format. For example, assume that you have a string which contains the value: "John:Smith:Programmer". This string has three fields (or tags) separated by colons. The Input_Format string that corresponds with this string is "1:2:3". An Output_Format string of "2, 1: 3" would create a result string of "Smith, John: Programmer". The Output_Format string specifies field 2, then a comma and a space, then field 1, then a colon and a space, then field 3. Contrast the TAGGED_PATTERN() function with the WORD_TAGGED_PATTERN()function that operates on a string that is divided into multiple "words". This is typically a CR-LF delimited string in which the function operates on each "word" in the string. The following are examples of various Input_Format strings:
- Example
- Description
- "1-2-3"
Tag 1 is composed of the characters up to the first encountered "-" character. Tag 2 is composed of the remaining characters up to the second "-". Tag 3 is composed of the remaining characters.
- "1^a-zA-Z + 2"
Tag 1 is composed of alphabetic characters, breaking at the first non-alphabetic character. Tag 2 is composed of the first remaining alphabetic characters through the end of the string.
- "1-/2-/3"
Tag 1 is composed of characters up to the first "-" or "/" character. Tag 2 is composed of remaining characters up to the second "-" or "/" character. Tag 3 is composed of the remaining characters.
Example
This script parses and input string and creates a modified output string in an address format.
string = "Fred:Smith:123 Main Street:Boston:Ma:02116"
address = tagged_pattern("1:2:3:4:5:6","1 2~3~4,5 6",string)now convert the "~" to carriage return-line feed.
address = stritran(address, "~", crlf() ) ? address = "Fred Smith 123 Main Street Boston,Ma 02116"
This script parses a U.S format date (month, day, year) and outputs a European format date (day, month, year).
? tagged_pattern("1/2/3", "2-1-3", "2/29/00")
= "29-2-00"
? tagged_pattern("1A-Z2A-Z3", "2-1-3", "2A29B00")
= "29-2-00"
? tagged_pattern("1^0-92^0-93^0-9", "2-1-3", "2A29B00C")
= "29-2-00"See Also