Expression Editor Functions

String

Contains

Returns a boolean value which is true if the string in brackets is in the base string and false if it is not.

Syntax: [baseString].Contains([referenceString]) myStringVariable.Contains("Some Words") myStringVariable.Contains(anotherStringVariable) ("Some Words").Contains("Words")

Note:

This check is case sensitive so ("Some Words").Contains("Words") will return true while ("Some Words").Contains("words") will return false.

EndsWith

Returns a boolean value which is true if the string in brackets is at the end of the base string and false if it is not.

Syntax:

[baseString].EndsWith([referenceString])

Examples:

myStringVariable.EndsWith("Some Words")

myStringVariable.EndsWith(anotherStringVariable)

("Some Words").EndsWith(myStringVariable)

("Some Words").EndsWith("Words")

Note:

This check is case sensitive so ("Some Words").EndsWith("Words") will return true while ("Some Words").EndsWith("words") will return false.

FormatWith

Returns a string where the format items ({0}, {1}, etc.) are replaced with string representations of the corresponding parameters.

Syntax:

[baseString].FormatWith([(params) parameterArray])

Examples:

myStringVariable.FormatWith(Boolean1, "5")

"{0} is {1} years old".FormatWith(String1, Integer1)

IndexOf

Returns the character index of the first occurrence of a reference string inside a base string. If the reference string is not in the base string then -1 is returned.

If a start index is specified, all occurrences of the reference string before that index will be ignored.

Syntax:

[baseString].IndexOf([referenceString], [(optional) startIndex])

Examples:

myStringVariable.IndexOf("Some Words")

myStringVariable.IndexOf(anotherStringVariable)

("Some Words").IndexOf(myStringVariable)

("Some Words").IndexOf("Words")

myStringVariable.IndexOf("Some Words", 3)

myStringVariable.IndexOf(anotherStringVariable, 10)

("Some Words").IndexOf(myStringVariable, 5)

("Some Words").IndexOf("Words", 4)

Note:

This check is case sensitive so ("Some Words").IndexOf("Words") will return 5 while ("Some Words").Contains("words") will return -1.

Insert

Returns a new string which is equal to the base string with the reference string inserted at the specified index.

Syntax:

[baseString].Insert([startIndex], [referenceString])

Examples:

myStringVariable.Insert(2, "Some Words")

myStringVariable.Insert(5, anotherStringVariable)

("Some Words").Insert(3, myStringVariable)

("Some Words").Insert(2, "Words")

Note:

If the specified start index is less than 0 or more than the length of the base string then an exception will be thrown, so ("Some Words").Insert(4, "WORDS") will return “Some WORDS Words” while ("Some Words").Insert(20, "WORDS") will throw an exception.

LastIndexOf

Returns the character index of the last occurrence of a reference string inside a base string. If the reference string is not in the base string then -1 is returned.

If a start index is specified, all occurrences of the reference string after that index will be ignored.

Syntax:

[baseString].LastIndexOf([referenceString], [(optional) startIndex])

Examples:

myStringVariable.LastIndexOf("Some Words")

myStringVariable.LastIndexOf(anotherStringVariable)

("Some Words").LastIndexOf(myStringVariable)

("Some Words").LastIndexOf("Words")

myStringVariable.LastIndexOf("Some Words", 3)

myStringVariable.LastIndexOf(anotherStringVariable, 10)

("Some Words").LastIndexOf(myStringVariable, 5)

("Some Words").LastIndexOf("Words", 4)

Note:

This check is case sensitive so ("Some Words").LastIndexOf("Words") will return 5 while ("Some Words").LastIndexOf("words") will return -1.

Length

Returns an integer value of the number of characters in the preceding string.

Syntax:

[baseString].Length

Examples:

myStringVariable.Length

("Some Words").Length

Note:

Spaces are counted as characters so ("Some Words").Length will return 10.

PadLeft

Returns a new string which is equal to the base string padded with spaces at its start. If a pad character is specified, then it will be used for the padding instead of a space.

