`extractBefore`

Extracts the text that comes before a marker or a position.

Category: Language Fundamentals > Data Types

Syntax

newStr = extractBefore(str, pat)

Returns what precedes the first occurrence of pat.

newStr = extractBefore(str, pos)

Returns the characters before position pos.

Description

The marker is excluded from the result. It is the mirror image of extractAfter; together they split a string around a separator without using regexp or split.

Input arguments

str: Text to search.
pat: Marker text or pattern. Only the first match counts.
pos: Positive integer: the position up to (and excluding) which characters are kept.

Output arguments

newStr: The leading part of the text. If pat is not found the result is a missing string.

Example

Text before a marker

extractBefore("abc=def=ghi", "=")
extractBefore("abcdef", 4)

Output

ans = "abc"
ans = "abc"

extractBefore