REPLACING

Syntax

Command
Mandatory parameter
Optional parameter
Mandatory keyword
Optional keyword

INSPECT (<Variable>)

    REPLACING (<Option>,
               <Old value>, <New value> | <Old values array>, <New values array> | <New character>
               [, <Condition>, <Value>])

ENDINSPECT

Description

This command replaces character(s) specified in <Old value> or <Old value array> with the character(s) specified in <New value> or <New value array>. Also all characters can be replaced by a single character using the CHARACTERS option. When a BEFORE or AFTER condition is specified the replace will either stop at <Value> or start after <Value>.

Diagram

Returned value type

None

Parameters

Parameter	Description
<Variable>	The variable to be inspected
<Option>	CHARACTERS	Replaces all the characters in <Variable> with the character specified in <New Character> or when a BEFORE or AFTER condition has be specified all the characters up to the occurrence of <Value> or all the characters after the occurrence of <Value>.
	ALL	Replaces each occurrence of <Old value> or elements of <Old values array> with <New value> or the correspondig element in <New values array>. When a BEFORE or AFTER condition has been specified the replace will either stop at the occurrence of <Value> or start directly after the occurrence of <Value>.
	FIRST	Only the first occurrence of <Old value> or an element of <Old values array> will be replaced by <New value> or the corresponding element in <New values array>. When a BEFORE or AFTER condition has been specified the replace will either stop at the occurrence of <Value> or start directly after the occurrence of <Value>.
	LEADING	On the condition that the first character matches <Old value> or an element of <Old values array>, each successive occurrence will be replaced with <New value> or the corresponding element of <New values array>. When a BEFORE or AFTER condition has been specified the replace will either stop at the occurrence of <Value> or start directly after the occurrence of <Value>.
	TRAILING	On the condition that the last character matches <Old value> or an element of <Old values array>, each successive occurrence counting backwards from the last character will be replaced by <New value> or the corresponding element of <New values array>. I.e. this option does the exact opposite of LEADING. When a BEFORE or AFTER condition has been specified the replace will either stop at the occurrence of <Value> or start directly after the occurrence of <Value>.
<Old value>	Character or string to search for in <Varaible> and to be replaced by <New value>.
<New value>	Character or string to replace <Old value> when found in <Variable>.
<Old values array>	Array of characters or strings to search for in <Variable> and to be replaced by the corresponding element in <New values array, in the format [ <Old value 1>, <Old value 2>, ... ]. The [] square brackets are mandatory.
<New values array>	Array of characters or strings to replace the corresponding element in <Old values array> when found in <Variable>, in the format [ <New value 1>, <New value 2>, ... ]. The [] square brackets are mandatory.
<Condition>	BEFORE	Specifies a BEFORE condition. I.e. the replacing will stop at the first occurrence of <Value> in <Variable>.
<Condition>	AFTER	Specifies an AFTER condition. I.e. the replacing will start directly after the occurrence of <Value> in <Variable> till the end of <Variable>.
<Value>	The start/stop character or string to use in the BEFORE or AFTER condition.

Example

va-inspect := '**AB**CD**EF'

inspect (va-inspect)
    replacing (characters, 'X')
    replacing (all, 'X', 'Y')
    replacing (first, 'X', 'Y', after, 'Z')
    replacing (first, [ 'A', 'B' ], [ 'X', 'Y' ], before, 'Z')
    replacing (leading, 'X', 'Y')
    replacing (leading, [ 'A', 'B' ], [ 'X', 'Y' ])
    replacing (trailing, 'X', 'Y')
    replacing (all, [ 'X', 'Y' ], [ 'A', 'B' ])
    replacing (all, 'XYZ', 'abc')
    replacing (all, OldValue[], NewValue[])
endinspect