Comparison of programming languages (string functions)

String functions are used in computer programming languages to manipulate a string or query information about a string (some do both).

Most programming languages that have a string datatype will have some string functions although there may be other low-level ways within each language to handle strings directly. In object-oriented languages, string functions are often implemented as properties and methods of string objects. In functional and list-based languages a string is represented as a list (of character codes), therefore all list-manipulation procedures could be considered string functions. However such languages may implement a subset of explicit string-specific functions as well.

For function that manipulate strings, modern object-oriented languages, like C# and Java have immutable strings and return a copy (in newly allocated dynamic memory), while others, like C manipulate the original string unless the programmer copies data to a new string. See for example Concatenation below.

The most basic example of a string function is the length(string) function. This function returns the length of a string literal.

e.g. length("hello world") would return 11.

Other languages may have string functions with similar or exactly the same syntax or parameters or outcomes. For example, in many languages the length function is usually represented as len(string). The below list of common functions aims to help limit this confusion.

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String functions common to many languages are listed below, including the different names used. The below list of common functions aims to help programmers find the equivalent function in a language. Note, string concatenation and regular expressions are handled in separate pages. Statements in guillemets (« … ») are optional.

{ Example in Pascal }
var
  MyStr: string = 'Hello, World';
  MyChar: Char;
begin
  MyChar := MyStr[2];          // 'e'

# Example in ALGOL 68 #
"Hello, World"[2];             // 'e'

// Example in C
#include <stdio.h>             // for printf
char MyStr[] = "Hello, World";
printf("%c", *(MyStr+1));      // 'e'
printf("%c", *(MyStr+7));      // 'W'
printf("%c", MyStr[11]);       // 'd'
printf("%s", MyStr);           // 'Hello, World'
printf("%s", "Hello(2), World(2)"); // 'Hello(2), World(2)'

// Example in C++
#include <iostream>            // for "cout"
#include <string.h>            // for "string" data type
using namespace std;
char MyStr1[] = "Hello(1), World(1)";
string MyStr2 = "Hello(2), World(2)";
cout << "Hello(3), World(3)";  // 'Hello(3), World(3)'
cout << MyStr2[6];             // '2'
cout << MyStr1.substr (5, 3);  // '(1)'

// Example in C#
"Hello, World"[2];             // 'l'

# Example in Perl 5
substr("Hello, World", 1, 1);  # 'e'

# Examples in Python
"Hello, World"[2]              #  'l'
"Hello, World"[-3]             #  'r'

# Example in Raku
"Hello, World".substr(1, 1);   # 'e'

' Example in Visual Basic
Mid("Hello, World",2,1)

' Example in Visual Basic .NET
"Hello, World".Chars(2)    '  "l"c

" Example in Smalltalk "
'Hello, World' at: 2.        "$e"

//Example in Rust
"Hello, World".chars().nth(2);   // Some('l')

# Example in Perl 5
"hello" cmp "world";       # returns -1

# Example in Python
cmp("hello", "world")      # returns -1

# Examples in Raku
"hello" cmp "world";       # returns Less
"world" cmp "hello";       # returns More
"hello" cmp "hello";       # returns Same

/** Example in Rexx */
compare("hello", "world")  /* returns index of mismatch: 1 */

; Example in Scheme
(use-modules (srfi srfi-13))
; returns index of mismatch: 0
(string-compare "hello" "world" values values values)

% Example in Erlang
"hello" > "world".            % returns false

# Example in Raku
"art" gt "painting";           # returns False
"art" lt "painting";           # returns True

# Example in Windows PowerShell
"hello" -gt "world"           # returns false

;; Example in Common Lisp
(string> "art" "painting")      ; returns nil
(string< "art" "painting")      ; returns non nil

{ Example in Pascal }
'abc' + 'def';      // returns "abcdef"

// Example in C#
"abc" + "def";      // returns "abcdef"

' Example in Visual Basic
"abc" & "def"       '  returns "abcdef"
"abc" + "def"       '  returns "abcdef"
"abc" & Null        '  returns "abc"
"abc" + Null        '  returns Null

// Example in D
"abc" ~ "def";      // returns "abcdef"

;; Example in common lisp
(concatenate 'string "abc " "def " "ghi")  ; returns "abc def ghi"

