String data type

Value range of the String data type

FIRSTspirit makes the data type String available for editing values which represent a fixed or variable length text. A string contains a character string consisting of a sequence of characters (e.g. letters, digits, special characters and control characters) from a defined character set. The order of the characters is defined by the character chain. All characters can be repeated within a character chain as many times as required.

The data type string can also be looked up in the Sun API documentation:

java.lang.String

Definition

In FIRSTspirit, when a string is defined a string object in the class java.lang.String is generated.

$CMS_SET(myString, "That is a text.")$

Definition using the standard input components

Within the <CMS_INPUT_LIST> tags in the form area of a page or section template, input components are defined which can be subsequently used by the editors to insert the actual editorial contents into the page. The standard input components supported by FIRSTspirit return different data types.

The following standard input components return an object of data type string :

• CMS_INPUT_TEXT
• CMS_INPUT_TEXTAREA

With the help of a $CMS_VALUE(...)$ instruction, methods can then be applied to this object:

$CMS_VALUE(IDENTIFIER.METHOD)$

Methods on string objects

The table below lists all methods which can be invoked on objects of data type string . Detailed information on the methods is given in the Methods Chapter.

The object is generated by the following form objects:
CMS_INPUT_TEXT
CMS_INPUT_TEXTAREA
FS_SITESTORE_VARIABLE_VALUE
CMS_INPUT_MULTIPLEMEDIACHOOSER

Method name	Return type	Brief description	Available since
charAt(int)	char
charAt(Number)	char		3.1
chars	Iterator		4.2.14
codePointAt(int)	int
codePointBefore(int)	int
codePointCount(int, int)	int
compareTo(String)	int
compareTo(Comparable)	int
compareTo(CharSequence)	int
compareTo(Object)	int
compareToIgnoreCase(String)	int
concat(String)	String
contains(String)	boolean	Checks whether a sub-character string is contained within the character string	3.1
contains(CharSequence)	boolean
contentEquals(StringBuffer)	boolean
contentEquals(CharSequence)	boolean
convert	String	Convert special characters into HTML characters (convert)	3.1
convert(String)	CharSequence	applies the specified convertion table	4.0.53
convert2	String	Convert special characters into HTML characters (convert + quote)	3.1
convert2(String)	CharSequence	applies the specified convertion table in 'quote' mode	4.0.53
copyValueOf(char[])	String
copyValueOf(char[], int, int)	String
encode	String	Returns an encoded representation of a string that follows the rules for HTML id-attributes.	4.2.14
endsWith(String)	boolean
equals(String)	boolean	Checks whether two character strings are identical
equals(Option)	boolean
equals(CharSequence)	boolean
equals(Object)	boolean
equalsIgnoreCase(String)	boolean	Checks whether two character strings are identical
format(String, Object[])	String
format(Locale, String, Object[])	String
get(Range)	String		4.0
get(Number)	String		4.0
getBytes	byte[]
getBytes(Charset)	byte[]
getBytes(String)	byte[]
getChars(int, int, char[], int)	void
getClass	Class	Class of the invoking object
getExtension	String	Returns the file extension, e.g. 'txt' for 'info.txt'. The empty string is returned if the text contains no dot.	4.2.34
hashCode	int
indexOf(int)	int
indexOf(String)	int	First occurrence of a sub-character string
indexOf(int, int)	int
indexOf(String, int)	int
intern	String
isCase(String)	boolean
isCase(Option)	boolean
isCase(CharSequence)	boolean
isCase(Object)	boolean
isEmpty	boolean	Checks whether an expression is empty
isLower	boolean	Test if a string contains all lower case letters.	4.2.14
isNull	boolean	Checks whether an expression is null (zero)
isUpper	boolean	Test if a string contains all upper case letters.	4.2.14
iterator	Iterator
lastIndexOf(int)	int
lastIndexOf(String)	int	Last occurrence of a sub-character string
lastIndexOf(int, int)	int
lastIndexOf(String, int)	int
length	int
lowerCase	String	Convert character string into lower case letters	3.1
matches(String)	boolean
notify	void
notifyAll	void
offsetByCodePoints(int, int)	int
parse	TemplateDocument		4.0
parseExpression	Expression		4.0
plain	PlainString	Creates a PlainString instance for the given string.	4.2.436
plus(Printable)	String		4.0
print	void
quoteJS	String	quote as JavaScript source (' -> \', " -> \", CR -> \n)	4.0.54
regionMatches(int, String, int, int)	boolean
regionMatches(boolean, int, String, int, int)	boolean
replace(char, char)	String
replace(CharSequence, CharSequence)	String
replaceAll(String, String)	String
replaceFirst(String, String)	String
sentences	Iterator		4.0.0
set(String, Object)	Object
set(Number, CharSequence)	String		4.0
split(String)	String[]		4.0
split(String, int)	String[]
split(String, Number)	String[]		4.0
startsWith(String)	boolean
startsWith(String, int)	boolean
subSequence(int, int)	CharSequence
subString(Number)	String	Output sub-character string
subString(int, int)	String		3.1
subString(Number, Number)	String	Output sub-character string
substring(int)	String	Output sub-character string
substring(Number)	String	Output sub-character string	3.1
substring(int, int)	String	Output sub-character string	3.1
substring(Number, Number)	String	Output sub-character string	3.1
toCharArray	char[]
toDate(String)	Date		4.0
toJson	String	Convert to JSON string representtion (only handles Maps, Collections, Arrays, Numbers, and Strings)	4.2.14
toLowerCase	String	Convert character string into lower case letters
toLowerCase(Locale)	String
toNumber	Number	Convert character string into a number	3.1
toString	String
toUpperCase	String	Convert character string into upper case letters
toUpperCase(Locale)	String
trim	String	Removing whitespaces
type	String
upperCase	String	Convert character string into upper case letters	3.1
urlEncode	String	Convert special characters into ASCII character sequences	4.0.0
urlEncode(String)	String	Convert special characters into ASCII character sequences	4.0.0
valueOf(long)	String
valueOf(int)	String
valueOf(float)	String
valueOf(double)	String
valueOf(char)	String
valueOf(boolean)	String
valueOf(char[])	String
valueOf(Object)	String
valueOf(char[], int, int)	String
wait	void
wait(long)	void
wait(long, int)	void
words	Iterator		4.0.0

