U (String function): Difference between revisions
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*<var>U</var>sing the <var>U</var> method (or EbcdicTo<var>U</var>nicode) is necessary for converting to type <var>U</var>nicode if the string you want to convert may contain a hexadecimal character reference. Such a reference cannot be meaningfully assigned to a <var>U</var>nicode variable otherwise, whereas keyboard-available characters can simply be assigned directly to a <var>U</var>nicode variable without character reference and without conversion by <var>U</var>. | *<var>U</var>sing the <var>U</var> method (or EbcdicTo<var>U</var>nicode) is necessary for converting to type <var>U</var>nicode if the string you want to convert may contain a hexadecimal character reference. Such a reference cannot be meaningfully assigned to a <var>U</var>nicode variable otherwise, whereas keyboard-available characters can simply be assigned directly to a <var>U</var>nicode variable without character reference and without conversion by <var>U</var>. | ||
*You can find the list of XHTML entities on the Internet at the following <var>U</var>RL: | *You can find the list of XHTML entities on the Internet at the following <var>U</var>RL: | ||
<p class="code">http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/dtds.html#h-A2 | |||
</p> | |||
===Example=== | ===Example=== | ||
The first Print statement below displays a plus sign (+); the second Print displays a copyright sign (©); the third displays ''''2122'''': | The first Print statement below displays a plus sign (+); the second Print displays a copyright sign (©); the third displays ''''2122'''': | ||
<p class="code">%p <var>U</var>nicode Initial('+') | |||
Print %p | |||
* Entity for copyright symbol: | |||
%copy <var>U</var>nicode Initial('&copy;':<var>U</var>) | |||
Print %copy | |||
* Constant for trademark symbol: | |||
%tm <var>U</var>nicode Initial('&#x2122;':<var>U</var>) | |||
Print %tm:<var>U</var>nicodeTo<var>U</var>tf16:<var>String</var>ToHex | |||
</p> | |||
====Note==== | ====Note==== | ||
Simply specifying ''''Print %tm'''' in the the third Print statement above (or its equivalent ''''Print %tm:<var>U</var>nicodeToEbcdic'''') would | Simply specifying ''''Print %tm'''' in the the third Print statement above (or its equivalent ''''Print %tm:<var>U</var>nicodeToEbcdic'''') would | ||
Revision as of 15:49, 20 January 2011
Convert EBCDIC string to Unicode constant, including character encoding (String class)
This intrinsic function converts an EBCDIC string, which may include XML character and entity references, to a Unicode string. The function also converts XML style hexadecimal character references, XHTML entity references, and '&' references to the represented Unicode character. Since in use the method acts like a Unicode constant, it is also documented with the Constant methods.
The U method is available as of Sirius Mods version 7.3.
Syntax
%unicode = string:U
Syntax terms
| %unicode | A Unicode string variable to receive the Unicode encoding of the method object string. |
|---|---|
| string | A constant character string value, which may include an XML-style hexadecimal character reference or an XHTML entity reference. That is, string may contain an ampersand (&) in the following cases: *As the substring '&'. This substring is converted to a single ampersand character. *At the start of a hexadecimal character reference (for example, the eight characters '“' for the Unicode "Left double quotation mark"). The character reference is converted to the referenced character. *As of Sirius Mods version 7.6, an XHTML entity reference (for example, the six characters ' ' for the "non-breaking-space" character). The entity reference is converted to the referenced character. A decimal character reference (for example, ¬) is not allowed. |
Usage notes
- The U method is a compile-time-only equivalent of the EbcdicToUnicode method of the intrinsic String class (with its CharacterDecode argument implicitly set to 'True').
- Using the U method (or EbcdicToUnicode) is necessary for converting to type Unicode if the string you want to convert may contain a hexadecimal character reference. Such a reference cannot be meaningfully assigned to a Unicode variable otherwise, whereas keyboard-available characters can simply be assigned directly to a Unicode variable without character reference and without conversion by U.
- You can find the list of XHTML entities on the Internet at the following URL:
http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/dtds.html#h-A2
Example
The first Print statement below displays a plus sign (+); the second Print displays a copyright sign (©); the third displays '2122':
%p Unicode Initial('+') Print %p
- Entity for copyright symbol:
%copy Unicode Initial('©':U) Print %copy
- Constant for trademark symbol:
%tm Unicode Initial('™':U) Print %tm:UnicodeToUtf16:StringToHex
Note
Simply specifying 'Print %tm' in the the third Print statement above (or its equivalent 'Print %tm:UnicodeToEbcdic') would attempt to translate to EBCDIC and fail because the Unicode trademark character does not translate to a valid EBCDIC character. But the UnicodeToUtf16 method can convert the Unicode variable to a byte-stream Longstring, which the StringToHex method converts to its hex representation.