UnicodeBefore (Unicode function)

Part of string before a substring (Unicode class)

[Introduced in Model 204 7.5]

UnicodeBefore operates on a Unicode variable or string and returns the portion of that string before a user-specified delimiter. To get the portion of the string after a delimiter, use the UnicodeAfter string method.

Syntax

%outUnicode = unicode:UnicodeAfter( substring, [Start= number])

Syntax terms

%outString	A unicode variable to hold the output of the parsed input unicode string.
string	A unicode string that holds the string to be parsed.
substring	A unicode string that holds the separator character or characters on which parsing occurs.
Start	number: The starting point for parsing. The default value is 1, indicating the beginning of the string. This is a name-optional argument and cannot be 0. If a value larger than the string is specified, the method always returns a null string.

Usage notes

If a starting value is entered, the %outString is the content of the string beginning at the start point and before first occurrence of the delimiter string encountered after the specified start point, or ending at the end of the string if the delimiter token is not encountered. The delimiter string is not a list of individual delimiters, but a single delimiter which may be multiple characters. In other words, if your delimiter is 'ok', the method looks for occurrences of those two lower-case letters and returns a value before said occurrence, This method is always case-sensitive.

Examples

The following request the left and right square brackets are created using the unicode method and placed in variables %sqL and %sqR. Depending on your browser's codepage, the square brackets may or may not render correctly. They are then inserted into a unicode string and used to parse that string:

Released in 1966, Manos: The Hands of Fate

begin %sqL is string len 1 initial("[":u) static %sqR is string len 1 initial("]":u) static %x is unicode %x = 'Released in 1966, Manos: The Hands of Fate ' with %sql with - ' is a D-minus ' with %sqr with - ' of a B movie: Its plot, about desert-dwelling pagans, makes little sense.' printText {%x:unicodeBefore(%sqL)} end

See also

Float class String class Unicode class	List of Float methods List of String methods List of Unicode methods List of Intrinsic methods	Float methods syntax String methods syntax Unicode methods syntax
Notation conventions for methods

The UnicodeAfter string method.