# Example in Perl 5
"abc" . "def";      # returns "abcdef"
"Perl " . 5;        # returns "Perl 5"

# Example in Raku
"abc" ~ "def";      # returns "abcdef"
"Perl " ~ 6;        # returns "Perl 6"

¢ Example in ALGOL 68 ¢
string in string("e", loc int, "Hello mate");      ¢ returns true ¢
string in string("z", loc int, "word");            ¢ returns false ¢

// Example In C#
"Hello mate".Contains("e");      // returns true
"word".Contains("z");            // returns false

#  Example in Python
"e" in "Hello mate"              #  returns true
"z" in "word"                    #  returns false

#  Example in Raku
"Good morning!".contains('z')    #  returns False
"¡Buenos días!".contains('í');   #  returns True

"  Example in Smalltalk "
'Hello mate' includesSubstring: 'e'  " returns true "
'word' includesSubstring: 'z'        " returns false "

Tests if two strings are equal. See also #Compare and #Compare. Note that doing equality checks via a generic Compare with integer result is not only confusing for the programmer but is often a significantly more expensive operation; this is especially true when using "C-strings".

// Example in C#
"hello" == "world"           // returns false

' Example in Visual Basic
"hello" = "world"            '  returns false

# Examples in Perl 5
'hello' eq 'world'           # returns 0
'hello' eq 'hello'           # returns 1

# Examples in Raku
'hello' eq 'world'           # returns False
'hello' eq 'hello'           # returns True

# Example in Windows PowerShell
"hello" -eq "world"          #  returns false

⍝ Example in APL
'hello' ≡ 'world'          ⍝  returns 0

Examples

• Common Lisp

  (search "e" "Hello mate")             ;  returns 1
  (search "z" "word")                   ;  returns NIL
  

• C#

  "Hello mate".IndexOf("e");            // returns 1
  "Hello mate".IndexOf("e", 4);         // returns 9
  "word".IndexOf("z");                  // returns -1
  

• Raku

  "Hello, there!".index('e')           # returns 1
  "Hello, there!".index('z')           # returns Nil
  

• Scheme

  (use-modules (srfi srfi-13))
  (string-contains "Hello mate" "e")    ;  returns 1
  (string-contains "word" "z")          ;  returns #f
  

• Visual Basic

  ' Examples in
  InStr("Hello mate", "e")              '  returns 2
  InStr(5, "Hello mate", "e")           '  returns 10
  InStr("word", "z")                    '  returns 0
  

• Smalltalk

  'Hello mate' indexOfSubCollection:'ate'  "returns 8"
  

  'Hello mate' indexOfSubCollection:'late' "returns 0"
  

  I'Hello mate'
      indexOfSubCollection:'late'
      ifAbsent:[ 99 ]                      "returns 99"
  

  'Hello mate'
      indexOfSubCollection:'late'
      ifAbsent:[ self error ]              "raises an exception"
  

// Examples in C#
"Hello mate".IndexOf('e');              // returns 1
"word".IndexOf('z')                     // returns -1

; Examples in Common Lisp
(position #\e "Hello mate")             ;  returns 1
(position #\z "word")                   ;  returns NIL

^a Given a set of characters, SCAN returns the position of the first character found,^[19] while VERIFY returns the position of the first character that does not belong to the set.^[20]

// Example in C#
String.Format("My {0} costs {1:C2}", "pen", 19.99); // returns "My pen costs $19.99"

// Example in Object Pascal (Delphi)
Format('My %s costs $%2f', ['pen', 19.99]);         // returns "My pen costs $19.99"

// Example in Java
String.format("My %s costs $%2f", "pen", 19.99);    // returns "My pen costs $19.99"

# Examples in Raku
sprintf "My %s costs \$%.2f", "pen", 19.99;          # returns "My pen costs $19.99"
1.fmt("%04d");                                       # returns "0001"

# Example in Python
"My %s costs $%.2f" % ("pen", 19.99);                #  returns "My pen costs $19.99"
"My {0} costs ${1:.2f}".format("pen", 19.99);        #  returns "My pen costs $19.99"

#Example in Python 3.6+
pen = "pen"
f"My {pen} costs {19.99}"                                          #returns "My pen costs 19.99"

; Example in Scheme
(format "My ~a costs $~1,2F" "pen" 19.99)           ;  returns "My pen costs $19.99"

/* example in PL/I */
put string(some_string) edit('My ', 'pen', ' costs', 19.99)(a,a,a,p'$$$V.99')
/* returns "My pen costs $19.99" */

Tests if two strings are not equal. See also #Equality.

