String Functions

String functions work on text: building entity names and comparing text attributes. Most run in action logic; FIND and LEN also work in route, arrival, and gate conditions.

Function	What it returns
CONCAT(a, b)	The two pieces of text joined together.
LEFT(s, n) / RIGHT(s, n)	The first / last n characters.
MID(s, start, n)	n characters starting at position start, counting from 1.
LEN(s)	The number of characters.
FIND(s, part)	The position of part in s, or 0 if it is not there.
UPPER(s) / LOWER(s)	The text in upper / lower case.
TRIM(s)	The text with leading and trailing spaces removed.
REPLACE(s, old, new)	The text with every old replaced by new.

An example of each

Each line below is a complete piece of action logic, with a // note saying what it does and what it works out to. Text is written in double quotes.

Building a piece of text, and taking a piece out of one:

// Join two pieces of text: order 1234 becomes Order_1234
SET a_Label TO CONCAT("Order_", a_OrderId)

// First and last characters: LEFT("ORDER-1234", 5) is "ORDER"
SET a_Prefix TO LEFT(a_Code, 5)

// RIGHT("ORDER-1234", 4) is "1234"
SET a_Suffix TO RIGHT(a_Code, 4)

// Characters from a position, counting from 1: MID("ORDER-1234", 7, 4) is "1234"
SET a_Serial TO MID(a_Code, 7, 4)

Measuring and searching:

// How many characters the text holds: LEN("ORDER-1234") is 10
IF LEN(a_Code) < 10 THEN DISPLAY "Code looks too short" ENDIF

// Where a word starts, or 0 if it is not there at all
IF FIND(a_Status, "Error") > 0 THEN INC v_Errors ENDIF

Cleaning text up before you compare it:

// Case, so a comparison works however the value was typed
SET a_Upper TO UPPER(a_Region)
SET a_Lower TO LOWER(a_Region)

// Leading and trailing spaces removed: TRIM(" north ") is "north"
SET a_Clean TO TRIM(a_Region)

// Every occurrence swapped: REPLACE("ORDER-1234", "-", "_") is "ORDER_1234"
SET a_Key TO REPLACE(a_Code, "-", "_")