Provided by: erlang-manpages_20.2.2+dfsg-1ubuntu2_all 
NAME
string - String processing functions.
DESCRIPTION
This module provides functions for string processing.
A string in this module is represented by unicode:chardata(), that is, a list of codepoints, binaries
with UTF-8-encoded codepoints (UTF-8 binaries), or a mix of the two.
"abcd" is a valid string
<<"abcd">> is a valid string
["abcd"] is a valid string
<<"abc..åäö"/utf8>> is a valid string
<<"abc..åäö">> is NOT a valid string,
but a binary with Latin-1-encoded codepoints
[<<"abc">>, "..åäö"] is a valid string
[atom] is NOT a valid string
This module operates on grapheme clusters. A grapheme cluster is a user-perceived character, which can be
represented by several codepoints.
"å" [229] or [97, 778]
"e̊" [101, 778]
The string length of "ß↑e̊" is 3, even though it is represented by the codepoints [223,8593,101,778] or
the UTF-8 binary <<195,159,226,134,145,101,204,138>>.
Grapheme clusters for codepoints of class prepend and non-modern (or decomposed) Hangul is not handled
for performance reasons in find/3, replace/3, split/2, split/2 and trim/3.
Splitting and appending strings is to be done on grapheme clusters borders. There is no verification that
the results of appending strings are valid or normalized.
Most of the functions expect all input to be normalized to one form, see for example
unicode:characters_to_nfc_list/1.
Language or locale specific handling of input is not considered in any function.
The functions can crash for non-valid input strings. For example, the functions expect UTF-8 binaries but
not all functions verify that all binaries are encoded correctly.
Unless otherwise specified the return value type is the same as the input type. That is, binary input
returns binary output, list input returns a list output, and mixed input can return a mixed output.
1> string:trim(" sarah ").
"sarah"
2> string:trim(<<" sarah ">>).
<<"sarah">>
3> string:lexemes("foo bar", " ").
["foo","bar"]
4> string:lexemes(<<"foo bar">>, " ").
[<<"foo">>,<<"bar">>]
This module has been reworked in Erlang/OTP 20 to handle unicode:chardata() and operate on grapheme
clusters. The old functions that only work on Latin-1 lists as input are still available but should not
be used. They will be deprecated in Erlang/OTP 21.
DATA TYPES
direction() = leading | trailing
grapheme_cluster() = char() | [char()]
A user-perceived character, consisting of one or more codepoints.
EXPORTS
casefold(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> unicode:chardata()
Converts String to a case-agnostic comparable string. Function casefold/1 is preferred over
lowercase/1 when two strings are to be compared for equality. See also equal/4.
Example:
1> string:casefold("Ω and ẞ SHARP S").
"ω and ss sharp s"
chomp(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> unicode:chardata()
Returns a string where any trailing \n or \r\n have been removed from String.
Example:
182> string:chomp(<<"\nHello\n\n">>).
<<"\nHello">>
183> string:chomp("\nHello\r\r\n").
"\nHello\r"
equal(A, B) -> boolean()
equal(A, B, IgnoreCase) -> boolean()
equal(A, B, IgnoreCase, Norm) -> boolean()
Types:
A = B = unicode:chardata()
IgnoreCase = boolean()
Norm = none | nfc | nfd | nfkc | nfkd
Returns true if A and B are equal, otherwise false.
If IgnoreCase is true the function does casefolding on the fly before the equality test.
If Norm is not none the function applies normalization on the fly before the equality test. There
are four available normalization forms: nfc, nfd, nfkc, and nfkd.
By default, IgnoreCase is false and Norm is none.
Example:
1> string:equal("åäö", <<"åäö"/utf8>>).
true
2> string:equal("åäö", unicode:characters_to_nfd_binary("åäö")).
false
3> string:equal("åäö", unicode:characters_to_nfd_binary("ÅÄÖ"), true, nfc).
true
find(String, SearchPattern) -> unicode:chardata() | nomatch
find(String, SearchPattern, Dir) -> unicode:chardata() | nomatch
Types:
String = SearchPattern = unicode:chardata()
Dir = direction()
Removes anything before SearchPattern in String and returns the remainder of the string or nomatch
if SearchPattern is not found. Dir, which can be leading or trailing, indicates from which
direction characters are to be searched.
By default, Dir is leading.
Example:
1> string:find("ab..cd..ef", ".").