// Example in C#
"hello" != "world"    // returns true

' Example in Visual Basic
"hello" <> "world"    '  returns true

;; Example in Clojure
(not= "hello" "world")  ; ⇒ true

# Example in Perl 5
'hello' ne 'world'      # returns 1

# Example in Raku
'hello' ne 'world'      # returns True

# Example in Windows PowerShell
"hello" -ne "world"   #  returns true

see #Find

see #Find

see #Find

see #rfind

// Example in C#
String.Join("-", {"a", "b", "c"})  // "a-b-c"

" Example in Smalltalk "
#('a' 'b' 'c') joinUsing: '-'      " 'a-b-c' "

# Example in Perl 5
join( '-', ('a', 'b', 'c'));       # 'a-b-c'

# Example in Raku
<a b c>.join('-');       # 'a-b-c'

# Example in Python
"-".join(["a", "b", "c"])          #  'a-b-c'

# Example in Ruby
["a", "b", "c"].join("-")          #  'a-b-c'

; Example in Scheme
(use-modules (srfi srfi-13))
(string-join '("a" "b" "c") "-")   ;  "a-b-c"

see #rfind

# Example in Raku
"Hello, there!".substr(0, 6);  # returns "Hello,"

/* Examples in Rexx */
left("abcde", 3)         /* returns "abc"      */
left("abcde", 8)         /* returns "abcde   " */
left("abcde", 8, "*")    /* returns "abcde***" */

; Examples in Scheme
(use-modules (srfi srfi-13))
(string-take "abcde", 3) ;  returns "abc"
(string-take "abcde", 8) ;  error

' Examples in Visual Basic
Left("sandroguidi", 3)   '  returns "san"
Left("sandroguidi", 100) '  returns "sandroguidi"

see #length

// Examples in C#
"hello".Length;      // returns 5
"".Length;           // returns 0

# Examples in Erlang
string:len("hello"). %  returns 5
string:len("").      %  returns 0

# Examples in Perl 5
length("hello");     #  returns 5
length("");          #  returns 0

# Examples in Raku
"🏳️‍🌈".chars; chars "🏳️‍🌈";      # both return 1
"🏳️‍🌈".codes; codes "🏳️‍🌈";      # both return 4
"".chars; chars "";          # both return 0
"".codes; codes "";          # both return 0

' Examples in Visual Basic
Len("hello")         '  returns 5
Len("")              '  returns 0

//Examples in Objective-C
[@"hello" Length]   //returns 5
[@"" Length]   //returns 0

-- Examples in Lua
("hello"):len() -- returns 5
#"" -- returns 0

see #Find

// Example in C#
"Wiki means fast?".ToLower();        // "wiki means fast?"

; Example in Scheme
(use-modules (srfi srfi-13))
(string-downcase "Wiki means fast?") ;  "wiki means fast?"

/* Example in C */
#include <ctype.h>
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {
    char string[] = "Wiki means fast?";
    int i;
    for (i = 0; i < sizeof(string) - 1; ++i) {
        /* transform characters in place, one by one */
        string[i] = tolower(string[i]);
    }
    puts(string);                       /* "wiki means fast?" */
    return 0;
}

# Example in Raku
"Wiki means fast?".lc;             # "wiki means fast?"

see #substring

# Examples in Python
"Spam eggs spam spam and ham".partition('spam')   # ('Spam eggs ', 'spam', ' spam and ham')
"Spam eggs spam spam and ham".partition('X')      # ('Spam eggs spam spam and ham', "", "")

# Examples in Perl 5 / Raku
split /(spam)/, 'Spam eggs spam spam and ham' ,2;   # ('Spam eggs ', 'spam', ' spam and ham');
split /(X)/, 'Spam eggs spam spam and ham' ,2;      # ('Spam eggs spam spam and ham');

// Examples in C#
"effffff".Replace("f", "jump");     // returns "ejumpjumpjumpjumpjumpjump"
"blah".Replace("z", "y");           // returns "blah"

// Examples in Java
"effffff".replace("f", "jump");     // returns "ejumpjumpjumpjumpjumpjump"
"effffff".replaceAll("f*", "jump"); // returns "ejump"

