textutil(3tcl)

✨ textutil(3tcl) — Text and string utilities, macro processing ✨

💖 NAME 💖

textutil — procedures to manipulate texts and strings. That's the whole vibe, bestie. 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

package require Tcl 8.5 9
package require textutil ?0.10?
::textutil::adjust string args
::textutil::adjust::readPatterns filename
::textutil::adjust::listPredefined
::textutil::adjust::getPredefined filename
::textutil::indent string prefix ?skip?
::textutil::undent string
::textutil::splitn string ?len?
::textutil::splitx string ?regexp?
::textutil::tabify string ?num?
::textutil::tabify2 string ?num?
::textutil::trim string ?regexp?
::textutil::trimleft string ?regexp?
::textutil::trimright string ?regexp?
::textutil::trimPrefix string prefix
::textutil::trimEmptyHeading string
::textutil::untabify string ?num?
::textutil::untabify2 string ?num?
::textutil::strRepeat text num
::textutil::blank num
::textutil::chop string
::textutil::tail string
::textutil::cap string
::textutil::uncap string
::textutil::longestCommonPrefixList list
::textutil::longestCommonPrefix ?string...?

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

The package textutil provides commands that manipulate strings or texts (a.k.a. long strings or string with embedded newlines or paragraphs). It is actually a bundle providing the commands of the six packages

• textutil::adjust
• textutil::repeat
• textutil::split
• textutil::string
• textutil::tabify
• textutil::trim

in the namespace textutil.

⚠️ The bundle is deprecated, and it will be removed in a future release of Tcllib, after the next release. It is recommended to use the relevant sub packages instead for whatever functionality is needed by the using package or application. So like, the bundle is lowkey on its way out, bestie. Use the sub packages for whatever you need. No cap.

The complete set of procedures is described below. Let's get into it.

::textutil::adjust string args

Do a justification on the string according to args. The string is taken as one big paragraph, ignoring any newlines. Then the line is formatted according to the options used, and the command return a new string with enough lines to contain all the printable chars in the input string. A line is a set of chars between the beginning of the string and a newline, or between 2 newlines, or between a newline and the end of the string. If the input string is small enough, the returned string won't contain any newlines. So it's giving paragraph-wrapping realness.

Together with ::textutil::indent it is possible to create properly wrapped paragraphs with arbitrary indentations. Iconic combo, fr fr.

By default, any occurrence of spaces characters or tabulation are replaced by a single space so each word in a line is separated from the next one by exactly one space char, and this forms a real line. Each real line is placed in a logical line, which have exactly a given length (see -length option below). The real line may have a lesser length. Again by default, any trailing spaces are ignored before returning the string (see -full option below). The following options may be used after the string parameter, and change the way the command place a real line in a logical line.

• -full boolean — If set to false, any trailing space chars are deleted before returning the string. If set to true, any trailing space chars are left in the string. Defaults to false. ✨
• -hyphenate boolean — If set to false, no hyphenation will be done. If set to true, the last word of a line is tried to be hyphenated. Defaults to false. Note: hyphenation patterns must be loaded prior, using the command ::textutil::adjust::readPatterns. No patterns, no hyphenation, periodt.
• -justify center|left|plain|right — Set the justification of the returned string to center, left, plain or right. By default, it is set to left. The justification means that any line in the returned string but the last one is build according to the value. If the justification is set to plain and the number of printable chars in the last line is less than 90% of the length of a line (see -length), then this line is justified with the left value, avoiding the expansion of this line when it is too small. The meaning of each value is:
  • center — The real line is centered in the logical line. If needed, a set of space characters are added at the beginning (half of the needed set) and at the end (half of the needed set) of the line if required (see the option -full).
  • left — The real line is set on the left of the logical line. It means that there are no space chars at the beginning of this line. If required, all needed space chars are added at the end of the line (see the option -full).
  • plain — The real line is exactly set in the logical line. It means that there are no leading or trailing space chars. All the needed space chars are added in the real line, between 2 (or more) words.
  • right — The real line is set on the right of the logical line. It means that there are no space chars at the end of this line, and there may be some space chars at the beginning, despite of the -full option.
• -length integer — Set the length of the logical line in the string to integer. integer must be a positive integer value. Defaults to 72.
• -strictlength boolean — If set to false, a line can exceed the specified -length if a single word is longer than -length. If set to true, words that are longer than -length are split so that no line exceeds the specified -length. Defaults to false.

