Modelica.Utilities.Strings

Operations on strings

Information

Library content

Package Strings contains functions to manipulate strings.

In the table below an example call to every function is given using the default options.

FunctionDescription
len = length(string) Returns length of string
string2 = substring(string1,startIndex,endIndex) Returns a substring defined by start and end index
result = repeat(n)
result = repeat(n,string)
Repeat a blank or a string n times.
result = compare(string1, string2) Compares two substrings with regards to alphabetical order
identical = isEqual(string1,string2) Determine whether two strings are identical
result = count(string,searchString) Count the number of occurrences of a string
index = find(string,searchString) Find first occurrence of a string in another string
index = findLast(string,searchString) Find last occurrence of a string in another string
string2 = replace(string,searchString,replaceString) Replace one or all occurrences of a string
stringVector2 = sort(stringVector1) Sort vector of strings in alphabetic order
(token, index) = scanToken(string,startIndex) Scan for a token (Real/Integer/Boolean/String/Identifier/Delimiter/NoToken)
(number, index) = scanReal(string,startIndex) Scan for a Real constant
(number, index) = scanInteger(string,startIndex) Scan for an Integer constant
(boolean, index) = scanBoolean(string,startIndex) Scan for a Boolean constant
(string2, index) = scanString(string,startIndex) Scan for a String constant
(identifier, index) = scanIdentifier(string,startIndex) Scan for an identifier
(delimiter, index) = scanDelimiter(string,startIndex) Scan for delimiters
scanNoToken(string,startIndex) Check that remaining part of string consists solely of
white space or line comments ("// ...\n").
syntaxError(string,index,message) Print a "syntax error message" as well as a string and the
index at which scanning detected an error

The functions "compare", "isEqual", "count", "find", "findLast", "replace", "sort" have the optional input argument caseSensitive with default true. If false, the operation is carried out without taking into account whether a character is upper or lower case.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Package (Icon for standard packages).

Package Content

Name Description
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.length length Return length of string
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.substring substring Return a substring defined by start and end index
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.repeat repeat Repeat a string n times
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.compare compare Compare two strings lexicographically
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.isEqual isEqual Determine whether two strings are identical
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.isEmpty isEmpty Return true if a string is empty (has only white space characters)
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.count count Count the number of non-overlapping occurrences of a string
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.find find Find first occurrence of a string within another string
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.findLast findLast Find last occurrence of a string within another string
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.replace replace Replace non-overlapping occurrences of a string from left to right
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.sort sort Sort vector of strings in alphabetic order
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.hashString hashString Creates a hash value of a String
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanToken scanToken Scan for the next token and return it
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanReal scanReal Scan for the next Real number and trigger an assert if not present
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanInteger scanInteger Scan for the next Integer number and trigger an assert if not present
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanBoolean scanBoolean Scan for the next Boolean number and trigger an assert if not present
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanString scanString Scan for the next Modelica string and trigger an assert if not present
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanIdentifier scanIdentifier Scan for the next Identifier and trigger an assert if not present
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanDelimiter scanDelimiter Scan for the next delimiter and trigger an assert if not present
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanNoToken scanNoToken Scan string and check that it contains no more token
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.syntaxError syntaxError Print an error message, a string and the index at which scanning detected an error
Modelica.Utilities.Strings.Advanced Advanced Advanced scanning functions

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.length Modelica.Utilities.Strings.length

Return length of string

Information

Syntax

Strings.length(string);

Description

Returns the number of characters of "string".

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
string 

Outputs

NameDescription
resultNumber of characters of string

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.substring Modelica.Utilities.Strings.substring

Return a substring defined by start and end index

Information

Syntax

string2 = Strings.substring(string, startIndex, endIndex);

Description

This function returns the substring from position startIndex up to and including position endIndex of "string" .

If index, startIndex, or endIndex are not correct, e.g., if endIndex > length(string), an assert is triggered.

Example

  string1 := "This is line 111";
  string2 := Strings.substring(string1,9,12); // string2 = "line"

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString from which a substring is inquired
startIndexCharacter position of substring begin (index=1 is first character in string)
endIndexCharacter position of substring end

Outputs

NameDescription
resultString containing substring string[startIndex:endIndex]

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.repeat Modelica.Utilities.Strings.repeat

Repeat a string n times

Information

Syntax

string2 = Strings.repeat(n);
string2 = Strings.repeat(n, string=" ");

Description

The first form returns a string consisting of n blanks.

The second form returns a string consisting of n substrings defined by the optional argument "string".

