"True string functions" are those that return string values. Such functions can be specified with or without a trailing $ (i.e., CHR(X) or CHR$(X); we use the trailing $ below to emphasize that the function acts like a string expression.) Also included here are functions that that return numeric values (and thus are really numeric functions) but whose purpose is closely tied to string handling, such as LEN().
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Function |
Description |
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ASC(a$) |
Returns ASCII value (in decimal) of first character of a$ (numeric function). |
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CHR$(x) |
Returns the ASCII character corresponding to the value x. |
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EDIT(a$,flags) |
Returns a modified version of the string a$, based on option bits set in flags. |
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FILL(a$,n) |
Returns a string consisting of the string a$ repeated until it reaches n bytes long. Requires COMPIL switch /X:1 or higher. |
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INSTR$(spos, source$, pattern$, {flags}) |
Returns position of first occurrence of pattern$ after position spos (starting at 1) in source$, or 0 if not found. With flags: pattern$ is interpreted as a "regular expression", and flags may be used to specify options relating to regular expression evaluation. See INSTR() for more information and details. |
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LCS$(a$) |
Returns string a$ folded to lower case. |
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LEFT$(a$,x) |
Returns leftmost x characters of string a$. Equivalent to a$[1,x]. |
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LEN(a$) |
Returns length of string a$. (Numeric function). |
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MID$(a$,start,length) |
Returns substring of a$, starting in position start and extending length characters (or until end). Equivalent to substring syntax a$[start;length]. |
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ODTIM(date,time{,flags}) |
Returns formatted string representation of specified date and/or time according to flags. See ODTIM and ODTIM.SBR in the A-Shell XCALL Reference. |
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PAD$(a$,x) |
Returns string a$ truncated, or padded with trailing blanks as necessary to be exactly x characters long. (A-Shell extension) |
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RIGHT$(a$,x) |
Returns the rightmost x characters of string a$. Equivalent to a$[-x,-1]. |
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RTRIM(a$) |
Returns string a$ with trailing spaces removed. (A-Shell extension.) |
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SPACE$(x) |
Returns a string of x spaces. Also see FILL(X,N). |
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STRIP(a$) |
Same as RTRIM(a$). (Plus extension.) |
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STR$(x) |
Returns the string decimal representation of the value x, with no leading or trailing blanks. |
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UCS$(a$) |
Returns string a$ folded to upper case. |