charAt(int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
charAt(int)	char

charAt(Number)

Method name	Return type	Available since
charAt(Number)	char	3.1

chars

Method name	Return type	Available since
chars	Iterator	4.2.14

codePointAt(int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
codePointAt(int)	int

codePointBefore(int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
codePointBefore(int)	int

codePointCount(int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
codePointCount(int, int)	int

compareTo(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
compareTo(String)	int

compareTo(Comparable)

Method name	Return type	Available since
compareTo(Comparable)	int

compareTo(CharSequence)

Method name	Return type	Available since
compareTo(CharSequence)	int

compareTo(Object)

Method name	Return type	Available since
compareTo(Object)	int

compareToIgnoreCase(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
compareToIgnoreCase(String)	int

concat(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
concat(String)	String

contains(String)

The .contains(String) (in Bean syntax: .contains(String)) method returns true if the transferred sub-string is found in the character string at least once or false if the sub-string is not found (cf. java.lang.String). It is case sensitive, i.e. a differentiation is made between upper and lower case letters.

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.contains("ein"))$

Output:

true

Method name	Return type	Available since
contains(String)	boolean	3.1

contains(CharSequence)

Method name	Return type	Available since
contains(CharSequence)	boolean

contentEquals(StringBuffer)

Method name	Return type	Available since
contentEquals(StringBuffer)	boolean

contentEquals(CharSequence)

Method name	Return type	Available since
contentEquals(CharSequence)	boolean

convert

The .convert() (in Bean syntax: .convert) converts special characters contained in a character string into HTML characters for the output. When using .convert() the conversion rules in the convert area of the selected conversion rule of the presentation channel are used.

Method name	Return type	Available since
convert	String	3.1

convert(String)

applies the specified convertion table

Method name	Return type	Available since
convert(String)	CharSequence	4.0.53

convert2

The .convert2() (in Bean syntax: .convert2) converts special characters contained in a character string into HTML characters for the output. When using .convert2() the conversion rules in the convert and quote area of the selected conversion rule of the presentation channel are used.

Method name	Return type	Available since
convert2	String	3.1

convert2(String)

applies the specified convertion table in 'quote' mode

Method name	Return type	Available since
convert2(String)	CharSequence	4.0.53

copyValueOf(char[])

Method name	Return type	Available since
copyValueOf(char[])	String

copyValueOf(char[], int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
copyValueOf(char[], int, int)	String

encode

Returns an encoded representation of a string that follows the rules for HTML id-attributes.

Method name	Return type	Available since
encode	String	4.2.14

endsWith(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
endsWith(String)	boolean

equals(String)

The .equals(String) (in Bean syntax: .equals(String)) method checks whether a string is the same as a transferred string (cf. java.lang.String). It is case sensitive, i.e. a differentiation is made between upper and lower case letters.