// Examples in Raku
"effffff".subst("f", "jump", :g);    # returns "ejumpjumpjumpjumpjumpjump"
"blah".subst("z", "y", :g);          # returns "blah"

' Examples in Visual Basic
Replace("effffff", "f", "jump")     '  returns "ejumpjumpjumpjumpjumpjump"
Replace("blah", "z", "y")           '  returns "blah"

# Examples in Windows PowerShell
"effffff" -replace "f", "jump"      #  returns "ejumpjumpjumpjumpjumpjump"
"effffff" -replace "f*", "jump"     #  returns "ejump"

" Example in Smalltalk "
'hello' reversed             " returns 'olleh' "

# Example in Perl 5
reverse "hello"              # returns "olleh"

# Example in Raku
"hello".flip                 # returns "olleh"

# Example in Python
"hello"[::-1]                # returns "olleh"

; Example in Scheme
(use-modules (srfi srfi-13))
(string-reverse "hello")     ; returns "olleh"

; Examples in Common Lisp
(search "e" "Hello mate" :from-end t)     ;  returns 9
(search "z" "word" :from-end t)           ;  returns NIL

// Examples in C#
"Hello mate".LastIndexOf("e");           // returns 9
"Hello mate".LastIndexOf("e", 4);        // returns 1
"word".LastIndexOf("z");                 // returns -1

# Examples in Perl 5
rindex("Hello mate", "e");               # returns 9
rindex("Hello mate", "e", 4);            # returns 1
rindex("word", "z");                     # returns -1

# Examples in Raku
"Hello mate".rindex("e");                # returns 9
"Hello mate".rindex("e", 4);             # returns 1
"word".rindex('z');                      # returns Nil

' Examples in Visual Basic
InStrRev("Hello mate", "e")              '  returns 10
InStrRev(5, "Hello mate", "e")           '  returns 2
InStrRev("word", "z")                    '  returns 0

// Examples in Java; extract rightmost 4 characters
String str = "CarDoor";
str.substring(str.length()-4); // returns 'Door'

# Examples in Raku
"abcde".substr(*-3);          # returns "cde"
"abcde".substr(*-8);          # 'out of range' error

/* Examples in Rexx */
right("abcde", 3)              /* returns "cde"      */
right("abcde", 8)              /* returns "   abcde" */
right("abcde", 8, "*")         /* returns "***abcde" */

; Examples in Scheme
(use-modules (srfi srfi-13))
(string-take-right "abcde", 3) ;  returns "cde"
(string-take-right "abcde", 8) ;  error

' Examples in Visual Basic
Right("sandroguidi", 3)        '  returns "idi"
Right("sandroguidi", 100)      '  returns "sandroguidi"

# Examples in Python
"Spam eggs spam spam and ham".rpartition('spam')  ### ('Spam eggs spam ', 'spam', ' and ham')
"Spam eggs spam spam and ham".rpartition('X')     ### ("", "", 'Spam eggs spam spam and ham')

see #substring

// Example in C#
"abc,defgh,ijk".Split(',');                 // {"abc", "defgh", "ijk"}
"abc,defgh;ijk".Split(',', ';');            // {"abc", "defgh", "ijk"}

% Example in Erlang
string:tokens("abc;defgh;ijk", ";").        %  ["abc", "defgh", "ijk"]

// Examples in Java
"abc,defgh,ijk".split(",");                 // {"abc", "defgh", "ijk"}
"abc,defgh;ijk".split(",|;");               // {"abc", "defgh", "ijk"}

{ Example in Pascal }
var
  lStrings: TStringList;
  lStr: string;
begin
  lStrings := TStringList.Create;
  lStrings.Delimiter := ',';
  lStrings.DelimitedText := 'abc,defgh,ijk';
  lStr := lStrings.Strings[0]; // 'abc'
  lStr := lStrings.Strings[1]; // 'defgh'
  lStr := lStrings.Strings[2]; // 'ijk'
end;

# Examples in Perl 5
split(/spam/, 'Spam eggs spam spam and ham'); # ('Spam eggs ', ' ', ' and ham')
split(/X/, 'Spam eggs spam spam and ham');    # ('Spam eggs spam spam and ham')

# Examples in Raku
'Spam eggs spam spam and ham'.split(/spam/);  # (Spam eggs     and ham)
split(/X/, 'Spam eggs spam spam and ham');    # (Spam eggs spam spam and ham)

see #Format

see #trim

see #Compare (integer result)