"..cd..ef"
2> string:find(<<"ab..cd..ef">>, "..", trailing).
<<"..ef">>
3> string:find(<<"ab..cd..ef">>, "x", leading).
nomatch
4> string:find("ab..cd..ef", "x", trailing).
nomatch
is_empty(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> boolean()
Returns true if String is the empty string, otherwise false.
Example:
1> string:is_empty("foo").
false
2> string:is_empty(["",<<>>]).
true
length(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> integer() >= 0
Returns the number of grapheme clusters in String.
Example:
1> string:length("ß↑e̊").
3
2> string:length(<<195,159,226,134,145,101,204,138>>).
3
lexemes(String :: unicode:chardata(),
SeparatorList :: [grapheme_cluster()]) ->
[unicode:chardata()]
Returns a list of lexemes in String, separated by the grapheme clusters in SeparatorList.
Notice that, as shown in this example, two or more adjacent separator graphemes clusters in String
are treated as one. That is, there are no empty strings in the resulting list of lexemes. See also
split/3 which returns empty strings.
Notice that [$\r,$\n] is one grapheme cluster.
Example:
1> string:lexemes("abc de̊fxxghix jkl\r\nfoo", "x e" ++ [[$\r,$\n]]).
["abc","de̊f","ghi","jkl","foo"]
2> string:lexemes(<<"abc de̊fxxghix jkl\r\nfoo"/utf8>>, "x e" ++ [$\r,$\n]).
[<<"abc">>,<<"de̊f"/utf8>>,<<"ghi">>,<<"jkl\r\nfoo">>]
lowercase(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> unicode:chardata()
Converts String to lowercase.
Notice that function casefold/1 should be used when converting a string to be tested for equality.
Example:
2> string:lowercase(string:uppercase("Michał")).
"michał"
next_codepoint(String :: unicode:chardata()) ->
maybe_improper_list(char(), unicode:chardata()) |
{error, unicode:chardata()}
Returns the first codepoint in String and the rest of String in the tail. Returns an empty list if
String is empty or an {error, String} tuple if the next byte is invalid.
Example:
1> string:next_codepoint(unicode:characters_to_binary("e̊fg")).
[101|<<"̊fg"/utf8>>]
next_grapheme(String :: unicode:chardata()) ->
maybe_improper_list(grapheme_cluster(),
unicode:chardata()) |
{error, unicode:chardata()}
Returns the first grapheme cluster in String and the rest of String in the tail. Returns an empty
list if String is empty or an {error, String} tuple if the next byte is invalid.
Example:
1> string:next_grapheme(unicode:characters_to_binary("e̊fg")).
["e̊"|<<"fg">>]
nth_lexeme(String, N, SeparatorList) -> unicode:chardata()
Types:
String = unicode:chardata()
N = integer() >= 0
SeparatorList = [grapheme_cluster()]
Returns lexeme number N in String, where lexemes are separated by the grapheme clusters in
SeparatorList.
Example:
1> string:nth_lexeme("abc.de̊f.ghiejkl", 3, ".e").
"ghi"
pad(String, Length) -> unicode:charlist()
pad(String, Length, Dir) -> unicode:charlist()
pad(String, Length, Dir, Char) -> unicode:charlist()
Types:
String = unicode:chardata()
Length = integer()
Dir = direction() | both
Char = grapheme_cluster()
Pads String to Length with grapheme cluster Char. Dir, which can be leading, trailing, or both,
indicates where the padding should be added.
By default, Char is $\s and Dir is trailing.
Example:
1> string:pad(<<"He̊llö"/utf8>>, 8).
[<<72,101,204,138,108,108,195,182>>,32,32,32]
2> io:format("'~ts'~n",[string:pad("He̊llö", 8, leading)]).
3> io:format("'~ts'~n",[string:pad("He̊llö", 8, both)]).
prefix(String :: unicode:chardata(), Prefix :: unicode:chardata()) ->
nomatch | unicode:chardata()
If Prefix is the prefix of String, removes it and returns the remainder of String, otherwise
returns nomatch.
Example:
1> string:prefix(<<"prefix of string">>, "pre").
<<"fix of string">>
2> string:prefix("pre", "prefix").
nomatch
replace(String, SearchPattern, Replacement) ->
[unicode:chardata()]
replace(String, SearchPattern, Replacement, Where) ->
[unicode:chardata()]
Types:
String = SearchPattern = Replacement = unicode:chardata()
Where = direction() | all
Replaces SearchPattern in String with Replacement. Where, default leading, indicates whether the
leading, the trailing or all encounters of SearchPattern are to be replaced.