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.equals("Das ist ein String."))$

Output:

true

Method name	Return type	Available since
equals(String)	boolean

equals(Option)

Method name	Return type	Available since
equals(Option)	boolean

equals(CharSequence)

Method name	Return type	Available since
equals(CharSequence)	boolean

equals(Object)

Method name	Return type	Available since
equals(Object)	boolean

equalsIgnoreCase(String)

The .equalsIgnoreCase(String) (in Bean syntax: .equalsIgnoreCase(String)) method checks whether a string is the same as a transferred string (cf. java.lang.String). There is no - unlike the .equals(String) method - case sensitivity, i.e. there is no differentiation between upper and lower case letters.

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "DAS ist EIN String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.equals("Das ist ein String."))$

Output:

true

Method name	Return type	Available since
equalsIgnoreCase(String)	boolean

format(String, Object[])

Method name	Return type	Available since
format(String, Object[])	String

format(Locale, String, Object[])

Method name	Return type	Available since
format(Locale, String, Object[])	String

get(Range)

Method name	Return type	Available since
get(Range)	String	4.0

get(Number)

Method name	Return type	Available since
get(Number)	String	4.0

getBytes

Method name	Return type	Available since
getBytes	byte[]

getBytes(Charset)

Method name	Return type	Available since
getBytes(Charset)	byte[]

getBytes(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
getBytes(String)	byte[]

getChars(int, int, char[], int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
getChars(int, int, char[], int)	void

getClass

The .getClass() (in Bean syntax: .class) method returns the class of the invoking object (cf. java.lang.Class).

Invocation:

$CMS_VALUE(myString.class)$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.getClass())$

Output:

java.lang.String

Method name	Return type	Available since
getClass	Class

getExtension

Returns the file extension, e.g. 'txt' for 'info.txt'. The empty string is returned if the text contains no dot.

Method name	Return type	Available since
getExtension	String	4.2.34

hashCode

Method name	Return type	Available since
hashCode	int

indexOf(int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
indexOf(int)	int

indexOf(String)

The .indexOf(String) (in Bean syntax: .indexOf(String)) method returns an index of the character string at which the first character of a sub-string is found or -1 if the transferred sub-string is not found in the character string (cf. java.lang.String). It is case sensitive, i.e. a differentiation is made between upper and lower case letters.

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.indexOf("ein")$

Output:

8

Method name	Return type	Available since
indexOf(String)	int

indexOf(int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
indexOf(int, int)	int

indexOf(String, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
indexOf(String, int)	int

intern

Method name	Return type	Available since
intern	String

isCase(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
isCase(String)	boolean

isCase(Option)

Method name	Return type	Available since
isCase(Option)	boolean

isCase(CharSequence)

Method name	Return type	Available since
isCase(CharSequence)	boolean

isCase(Object)

Method name	Return type	Available since
isCase(Object)	boolean

isEmpty

The .isEmpty() (in Bean syntax: .isEmpty) method checks whether an expression or object is empty, e.g. storeElement.isEmpty(). The result of the semantic check depends on the expression or object, e.g. a character string is empty if it does not contain any characters. In the case of objects with complex values or objects, the object decides when it is empty. The data type DomElement for example always contains an empty document, thus it is never null. For this reason, checking an empty DOM editor input component by using the method .isNull() returns the value false, whereas checking the component with .isEmpty() would return the value true.

The method .isEmpty() returns a Boolean value as the check result. true is the check result if the expression or object is empty and false if not.

Method name	Return type	Available since
isEmpty	boolean

isLower

Test if a string contains all lower case letters.

Method name	Return type	Available since
isLower	boolean	4.2.14

isNull

The .isNull() (in Bean syntax: .isNull) method checks whether an expression or object is null , e.g. storeElement.isNull(). In the case of objects with complex values or objects, the object decides when it is null. The data type DomElement for example always contains an empty document, thus it is never null. For this reason, checking an empty DOM editor input component by using the method .isNull() returns the value false, whereas checking the component with .isEmpty() would return the value true.

The method .isNull() returns a Boolean value as the check result. true is the check result if the expression or object is null and false if not.

Method name	Return type	Available since
isNull	boolean

isUpper

Test if a string contains all upper case letters.

