string
Obtains a textual representation of an object.
Syntax
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string(X)-
Xis any object
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Description
If X is any object, then string(X) returns a textual representation of X. Typically, the format is optimised for maximum precision and high compatibility with external parsers. However, if X is an object that has no natural textual representation (e.g. a pixmap or an audio clip), string(X) might return a textual summary instead.
In general:
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A full stop is used as decimal separator.
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The - (U+002D: HYPHEN-MINUS) character is used as minus sign.
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For exponential notation,
Eis used.
Specifically:
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Integers are presented with no formatting (e.g. digit separators):
6820411818913
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Rational numbers are written “p/q” where each part is formatted as an integer:
52/73
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Real numbers are written with the maximum possible number of significant digits Exponential notation might be used.
3.14159265358979324
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Complex numbers are written “x + y⋅i” if both the real and imaginary parts are non-zero.
1.06127506190503565 + 0.666239432492515255⋅i
3.14159265358979324⋅i
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Booleans are written as
trueorfalse. -
Strings are represented exactly “as is”; no characters or sequences are escaped.
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The components of a vector are separated by newlines:
4.1 2.6 5
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The rows of a matrix are separated by newlines; the columns by tabs:
1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
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Lists separate their elements by newlines. Each element is written in its exchange-optimised single-line form:
3.14159265358979324 "alpha↲beta" ((1, 0, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0, 0), (0, 0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 0, 1)) (1, 0, 0)
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Sets are written using set-builder’s notation, with each element in its exchange-optimised single-line form:
{1, 3.14159265358979324, ((1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1)), "alpha↲beta"}
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Colours are written with each component in maximum precision:
rgba(1, 0.843137254901961, 0, 1)
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Pixmaps are merely summarised:
A pixmap of size 800×600.
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Sounds are merely summarised:
A 12.2-second 32-bit 48000 Hz 1-channel sound.
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If
Xis an object of type binary data, then you must use the AsSingleLine function to obtain it as a string of hexadecimal bytes. Thestringfunction will instead interpret the data as a Unicode string.