Can be implemented as:
lists:join(Replacement, split(String, SearchPattern, Where)).
Example:
1> string:replace(<<"ab..cd..ef">>, "..", "*").
[<<"ab">>,"*",<<"cd..ef">>]
2> string:replace(<<"ab..cd..ef">>, "..", "*", all).
[<<"ab">>,"*",<<"cd">>,"*",<<"ef">>]
reverse(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> [grapheme_cluster()]
Returns the reverse list of the grapheme clusters in String.
Example:
1> Reverse = string:reverse(unicode:characters_to_nfd_binary("ÅÄÖ")).
[[79,776],[65,776],[65,778]]
2> io:format("~ts~n",[Reverse]).
ÖÄÅ
slice(String, Start) -> Slice
slice(String, Start, Length) -> Slice
Types:
String = unicode:chardata()
Start = integer() >= 0
Length = infinity | integer() >= 0
Slice = unicode:chardata()
Returns a substring of String of at most Length grapheme clusters, starting at position Start.
By default, Length is infinity.
Example:
1> string:slice(<<"He̊llö Wörld"/utf8>>, 4).
<<"ö Wörld"/utf8>>
2> string:slice(["He̊llö ", <<"Wörld"/utf8>>], 4,4).
"ö Wö"
3> string:slice(["He̊llö ", <<"Wörld"/utf8>>], 4,50).
"ö Wörld"
split(String, SearchPattern) -> [unicode:chardata()]
split(String, SearchPattern, Where) -> [unicode:chardata()]
Types:
String = SearchPattern = unicode:chardata()
Where = direction() | all
Splits String where SearchPattern is encountered and return the remaining parts. Where, default
leading, indicates whether the leading, the trailing or all encounters of SearchPattern will split
String.
Example:
0> string:split("ab..bc..cd", "..").
["ab","bc..cd"]
1> string:split(<<"ab..bc..cd">>, "..", trailing).
[<<"ab..bc">>,<<"cd">>]
2> string:split(<<"ab..bc....cd">>, "..", all).
[<<"ab">>,<<"bc">>,<<>>,<<"cd">>]
take(String, Characters) -> {Leading, Trailing}
take(String, Characters, Complement) -> {Leading, Trailing}
take(String, Characters, Complement, Dir) -> {Leading, Trailing}
Types:
String = unicode:chardata()
Characters = [grapheme_cluster()]
Complement = boolean()
Dir = direction()
Leading = Trailing = unicode:chardata()
Takes characters from String as long as the characters are members of set Characters or the
complement of set Characters. Dir, which can be leading or trailing, indicates from which
direction characters are to be taken.
Example:
5> string:take("abc0z123", lists:seq($a,$z)).
{"abc","0z123"}
6> string:take(<<"abc0z123">>, lists:seq($0,$9), true, leading).
{<<"abc">>,<<"0z123">>}
7> string:take("abc0z123", lists:seq($0,$9), false, trailing).
{"abc0z","123"}
8> string:take(<<"abc0z123">>, lists:seq($a,$z), true, trailing).
{<<"abc0z">>,<<"123">>}
titlecase(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> unicode:chardata()
Converts String to titlecase.
Example:
1> string:titlecase("ß is a SHARP s").
"Ss is a SHARP s"
to_float(String) -> {Float, Rest} | {error, Reason}
Types:
String = unicode:chardata()
Float = float()
Rest = unicode:chardata()
Reason = no_float | badarg
Argument String is expected to start with a valid text represented float (the digits are ASCII
values). Remaining characters in the string after the float are returned in Rest.
Example:
> {F1,Fs} = string:to_float("1.0-1.0e-1"),
> {F2,[]} = string:to_float(Fs),
> F1+F2.
0.9
> string:to_float("3/2=1.5").
{error,no_float}
> string:to_float("-1.5eX").
{-1.5,"eX"}
to_integer(String) -> {Int, Rest} | {error, Reason}
Types:
String = unicode:chardata()
Int = integer()
Rest = unicode:chardata()
Reason = no_integer | badarg
Argument String is expected to start with a valid text represented integer (the digits are ASCII
values). Remaining characters in the string after the integer are returned in Rest.