Syntax:

[baseString].PadLeft([width], [(optional) padCharacter])

Examples:

myStringVariable.PadLeft(2)

myStringVariable.PadLeft(2, 'a')

PadRight

Returns a new string which is equal to the base string padded with spaces at its end. If a pad character is specified, then it will be used for the padding instead of a space.

Syntax:

[baseString].PadRight([width], [(optional) padCharacter])

Examples:

myStringVariable.PadRight(2)

myStringVariable.PadRight(2, 'a')

Remove

Returns a new string which is equal to the base string with all characters past the specified start index removed. If a count is specified then only that many characters are removed.

Syntax:

[baseString].Remove([startIndex], [(optional) count])

Examples:

myStringVariable.Remove(2)

myStringVariable.Remove(2, 2)

("Some Words").Remove(2)

("Some Words").Remove(2, 4)

Note:

If the specified start index is smaller than 0 or bigger than the length of the base string or the count added to the start index is beyond the length of the base string, then an exception will be thrown.

Replace

Returns a new string which is equal to the base string with all occurrences of a specified original string inside the base string being replaced with the specified new string.

Syntax:

[baseString].Replace([originalString], [newString])

Examples:

myStringVariable.Replace(anotherStringVariable, someOtherStringVariable)

myStringVariable.Replace(anotherStringVariable, "Words")

("Some Words").Replace("Words", someOtherStringVariable)

("Some Words").Replace("Words", "words")

Note:

This operation is case sensitive so ("Some Words").Replace("Words", "word") will return “Some word” while ("Some Words").Replace("words", "word") will return “Some Words”.

Split

Returns a list of strings which contains the base string split up on each space character. If a character is specified, then the string will be split on that character instead of on space.

Syntax:

[baseString].Split([(optional) character])

Examples:

myStringVariable.Split()

myStringVariable.Split('$')

("Some Words").Split()

("Some Words").Split('W')

StartsWith

Returns a boolean value which is true if the string in brackets is at the beginning of the preceding string and false if it is not.

Syntax:

[stringToCheck].StartsWith([referenceString])

Examples:

myStringVariable.StartsWith("Some Words")

myStringVariable.StartsWith(anotherStringVariable)

("Some Words").StartsWith(myStringVariable)

("Some Words").StartsWith("Words")

Note:

This check is case sensitive so ("Some Words").StartsWith("Some") will return true while ("Some Words").StartsWith("some") will return false.

SubString

Returns a string which is equal to the base string from a specified index onwards. If a length is specified then only that many characters are taken from the start index onwards.

Syntax:

[baseString].Substring([startIndex], [(optional) length])

Examples:

myStringVariable.Substring(2)

myStringVariable.Substring(2, 4)

("Some Words").Substring(2)

("Some Words").Substring(2, 3)

Note:

If the start index is negative or bigger than the length of the base string, an exception will be thrown.

ToBytes

Converts a string value to a list of byte using the default encoding.

Syntax:

[baseString].ToBytes()

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToBytes()

("10").ToBytes()

ToBytesFromBase64

Converts a base64 string to a list of byte.

Syntax:

[base64String].ToBytesFromBase64()

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToBytesFromBase64()

ToDateTime

Returns a DateTime item using the current string and input format to perform the conversion.

Syntax:

[baseString].ToDateTime(format)

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToDateTime("yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss")

ToDecimal

Converts a string value to a decimal number.

Syntax:

[baseString].ToDecimal()

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToDecimal()

("10.5").ToDecimal()

ToDouble

Converts a string value to a double-precision floating-point number.

Syntax:

[baseString].ToDouble()

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToDouble()

("10.5").ToDouble()

ToInt32

Converts a string value to a 32-bit signed integer.

Syntax:

[baseString].ToInt32()

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToInt32()

("10").ToInt32()

ToInt64

Converts a string value to a 64-bit signed integer.

Syntax:

[baseString].ToInt64()

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToInt64()

("10").ToInt64()

ToLower

Returns a string equal to the base string but all in lower case.