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
nNumber of occurrences
stringString that is repeated

Outputs

NameDescription
repeatedStringString containing n concatenated strings

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.compare Modelica.Utilities.Strings.compare

Compare two strings lexicographically

Information

Syntax

result = Strings.compare(string1, string2);
result = Strings.compare(string1, string2, caseSensitive=true);

Description

Compares two strings. If the optional argument caseSensitive=false, upper case letters are treated as if they would be lower case letters. The result of the comparison is returned as:

  result = Modelica.Utilities.Types.Compare.Less     // string1 < string2
         = Modelica.Utilities.Types.Compare.Equal    // string1 = string2
         = Modelica.Utilities.Types.Compare.Greater  // string1 > string2

Comparison is with regards to lexicographical order, e.g., "a" < "b";

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
string1 
string2 
caseSensitive= false, if case of letters is ignored

Outputs

NameDescription
resultResult of comparison

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.isEqual Modelica.Utilities.Strings.isEqual

Determine whether two strings are identical

Information

Syntax

Strings.isEqual(string1, string2);
Strings.isEqual(string1, string2, caseSensitive=true);

Description

Compare whether two strings are identical, optionally ignoring case.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
string1 
string2 
caseSensitive= false, if lower and upper case are ignored for the comparison

Outputs

NameDescription
identicalTrue, if string1 is identical to string2

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.isEmpty Modelica.Utilities.Strings.isEmpty

Return true if a string is empty (has only white space characters)

Information

Syntax

Strings.isEmpty(string);

Description

Returns true if the string has no characters or if the string consists only of white space characters. Otherwise, false is returned.

Example

  isEmpty("");       // returns true
  isEmpty("   ");    // returns true
  isEmpty("  abc");  // returns false
  isEmpty("a");      // returns false

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
string 

Outputs

NameDescription
resultTrue, if string is empty

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.count Modelica.Utilities.Strings.count

Count the number of non-overlapping occurrences of a string

Information

Syntax

Strings.count(string, searchString)
Strings.count(string, searchString, startIndex=1,
                     caseSensitive=true)

Description

Returns the number of non-overlapping occurrences of string "searchString" in "string". The search is started at index "startIndex" (default = 1). If the optional argument "caseSensitive" is false, for the counting it does not matter whether a letter is upper or lower case.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString that is analyzed
searchStringString that is searched for in string
startIndexStart search at index startIndex
caseSensitive= false, if lower and upper case are ignored for count

Outputs

NameDescription
resultNumber of occurrences of 'searchString' in 'string'

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.find Modelica.Utilities.Strings.find

Find first occurrence of a string within another string

Information

Syntax

index = Strings.find(string, searchString);
index = Strings.find(string, searchString, startIndex=1,
                     caseSensitive=true);

Description

Finds first occurrence of "searchString" within "string" and return the corresponding index. Start search at index "startIndex" (default = 1). If the optional argument "caseSensitive" is false, lower and upper case are ignored for the search. If "searchString" is not found, a value of "0" is returned.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString that is analyzed
searchStringString that is searched for in string
startIndexStart search at index startIndex
caseSensitive= false, if lower and upper case are ignored for the search

Outputs

NameDescription
indexIndex of the beginning of the first occurrence of 'searchString' within 'string', or zero if not present

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.findLast Modelica.Utilities.Strings.findLast

Find last occurrence of a string within another string

Information

Syntax

index = Strings.findLast(string, searchString);
index = Strings.findLast(string, searchString,
                         startIndex=length(string), caseSensitive=true,

Description

Finds first occurrence of "searchString" within "string" when searching from the last character of "string" backwards, and return the corresponding index. Start search at index "startIndex" (default = 0; if startIndex = 0, search starts at length(string)). If the optional argument "caseSensitive" is false, lower and upper case are ignored for the search. If "searchString" is not found, a value of "0" is returned.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString that is analyzed
searchStringString that is searched for in string
startIndexStart search at index startIndex. If startIndex = 0, start at length(string)
caseSensitive= false, if lower and upper case are ignored for the search

Outputs

NameDescription
indexIndex of the beginning of the last occurrence of 'searchString' within 'string', or zero if not present

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.replace Modelica.Utilities.Strings.replace

Replace non-overlapping occurrences of a string from left to right

Information

Syntax

Strings.replace(string, searchString, replaceString);
Strings.replace(string, searchString, replaceString,
                startIndex=1, replaceAll=true, caseSensitive=true);

Description

Search in "string" for "searchString" and replace the found substring by "replaceString".