Example:
> {I1,Is} = string:to_integer("33+22"),
> {I2,[]} = string:to_integer(Is),
> I1-I2.
11
> string:to_integer("0.5").
{0,".5"}
> string:to_integer("x=2").
{error,no_integer}
to_graphemes(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> [grapheme_cluster()]
Converts String to a list of grapheme clusters.
Example:
1> string:to_graphemes("ß↑e̊").
[223,8593,[101,778]]
2> string:to_graphemes(<<"ß↑e̊"/utf8>>).
[223,8593,[101,778]]
trim(String) -> unicode:chardata()
trim(String, Dir) -> unicode:chardata()
trim(String, Dir, Characters) -> unicode:chardata()
Types:
String = unicode:chardata()
Dir = direction() | both
Characters = [grapheme_cluster()]
Returns a string, where leading or trailing, or both, Characters have been removed. Dir which can
be leading, trailing, or both, indicates from which direction characters are to be removed.
Default Characters are the set of nonbreakable whitespace codepoints, defined as
Pattern_White_Space in Unicode Standard Annex #31. By default, Dir is both.
Notice that [$\r,$\n] is one grapheme cluster according to the Unicode Standard.
Example:
1> string:trim("\t Hello \n").
"Hello"
2> string:trim(<<"\t Hello \n">>, leading).
<<"Hello \n">>
3> string:trim(<<".Hello.\n">>, trailing, "\n.").
<<".Hello">>
uppercase(String :: unicode:chardata()) -> unicode:chardata()
Converts String to uppercase.
See also titlecase/1.
Example:
1> string:uppercase("Michał").
"MICHAŁ"
OBSOLETE API FUNCTIONS
Here follows the function of the old API. These functions only work on a list of Latin-1 characters.
Note:
The functions are kept for backward compatibility, but are not recommended. They will be deprecated in
Erlang/OTP 21.
Any undocumented functions in string are not to be used.
EXPORTS
centre(String, Number) -> Centered
centre(String, Number, Character) -> Centered
Types:
String = Centered = string()
Number = integer() >= 0
Character = char()
Returns a string, where String is centered in the string and surrounded by blanks or Character.
The resulting string has length Number.
This function is obsolete. Use pad/3.
chars(Character, Number) -> String
chars(Character, Number, Tail) -> String
Types:
Character = char()
Number = integer() >= 0
Tail = String = string()
Returns a string consisting of Number characters Character. Optionally, the string can end with
string Tail.
This function is obsolete. Use lists:duplicate/2.
chr(String, Character) -> Index
Types:
String = string()
Character = char()
Index = integer() >= 0
Returns the index of the first occurrence of Character in String. Returns 0 if Character does not
occur.
This function is obsolete. Use find/2.
concat(String1, String2) -> String3
Types:
String1 = String2 = String3 = string()
Concatenates String1 and String2 to form a new string String3, which is returned.
This function is obsolete. Use [String1, String2] as Data argument, and call
unicode:characters_to_list/2 or unicode:characters_to_binary/2 to flatten the output.
copies(String, Number) -> Copies
Types:
String = Copies = string()
Number = integer() >= 0
Returns a string containing String repeated Number times.
This function is obsolete. Use lists:duplicate/2.
cspan(String, Chars) -> Length
Types:
String = Chars = string()
Length = integer() >= 0
Returns the length of the maximum initial segment of String, which consists entirely of characters
not from Chars.
This function is obsolete. Use take/3.
Example:
> string:cspan("\t abcdef", " \t").
0
join(StringList, Separator) -> String
Types:
StringList = [string()]
Separator = String = string()
Returns a string with the elements of StringList separated by the string in Separator.
This function is obsolete. Use lists:join/2.
Example:
> join(["one", "two", "three"], ", ").
"one, two, three"
left(String, Number) -> Left
left(String, Number, Character) -> Left
Types:
String = Left = string()
Number = integer() >= 0
Character = char()
Returns String with the length adjusted in accordance with Number. The left margin is fixed. If
length(String) < Number, then String is padded with blanks or Characters.
This function is obsolete. Use pad/2 or pad/3.
Example:
> string:left("Hello",10,$.).
"Hello....."
len(String) -> Length
Types:
String = string()
Length = integer() >= 0
Returns the number of characters in String.
This function is obsolete. Use length/1.
rchr(String, Character) -> Index
Types:
String = string()
Character = char()
Index = integer() >= 0
Returns the index of the last occurrence of Character in String. Returns 0 if Character does not
occur.