::textutil::adjust::readPatterns filename

Loads the internal storage for hyphenation patterns with the contents of the file filename. This has to be done prior to calling command ::textutil::adjust with "-hyphenate true", or the hyphenation process will not work correctly. So don't skip this step, bestie.

The package comes with a number of predefined pattern files, and the command ::textutil::adjust::listPredefined can be used to find out their names.

::textutil::adjust::listPredefined

This command returns a list containing the names of the hyphenation files coming with this package. Basically the menu of pattern files.

::textutil::adjust::getPredefined filename

Use this command to query the package for the full path name of the hyphenation file filename coming with the package. Only the filenames found in the list returned by ::textutil::adjust::listPredefined are legal arguments for this command. So if it's not on the list, it's not it.

::textutil::indent string prefix ?skip?

Each line in the string is indented by adding the prefix at its beginning. The modified string is returned as the result of the command. Hanging indent energy when skip is in the chat.

If skip is specified the first skip lines are left untouched. The default for skip is 0, causing the modification of all lines. Negative values for skip are treated like 0. In other words, skip > 0 creates a hanging indentation.

Together with ::textutil::adjust it is possible to create properly wrapped paragraphs with arbitrary indentations.

::textutil::undent string

The command computes the common prefix for all lines in string consisting solely out of whitespace, removes this from each line and returns the modified string. It's giving de-indent, bestie.

Lines containing only whitespace are always reduced to completely empty lines. They and empty lines are also ignored when computing the prefix to remove.

Together with ::textutil::adjust it is possible to create properly wrapped paragraphs with arbitrary indentations.

::textutil::splitn string ?len?

This command splits the given string into chunks of len characters and returns a list containing these chunks. The argument len defaults to 1 if none is specified. A negative length is not allowed and will cause the command to throw an error. So don't even try it. Providing an empty string as input is allowed, the command will then return an empty list. If the length of the string is not an entire multiple of the chunk length, then the last chunk in the generated list will be shorter than len. Short king last chunk, we love to see it.

::textutil::splitx string ?regexp?

Split the string and return a list. The string is split according to the regular expression regexp instead of a simple list of chars. Note that if you add parenthesis into the regexp, the parentheses part of separator would be added into list as additional element. If the string is empty the result is the empty list, like for split. If regexp is empty the string is split at every character, like split does. The regular expression regexp defaults to "[\\t \\r\\n]+". Regex girlies, this one's for you.

::textutil::tabify string ?num?

Tabify the string by replacing any substring of num space chars by a tabulation and return the result as a new string. num defaults to 8. Spaces to tabs, slay.

::textutil::tabify2 string ?num?

Similar to ::textutil::tabify this command tabifies the string and returns the result as a new string. A different algorithm is used however. Instead of replacing any substring of num spaces this command works more like an editor. num defaults to 8. Editor-core behavior, no cap.

Each line of the text in string is treated as if there are tabstops every num columns. Only sequences of space characters containing more than one space character and found immediately before a tabstop are replaced with tabs.