Method name	Return type	Available since
isUpper	boolean	4.2.14

iterator

Method name	Return type	Available since
iterator	Iterator

lastIndexOf(int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
lastIndexOf(int)	int

lastIndexOf(String)

The .lastIndexOf(String) (in Bean syntax: .lastIndexOf(String)) method returns an index of the character string at which the first character of a sub-string is found or -1 if the transferred sub-string is not found in the character string (cf. java.lang.String). It is case sensitive, i.e. a differentiation is made between upper and lower case letters.

Unlike the .indexOf(String) method the index of the last and not the first occurrence is returned.

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.lastIndexOf("ein")$

Output:

8

Method name	Return type	Available since
lastIndexOf(String)	int

lastIndexOf(int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
lastIndexOf(int, int)	int

lastIndexOf(String, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
lastIndexOf(String, int)	int

length

Method name	Return type	Available since
length	int

lowerCase

The .lowerCase() (in Bean syntax: .lowerCase) method converts all characters in the character string into lower case letters (cf. java.lang.String).

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.lowerCase)$

Output:

that is a string.

Method name	Return type	Available since
lowerCase	String	3.1

matches(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
matches(String)	boolean

notify

Method name	Return type	Available since
notify	void

notifyAll

Method name	Return type	Available since
notifyAll	void

offsetByCodePoints(int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
offsetByCodePoints(int, int)	int

parse

Method name	Return type	Available since
parse	TemplateDocument	4.0

parseExpression

Method name	Return type	Available since
parseExpression	Expression	4.0

plain

Creates a PlainString instance for the given string.

Method name	Return type	Available since
plain	PlainString	4.2.436

plus(Printable)

Method name	Return type	Available since
plus(Printable)	String	4.0

print

Method name	Return type	Available since
print	void

quoteJS

quote as JavaScript source (' -> \', " -> \", CR -> \n)

Method name	Return type	Available since
quoteJS	String	4.0.54

regionMatches(int, String, int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
regionMatches(int, String, int, int)	boolean

regionMatches(boolean, int, String, int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
regionMatches(boolean, int, String, int, int)	boolean

replace(char, char)

Method name	Return type	Available since
replace(char, char)	String

replace(CharSequence, CharSequence)

Method name	Return type	Available since
replace(CharSequence, CharSequence)	String

replaceAll(String, String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
replaceAll(String, String)	String

replaceFirst(String, String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
replaceFirst(String, String)	String

sentences

Method name	Return type	Available since
sentences	Iterator	4.0.0

set(String, Object)

Method name	Return type	Available since
set(String, Object)	Object

set(Number, CharSequence)

Method name	Return type	Available since
set(Number, CharSequence)	String	4.0

split(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
split(String)	String[]	4.0

split(String, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
split(String, int)	String[]

split(String, Number)

Method name	Return type	Available since
split(String, Number)	String[]	4.0

startsWith(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
startsWith(String)	boolean

startsWith(String, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
startsWith(String, int)	boolean

subSequence(int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
subSequence(int, int)	CharSequence

subString(Number)

The .subString(Number) (in Bean syntax: .subString(Number)) outputs a sub-character string (cf. java.lang.String). The transferred number specified from which character the output should start (= first character).

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.subString(1)$

Output:

as ist ein String.

Method name	Return type	Available since
subString(Number)	String

subString(int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
subString(int, int)	String	3.1

subString(Number, Number)

The .subString(Number, Number) (in Bean syntax: .subString(Number, Number)) method outputs a sub-character string (cf. java.lang.String). The first transferred number specifies from which character (first character) and the second number up to which character (last character) the character string is to be output.

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.subString(1, 12)$

Output:

as ist ein

Method name	Return type	Available since
subString(Number, Number)	String

substring(int)

The .substring(int) (in Bean syntax: .substring(int)) method outputs a sub-character string (cf. java.lang.String). The transferred number specified from which character the output should start (= first character).

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.substring(1)$

Output:

as ist ein String.

Method name	Return type	Available since
substring(int)	String

substring(Number)

The .substring(Number) (in Bean syntax: .substring(Number)) outputs a sub-character string (cf. java.lang.String). The transferred number specified from which character the output should start (= first character).

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.substring(1)$

Output:

as ist ein String.

Method name	Return type	Available since
substring(Number)	String	3.1

substring(int, int)

The .substring(int, int) (in Bean syntax: .substring(int, int)) method outputs a sub-character string (cf. java.lang.String). The first transferred number specifies from which character (first character) and the second number up to which character (last character) the character string is to be output.

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.substring(1, 12)$

Output:

as ist ein

Method name	Return type	Available since
substring(int, int)	String	3.1

substring(Number, Number)

The .substring(Number, Number) (in Bean syntax: .substring(Number, Number)) method outputs a sub-character string (cf. java.lang.String). The first transferred number specifies from which character (first character) and the second number up to which character (last character) the character string is to be output.