The function returns the "string" with the performed replacements.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be modified
searchStringReplace non-overlapping occurrences of 'searchString' in 'string' with 'replaceString'
replaceStringString that replaces 'searchString' in 'string'
startIndexStart search at index startIndex
replaceAllif false, replace only the first occurrence, otherwise all occurrences
caseSensitive= false, if lower and upper case are ignored when searching for searchString

Outputs

NameDescription
resultResultant string of replacement operation

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.sort Modelica.Utilities.Strings.sort

Sort vector of strings in alphabetic order

Information

Syntax

stringVector2 = Streams.sort(stringVector1);
stringVector2 = Streams.sort(stringVector1, caseSensitive=true);

Description

Function sort(..) sorts a string vector stringVector1 in lexicographical order and returns the result in stringVector2. If the optional argument "caseSensitive" is false, lower and upper case letters are not distinguished.

Example

  s1 = {"force", "angle", "pressure"};
  s2 = Strings.sort(s1);
       -> s2 = {"angle", "force", "pressure"};

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringVector1[:]vector of strings
caseSensitive= false, if lower and upper case are ignored when comparing elements of stringVector1

Outputs

NameDescription
stringVector2[size(stringVector1, 1)]string1 sorted in alphabetical order

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.hashString

Creates a hash value of a String

Information

Syntax

hash = Strings.hashString(string);

Description

Returns an Integer hash value of the provided string (the hash can be any Integer, including zero or a negative number).

Example

  hashString("this is a test")     // =  1827717433
  hashString("Controller.noise1")  // = -1025762750

Inputs

NameDescription
stringThe string to create a hash from

Outputs

NameDescription
hashThe hash value of string

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanToken Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanToken

Scan for the next token and return it

Information

Syntax

(token, nextIndex) = Strings.scanToken(string, startIndex, unsigned=false);

Description

Function scanToken scans the string starting at index "startIndex" and returns the next token, as well as the index directly after the token. The returned token is a record that holds the type of the token and the value of the token:

token.tokenType Type of the token, see below
token.real Real value if tokenType == TokenType.RealToken
token.integer Integer value if tokenType == TokenType.IntegerToken
token.boolean Boolean value if tokenType == TokenType.BooleanToken
token.string String value if tokenType == TokenType.StringToken/IdentifierToken/DelimiterToken

Variable token.tokenType is an enumeration (emulated as a package with constants) that can have the following values:

   import T = Modelica.Utilities.Types.TokenType;
T.RealToken Modelica Real literal (e.g., 1.23e-4)
T.IntegerToken Modelica Integer literal (e.g., 123)
T.BooleanToken Modelica Boolean literal (e.g., false)
T.StringToken Modelica String literal (e.g., "string 123")
T.IdentifierToken Modelica identifier (e.g., "force_a")
T.DelimiterToken any character without white space that does not appear
as first character in the tokens above (e.g., "&")
T.NoToken White space, line comments and no other token
until the end of the string

Modelica line comments ("// ... end-of-line/end-of-string") as well as white space is ignored. If "unsigned=true", a Real or Integer literal is not allowed to start with a "+" or "-" sign.

Example

  import Modelica.Utilities.Strings;
  import T = Modelica.Utilities.Types.TokenType;
  (token, index) := Strings.scanToken(string);
  if token.tokenType == T.RealToken then
     realValue := token.real;
  elseif token.tokenType == T.IntegerToken then
     integerValue := token.integer;
  elseif token.tokenType == T.BooleanToken then
     booleanValue := token.boolean;
  elseif token.tokenType == T.Identifier then
     name := token.string;
  else
     Strings.syntaxError(string,index,"Expected Real, Integer, Boolean or identifier token");
  end if;

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be scanned
startIndexStart scanning of string at character startIndex
unsigned= true, if Real and Integer tokens shall not start with a sign

Outputs

NameDescription
tokenScanned token
nextIndexIndex of character after the found token; = 0, if NoToken

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanReal Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanReal

Scan for the next Real number and trigger an assert if not present

Information

Syntax

             number = Strings.scanReal(string);
(number, nextIndex) = Strings.scanReal(string, startIndex=1,
                                            unsigned=false, message="");

Description

The first form, "scanReal(string)", scans "string" for a Real number with leading white space and returns the value.

The second form, "scanReal(string,startIndex,unsigned)", scans the string starting at index "startIndex", checks whether the next token is a Real literal and returns its value as a Real number, as well as the index directly after the Real number. If the optional argument "unsigned" is true, the real number shall not have a leading "+" or "-" sign.