This function is obsolete. Use find/3.
right(String, Number) -> Right
right(String, Number, Character) -> Right
Types:
String = Right = string()
Number = integer() >= 0
Character = char()
Returns String with the length adjusted in accordance with Number. The right margin is fixed. If
the length of (String) < Number, then String is padded with blanks or Characters.
This function is obsolete. Use pad/3.
Example:
> string:right("Hello", 10, $.).
".....Hello"
rstr(String, SubString) -> Index
Types:
String = SubString = string()
Index = integer() >= 0
Returns the position where the last occurrence of SubString begins in String. Returns 0 if
SubString does not exist in String.
This function is obsolete. Use find/3.
Example:
> string:rstr(" Hello Hello World World ", "Hello World").
8
span(String, Chars) -> Length
Types:
String = Chars = string()
Length = integer() >= 0
Returns the length of the maximum initial segment of String, which consists entirely of characters
from Chars.
This function is obsolete. Use take/2.
Example:
> string:span("\t abcdef", " \t").
5
str(String, SubString) -> Index
Types:
String = SubString = string()
Index = integer() >= 0
Returns the position where the first occurrence of SubString begins in String. Returns 0 if
SubString does not exist in String.
This function is obsolete. Use find/2.
Example:
> string:str(" Hello Hello World World ", "Hello World").
8
strip(String :: string()) -> string()
strip(String, Direction) -> Stripped
strip(String, Direction, Character) -> Stripped
Types:
String = Stripped = string()
Direction = left | right | both
Character = char()
Returns a string, where leading or trailing, or both, blanks or a number of Character have been
removed. Direction, which can be left, right, or both, indicates from which direction blanks are
to be removed. strip/1 is equivalent to strip(String, both).
This function is obsolete. Use trim/3.
Example:
> string:strip("...Hello.....", both, $.).
"Hello"
sub_string(String, Start) -> SubString
sub_string(String, Start, Stop) -> SubString
Types:
String = SubString = string()
Start = Stop = integer() >= 1
Returns a substring of String, starting at position Start to the end of the string, or to and
including position Stop.
This function is obsolete. Use slice/3.
Example:
sub_string("Hello World", 4, 8).
"lo Wo"
substr(String, Start) -> SubString
substr(String, Start, Length) -> SubString
Types:
String = SubString = string()
Start = integer() >= 1
Length = integer() >= 0
Returns a substring of String, starting at position Start, and ending at the end of the string or
at length Length.
This function is obsolete. Use slice/3.
Example:
> substr("Hello World", 4, 5).
"lo Wo"
sub_word(String, Number) -> Word
sub_word(String, Number, Character) -> Word
Types:
String = Word = string()
Number = integer()
Character = char()
Returns the word in position Number of String. Words are separated by blanks or Characters.
This function is obsolete. Use nth_lexeme/3.
Example:
> string:sub_word(" Hello old boy !",3,$o).
"ld b"
to_lower(String) -> Result
to_lower(Char) -> CharResult
to_upper(String) -> Result
to_upper(Char) -> CharResult
Types:
String = Result = io_lib:latin1_string()
Char = CharResult = char()
The specified string or character is case-converted. Notice that the supported character set is
ISO/IEC 8859-1 (also called Latin 1); all values outside this set are unchanged
This function is obsolete use lowercase/1, uppercase/1, titlecase/1 or casefold/1.
tokens(String, SeparatorList) -> Tokens
Types:
String = SeparatorList = string()
Tokens = [Token :: nonempty_string()]
Returns a list of tokens in String, separated by the characters in SeparatorList.
Example:
> tokens("abc defxxghix jkl", "x ").
["abc", "def", "ghi", "jkl"]
Notice that, as shown in this example, two or more adjacent separator characters in String are
treated as one. That is, there are no empty strings in the resulting list of tokens.
This function is obsolete. Use lexemes/2.
words(String) -> Count
words(String, Character) -> Count
Types:
String = string()
Character = char()
Count = integer() >= 1
Returns the number of words in String, separated by blanks or Character.
This function is obsolete. Use lexemes/2.
Example:
> words(" Hello old boy!", $o).
4
NOTES
Some of the general string functions can seem to overlap each other. The reason is that this string
package is the combination of two earlier packages and all functions of both packages have been retained.