string.find
From GMod Wiki
| Function | |
| Syntax |
string.find( String string, String pattern[, Number startindex, Boolean plain] ) Where is this used? |
| Description: | |
| Returns the start and end positions of the first occurance of pattern starting at startindex till the end of the string, if startindex is not given then it will do from 1 to the end of the string. nil is returned if the pattern cannot be found. | |
| Returns: | Integer , Integer |
| Part of Library: | String |
| Realm: |
 |
| BBCode Link: | [b][url=http://wiki.garrysmod.com/?title=String.find]String.find [img]http://wiki.garrysmod.com/favicon.ico[/img][/url][/b] |
Examples
| Description | We'll use this to find the word tea in a message. |
|---|---|
| Used on | |
| Code | -- The word "tea" starts at the 13th character in this string. --This prints 13, because tea starts at character 13. Msg(string.find("Do you want tea for breakfast?","tea")) |
| Output | 13 is printed in the console |
| Description | Make use of startindex (3rd argument) to start at the 10th index |
|---|---|
| Used on | |
| Code | Msg(string.find("cake can be good, some cake is not", "cake")) --this will output 1 Msg(string.find("cake can be good, some cake is not", "cake", 5)) --this will output 24 |
| Output | 1 is printed within the console, then 24 is, showing that if we start at a certain point (i.e. 5) it will skip all letters before that point. |
| Description | Find a period in a string. |
|---|---|
| Used on | |
| Code | print(string.find("Hello. How are you?", ".")) --this will output 1, in patterns, a period(.) means "match any single character" (you can escape all special chars using "%") print(string.find("Hello. How are you?", "%.")) --this will output 6 as it now correctly found the period print(string.find("Hello. How are you?", ".",1,true)) --this will also output 6 |
| Output | 1 is printed within the console, then 6 is, showing how to correctly use "%" to escape special characters, then another 6, showing how to do that with the "plain" argument. The later two ways will also work to find "(" which normally initiates a capturing sub-pattern. |
Additional Notes
- A complex search can be used for the pattern argument such as a regular pattern (patterns tutorial). If the plain argument is true then regular patterns are disabled and plain text is used. It returns nil if it cannot find the pattern.
- Returns nil if the word to search for wasn't found.