If the required Real number with leading white space is not present in "string", an assert is triggered.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be scanned
startIndexStart scanning of string at character startIndex
unsigned= true, if Real token shall not start with a sign
messageMessage used in error message if scan is not successful

Outputs

NameDescription
numberValue of real number
nextIndexindex of character after the found number

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanInteger Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanInteger

Scan for the next Integer number and trigger an assert if not present

Information

Syntax

             number = Strings.scanInteger(string);
(number, nextIndex) = Strings.scanInteger(string, startIndex=1,
                                               unsigned=false, message="");

Description

Function scanInteger scans the string starting at index "startIndex", checks whether the next token is an Integer literal and returns its value as an Integer number, as well as the index directly after the Integer number. An assert is triggered, if the scanned string does not contain an Integer literal with optional leading white space.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be scanned
startIndexStart scanning of string at character startIndex
unsigned= true, if Integer token shall not start with a sign
messageMessage used in error message if scan is not successful

Outputs

NameDescription
numberValue of Integer number
nextIndexIndex of character after the found number

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanBoolean Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanBoolean

Scan for the next Boolean number and trigger an assert if not present

Information

Syntax

             number = Strings.scanBoolean(string);
(number, nextIndex) = Strings.scanBoolean(string, startIndex=1, message="");

Description

Function scanBoolean scans the string starting at index "startIndex", checks whether the next token is a Boolean literal (i.e., is either the string "false" or "true", if converted to lower case letters) and returns its value as a Boolean number, as well as the index directly after the Boolean number. An assert is triggered, if the scanned string does not contain a Boolean literal with optional leading white space.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be scanned
startIndexStart scanning of string at character startIndex
messageMessage used in error message if scan is not successful

Outputs

NameDescription
numberValue of Boolean
nextIndexIndex of character after the found number

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanString Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanString

Scan for the next Modelica string and trigger an assert if not present

Information

Syntax

             string2 = Strings.scanString(string);
(string2, nextIndex) = Strings.scanString(string, startIndex=1, message="");

Description

Function scanString scans the string starting at index "startIndex", checks whether the next token is a String literal and returns its value as a String, as well as the index directly after the String. An assert is triggered, if the scanned string does not contain a String literal with optional leading white space.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be scanned
startIndexStart scanning of string at character startIndex
messageMessage used in error message if scan is not successful

Outputs

NameDescription
resultValue of string
nextIndexIndex of character after the found string

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanIdentifier Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanIdentifier

Scan for the next Identifier and trigger an assert if not present

Information

Syntax

             identifier = Strings.scanIdentifier(string);
(identifier, nextIndex) = Strings.scanIdentifier(string, startIndex=1, message="");

Description

Function scanIdentifier scans the string starting at index "startIndex", checks whether the next token is an Identifier and returns its value as a string, as well as the index directly after the Identifier. An assert is triggered, if the scanned string does not contain an Identifier with optional leading white space.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be scanned
startIndexStart scanning of identifier at character startIndex
messageMessage used in error message if scan is not successful

Outputs

NameDescription
identifierValue of Identifier
nextIndexIndex of character after the found identifier

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanDelimiter Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanDelimiter

Scan for the next delimiter and trigger an assert if not present

Information

Syntax

             delimiter = Strings.scanDelimiter(string);
(delimiter, nextIndex) = Strings.scanDelimiter(string, startIndex=1,
                                 requiredDelimiters={","}, message="");

Description

Function scanDelimiter scans the string starting at index "startIndex", checks whether the next token is a delimiter string and returns its value as a string, as well as the index directly after the delimiter. An assert is triggered, if the scanned string does not contain a delimiter out of the list of requiredDelimiters. Input argument requiredDelimiters is a vector of strings. The elements may have any length, including length 0. If an element of the requiredDelimiters is zero, white space is treated as delimiter. The function returns delimiter="" and nextIndex is the index of the first non white space character.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be scanned
startIndexStart scanning of delimiters at character startIndex
requiredDelimiters[:]Delimiters that are searched
messageMessage used in error message if scan is not successful

Outputs

NameDescription
delimiterFound delimiter
nextIndexIndex of character after the found delimiter

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanNoToken Modelica.Utilities.Strings.scanNoToken

Scan string and check that it contains no more token

Information

Syntax

Strings.scanNoToken(string, startIndex=1, message="");

Description

Function scanNoToken scans the string starting at index "startIndex" and checks whether there is no more token in the string. An assert is triggered if this is not the case, using the "message" argument as additional explanation in the error text.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString to be scanned
startIndexStart scanning of string at character startIndex
messageMessage used in error message if scan is not successful

Modelica.Utilities.Strings.syntaxError Modelica.Utilities.Strings.syntaxError

Print an error message, a string and the index at which scanning detected an error

Information

Syntax

Strings.syntaxError(string, index, message);

Description

Function syntaxError prints an error message in the following form:

   Syntax error at column <index> of
   <string>
       ^       // shows character that is wrong
   <message>

where the strings within <..> are the actual values of the input arguments of the function.

If the given string is too long, only a relevant part of the string is printed.

Extends from Modelica.Icons.Function (Icon for functions).

Inputs

NameDescription
stringString that has an error at position index
indexIndex of string at which scanning detected an error
messageString printed at end of error message
Automatically generated Tue Apr 05 09:37:06 2016.