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.substring(1, 12)$

Output:

as ist ein

Method name	Return type	Available since
substring(Number, Number)	String	3.1

toCharArray

Method name	Return type	Available since
toCharArray	char[]

toDate(String)

Method name	Return type	Available since
toDate(String)	Date	4.0

toJson

Convert to JSON string representtion (only handles Maps, Collections, Arrays, Numbers, and Strings)

Method name	Return type	Available since
toJson	String	4.2.14

toLowerCase

The .toLowerCase() (in Bean syntax: .toLowerCase) method converts all characters in the character string into lower case letters (cf. java.lang.String).

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.toLowerCase())$

Output:

that is a string.

Method name	Return type	Available since
toLowerCase	String

toLowerCase(Locale)

Method name	Return type	Available since
toLowerCase(Locale)	String

toNumber

The .toNumber() (in Bean syntax: .toNumber) method converts the data type string (character string) into the data type Number (cf. java.lang.String). This is only possible if the character chain consists of digits.

Invocation:

$CMS_VALUE("5".toNumber())$

Output:

5

Method name	Return type	Available since
toNumber	Number	3.1

toString

Method name	Return type	Available since
toString	String

toUpperCase

The .toUpperCase() (in Bean syntax: .toUpperCase) method converts all characters in the character string into upper case letters (cf. java.lang.String).

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.toUpperCase())$

Output:

THAT IS A STRING.

Method name	Return type	Available since
toUpperCase	String

toUpperCase(Locale)

Method name	Return type	Available since
toUpperCase(Locale)	String

trim

The .trim() (in Bean syntax: .trim) method removes whitespaces at the beginning and at the end of the character string (cf. java.lang.String).

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "\tDas ist ein String.\n")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.trim())$

Output:

That is a string.

Method name	Return type	Available since
trim	String

type

Method name	Return type	Available since
type	String

upperCase

The .upperCase() (in Bean syntax: .upperCase()) method converts all characters in the character string into upper case letters (cf. java.lang.String).

Invocation:

$CMS_SET(myString, "Das ist ein String.")$
$CMS_VALUE(myString.upperCase)$

Output:

THAT IS A STRING.

Method name	Return type	Available since
upperCase	String	3.1

urlEncode

The .urlEncode() (in Bean syntax: .urlEncode) method can be used to convert a character string into ASCII character sequences. The conversion is also called encode or encoding. A % symbol followed by two characters is typical for such character sequences. The MIME type for a converted character string is application/x-www-form-urlencoded.

The following characters are not taken into account in the conversion:

A-Z  a-z 0-9 - _ . ! ~ * ' ( ), / ? : @ & = + $

The following encoding is used for the conversion: UTF-8.

The invocation:

$CMS_VALUE("Diese Zeichenkette enthält Sonderzeichen".urlEncode)$

results in the converted character string:

Diese+Zeichenkette+enth%C3%A4lt+Sonderzeichen

Method name	Return type	Available since
urlEncode	String	4.0.0

urlEncode(String)

The .urlEncode() (in Bean syntax: .urlEncode) method can be used to convert a character string into ASCII character sequences. The conversion is also called encode or encoding. A % symbol followed by two characters is typical for such character sequences. The MIME type for a converted character string is application/x-www-form-urlencoded.

The following characters are not taken into account in the conversion:

A-Z  a-z 0-9 - _ . ! ~ * ' ( ), / ? : @ & = + $

The transferred encoding is used for the conversion, e.g. "UTF-8" or "ISO-8859-1".

The invocation:

$CMS_VALUE("Diese Zeichenkette enthält Sonderzeichen".urlEncode)$

results in the converted character string:

Diese+Zeichenkette+enth%C3%A4lt+Sonderzeichen

Method name	Return type	Available since
urlEncode(String)	String	4.0.0

valueOf(long)

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(long)	String

valueOf(int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(int)	String

valueOf(float)

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(float)	String

valueOf(double)

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(double)	String

valueOf(char)

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(char)	String

valueOf(boolean)

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(boolean)	String

valueOf(char[])

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(char[])	String

valueOf(Object)

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(Object)	String

valueOf(char[], int, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
valueOf(char[], int, int)	String

wait

Method name	Return type	Available since
wait	void

wait(long)

Method name	Return type	Available since
wait(long)	void

wait(long, int)

Method name	Return type	Available since
wait(long, int)	void

words

Method name	Return type	Available since
words	Iterator	4.0.0