• ::textutil::trim string ?regexp? — okay so bestie, this one trims string on both ends. It removes any leading and trailing substring that matches the regular expression regexp, and returns the result as a new string. It applies to any line in the string — that is, any substring between two newline chars, or between the beginning of the string and a newline, or between a newline and the end of the string, or, if the string contains no newline, between the beginning and the end of the string. The regexp defaults to "[ \\t]+". slay ✨
• ::textutil::trimleft string ?regexp? — this one removes any leading substring in string that matches regexp, and returns the result as a new string. It applies to any line in the string — any substring between two newline chars, or between the beginning of the string and a newline, or between a newline and the end of the string, or, if the string contains no newline, between the beginning and the end of the string. The regexp defaults to "[ \\t]+". left side only, periodt 💅
• ::textutil::trimright string ?regexp? — and this one removes any trailing substring in string that matches regexp, and returns the result as a new string. It applies to any line in the string — any substring between two newline chars, or between the beginning of the string and a newline, or between a newline and the end of the string, or, if the string contains no newline, between the beginning and the end of the string. The regexp defaults to "[ \\t]+". right side only, no cap 🦋
• ::textutil::trimPrefix string prefix — removes prefix from the beginning of string and returns the result. If string doesn't have prefix at its beginning, it's left unchanged. simple as 🍓
• ::textutil::trimEmptyHeading string — looks for empty lines (including lines that consist of only whitespace) at the beginning of string and removes them. The modified string is returned as the result. bye bye blank space 👑
• ::textutil::untabify string ?num? — untabify string by replacing any tabulation char with a substring of num space chars, and return the result as a new string. num defaults to 8. tabs to spaces, iconic ✨
• ::textutil::untabify2 string ?num? — untabify string by replacing any tabulation char with a substring of at most num space chars, and return the result as a new string. Unlike textutil::untabify, each tab is not replaced by a fixed number of space characters. The command overlays each line in string with tabstops every num columns instead, and replaces tabs with just enough space characters to reach the next tabstop. This is the complement of the actions taken by ::textutil::tabify2. num defaults to 8.

There is one asymmetry though: A tab can be replaced with a single space, but not the other way around. iykyk 💜

• ::textutil::strRepeat text num — the implementation depends on the core executing the package. It uses string repeat if it is present, or a fast Tcl implementation if it is not. Returns a string containing text repeated num times. The repetitions are joined without characters between them. A value of num <= 0 causes the command to return an empty string. repeat after me 🔥
• ::textutil::blank num — a convenience command. Returns a string of num spaces. spaces for days 🌸
• ::textutil::chop string — a convenience command. Removes the last character of string and returns the shortened string. chop chop 🎀
• ::textutil::tail string — a convenience command. Removes the first character of string and returns the shortened string. tail vibes 🦋
• ::textutil::cap string — capitalizes the first character of string and returns the modified string. main character energy 👑
• ::textutil::uncap string — the complementary operation to ::textutil::cap. Forces the first character of string to lower case and returns the modified string. lowercase slay 💅
• ::textutil::longestCommonPrefixList list
• ::textutil::longestCommonPrefix ?string...? — computes the longest common prefix for either the strings given to the command, or the strings specified in the single list, and returns it as the result of the command.

If no strings were specified, the result is the empty string. If only one string was specified, that string itself is returned, as it is its own longest common prefix. iykyk 🌈

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🐛 BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK 🐛

bestie, this document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems. no cap. Please report such in the category textutil of the Tcllib Trackers at http://core.tcl.tk/tcllib/reportlist. Please also report any ideas for enhancements you may have for either the package and/or documentation.

When proposing code changes, please provide unified diffs, i.e. the output of diff -u.

Note further that attachments are strongly preferred over inlined patches. Attachments can be made by going to the Edit form of the ticket immediately after its creation, and then using the left-most button in the secondary navigation bar. periodt. 💖

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

• regexp(3tcl)
• split(3tcl)
• string(3tcl)

🔑 KEYWORDS 🔑

• TeX
• formatting
• hyphenation
• indenting
• paragraph
• regular expression
• string
• trimming

📂 CATEGORY 📂

Text processing

this was tcllib 0.10, textutil(3tcl). stay slay, bestie. 💖✨