SheerPower® 4GL
A Guide to the SheerPower Language
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6.4.9 ELEMENTS(str_expr1 [, str_expr2])

The ELEMENTS function returns the number of elements in a string expression that contains a list of elements. str_expr1 is the string containing the list of elements. str_expr2 is the separator. A comma is the default separator.

A given element is considered quoted only if the first non-blank character of the element is a single or double quote mark.

Example 6-57 ELEMENTS function 

  alphabet$ = 'a;b;c;d;e;f;g;h;i;j;k;l;m;n;o;p;q;r;s;t;u;v;w;x;y;z' 
  print elements(alphabet$, ';') 
  end
  
  
26

6.4.10 ELEMENT$(str_expr1, num_expr [, str_expr2])

ELEMENT$ returns the element from str_expr1 which is specified by the num_expr. str_expr1 contains a set of elements with separators between them. The default separator is a comma:

Example 6-58 ELEMENT$ function 

  let a$ = element$('ADD,DEL,EXIT',2) 
  print a$ 
  end
 
 
DEL

A separator other than the comma can be specified with str_expr2.

Example 6-59 ELEMENT$ function - separators 

  let sentence$ = 'This is a test.' 
  let a$ = element$(sentence$,2,' ')
  print a$ 
  end
  
 
is

More than one separator in a row returns a null for the corresponding element.

Note on the following example:
The following example shows how having two commas [the default separator] in a row will cause the result to be nothing [null] for that particular element.

Example 6-60 ELEMENT$ function - separators 

  let sentence$ = 'This,, is, a, test'  
  print element$(sentence$, 2) 
  end

6.4.11 ENCODE$(num_expr, num_int)

The ENCODE$ function returns a string containing a number converted to the base specified. num_expr is the value to convert. num_int is the base to convert. For instance, '2' indicates binary, etc. See also Section 6.9.1, DECODE(str_expr, int_expr)

Example 6-61 ENCODE$ function 

  do
    input 'Enter a number to convert to hex': decnum 
    if  decnum = 0 or _exit  then exit do
    print 'Hex for'; decnum;' is '; encode$(decnum,16) 
  loop
  end
  
  
Enter a number to convert to hex? 34.56 
Hex for 34.56 is 22 
Enter a number to convert to hex? 255 
Hex for 255 is FF

6.4.12 FORMAT$(expr, str_expr)

Given an expression and a format, FORMAT$ returns the result of the expression in the format indicated.

The '@' format character causes the character not to be translated by the formatter. The '<' and '>' are treated like an '@' character. You can justify a character string, but avoid zero suppression and zero insertion.

The FORMAT$ function takes an expression of any data type for the data to format (the first argument), including string expressions.

Example 6-62 FORMAT$ function 

  z$ = format$('1234567', '###~-####') 
  print 'Phone number: '; z$ 
  end
 
 
Phone number: 123-4567

The FORMAT$ function returns all asterisks "*" in the case of overflow.

Example 6-63 FORMAT$ function 

  z$ = format$(12.23,'#.##') 
  print z$ 
  end
 
 
****

FORMAT$() returns the same string data as given by the following: 


        PRINT USING str_expr: expr

The FORMAT$ function supports the DATE format and date arguments. Given a date in YYMMDD or CCYYMMDD format, FORMAT$ returns the date in the date format requested. 


        FORMAT$(z$, '{DATE [argument]}?')

The ? can be replaced with a mask. If no date argument is provided, the default is MDCY.

Example 6-64 DATE format with FORMAT$ 

  z1$ = format$('990122', '{date mdcy}?') 
  z2$ = format$('990122', '{date mdcy}##/##/####') 
  z3$ = format$('20000122', '{date mdcy}?') 
  z4$ = format$('20000122', '{date mdcy}##/##/####') 
  print z1$, z2$ 
  print z3$, z4$ 
  end
 
 
01221999            01/22/1999 
01222000            01/22/2000

Table 6-7 FORMAT$ function - date arguments
DATE
Argument 		YYMMDD
Input 		Result CCYYMMDD
Input 		Result
none 990207 02072000 20000207 02072000
YMD 990207 990207 20000207 990207
CYMD 990207 20000207 20000207 20000207
MDY 990207 022199 20000207 022199
MDCY 990207 02072000 20000207 02072000
DMY 990207 070299 20000207 070299
DMCY 990207 07022000 20000207 07022000
DMONY 990207 07-Feb-99 20000207 07-Feb-99
DMONCY 990207 07-Feb-2000 20000207 07-Feb-2000
MONTHDY 990207 February 7, 99 20000207 February 7, 99
MONTHDCY 990207 February 7, 2000 20000207 February 7, 2000

The FORMAT$ function supports character rotation. The ROTATE option rotates the last nn characters of a string to the first position in the string. 


        FORMAT$(z$, '{ROTATE n}?')

The ? can be replaced with a mask.

6.4.13 GETSYMBOL$( )

The GETSYMBOL$ function is used to return script variables and symbols. These can be the results of an HTML form submission, CGI environment variables, SheerPower symbols, DNS symbols, operating system symbols, or any variable you have defined as a symbol.

The GETSYMBOL$ function has an optional parameter that allows you to not trim the leading and trailing spaces of a symbol returned. The default parameter is set to TRUE. "True" is implied and means that the leading and trailing spaces will be trimmed. The FALSE parameter can be used if you do not want the leading and trailing spaces trimmed from the symbol retrieved.

Example 6-65 GETSYMBOL$ function - SheerPower Symbol & Trimming Option 

  set system, symbol 'test': value '  hi there' 
  print '<';getsymbol$('sp:test');'>'
  print '<';getsymbol$('sp:test', false);'>'
  print '<';getsymbol$('sp:test', true);'>'
  
<hi there> 
<  hi there> 
<hi there>

Below are a few more examples of GETSYMBOL$:

Example 6-66 GETSYMBOL$ function - HTML form submission 

  //  print the contents of the symbol "city" from a HTML form submit. 
  print getsymbol$('city')

Example 6-67 GETSYMBOL$ function - CGI Environment Symbol 

  // print the contents of the environment symbol REMOTE_ADDR 
  print getsymbol$('env:REMOTE_ADDR')

Example 6-68 GETSYMBOL$ function - Operating System Symbol 

  // print the contents of the operating system symbol PATH 
  print getsymbol$('os:PATH') 
  // and list the contents of the TEMP directory 
  print getsymbol$('os:TEMP') 
 
 
C:\PROGRA~1\Java\JRE16~2.0_0\bin;C:\PROGRA~1\Java\JRE16~2.0_0\bin;C:\WINDOWS\sys 
tem32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\PROGRA~1\ABSOLU~1;C:\Program Files\
QuickTime\QTSystem\;C:\Program Files\IDM Computer Solutions\UltraEdit\;C:\Progra 
m Files\IDM Computer Solutions\UltraCompare;. 
C:\DOCUME~1\User\LOCALS~1\Temp

Below is a list of symbol prefixes supported:

Table 6-8 Supported Symbol Prefixes
Symbol Prefix Description
env: CGI environment variables (see Section 19.3.8, Summary of CGI Environment Variables)
os: Operating system symbols. If the symbol begins with a \ then it is a registry symbol.
sp: SheerPower symbols (see Section 11.14.15, SET SYSTEM, SYMBOL: VALUE )
dns: DNS symbols (see Section 11.14.14, Performing DNS Lookups with ASK SYSTEM, SYMBOL )

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