Syntax:

[baseString].ToLower()

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToLower()

("Some Words").ToLower()

ToUpper

Returns a string equal to the base string but all in upper case.

Syntax:

[baseString].ToUpper()

Examples:

myStringVariable.ToUpper()

("Some Words").ToUpper()

Trim

Returns a string equal to the base string with all spaces removed from the beginning and end.

Syntax:

[baseString].Trim()

Examples:

myStringVariable.Trim()

(" Some Words ").Trim()

TrimStart

Returns a string equal to the base string with all spaces removed from the beginning.

Syntax:

[baseString].TrimStart()

Examples:

myStringVariable.TrimStart()

(" Some Words ").TrimStart()

TrimEnd

Returns a string equal to the base string with all spaces removed from the end.

Syntax:

[baseString].TrimEnd()

Examples:

myStringVariable.TrimEnd()

(" Some Words ").TrimEnd()

DateTime

AddDays

Returns a DateTime which is the specified number of days ahead of the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].AddDays([numberOfDays])

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.AddDays(2)

AddHours

Returns a DateTime which is the specified number of hours ahead of the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].AddHours([numberOfHours])

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.AddHours(2)

AddMilliseconds

Returns a DateTime which is the specified number of milliseconds ahead of the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].AddMilliseconds([numberOfMilliseconds])

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.AddMilliseconds(2)

AddMinutes

Returns a DateTime which is the specified number of minutes ahead of the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].AddMinutes([numberOfMinutes])

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.AddMinutes(2)

AddMonths

Returns a DateTime which is the specified number of months ahead of the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].AddMonths([numberOfMonths])

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.AddMonths(2)

AddSeconds

Returns a DateTime which is the specified number of seconds ahead of the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].AddSeconds([numberOfSeconds])

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.AddSeconds(2)

AddYears

Returns a DateTime which is the specified number of years ahead of the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].AddYears([numberOfYears])

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.AddYears(2)

Date

Returns a DateTime with time information stripped off.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].Date

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.Date

Day

Returns an integer value of the day of the month.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].Day

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.Day

DayOfYear

Returns an integer value of the day of the year.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].DayOfYear

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.DayOfYear

Hour

Returns an integer value specifying the hour value captured in the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].Hour

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.Hour

Millisecond

Returns an integer value specifying the millisecond value captured in the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].Millisecond

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.Millisecond

Minute

Returns an integer value specifying the minute value captured in the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].Minute

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.Minute

Month

Returns an integer value specifying the month value captured in the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].Month

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.Month

Second

Returns an integer value specifying the second value captured in the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].Second

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.Second

ToString

Returns a string value of the DateTime variable in the specified format. The format can be any combination of formatting values as shown below.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].ToString([formatString])

Allowed formatting values:

Day d, dd, ddd, dddd 1, 01, Mon, Monday
Month M, MM, MMM, MMMM 1, 01, Jan, January
Year y, yy, yyyy 4, 14,
Hours h, hh, H, HH 1, 01, 13, 13
Minutes m, mm 6, 06
Seconds s, ss 8, 08
Milliseconds f, ff, fff, ffff, fffff, ffffff, fffffff 6, 61, 615, 6157, 61574, 615743, 6157436
AM/PM t, tt A, AM
Era gg A.D.

Time and Date Separators:

, /, –

UTC Offset:

z, zz, zzz +2, +02, +02:00

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.ToString("yyyy-M-d hh:mm tt zz")

Year

Returns an integer value specifying the year value captured in the base DateTime.

Syntax:

[baseDateTime].Year

Examples:

myDateTimeVariable.Year

Decimal

ToDouble

Converts a decimal number to a double-precision floating-point number.

Syntax:

[baseDecimal].ToDouble()

Examples:

myDecimalVariable.ToDouble()

ToInt64

Converts a decimal value to a 64-bit signed integer.

Syntax:

[baseDecimal].ToInt64()

Examples:

myDecimalVariable.ToInt64()

ToString

Converts a decimal value to a string.

Syntax:

[baseDecimal].ToString()

Examples:

myDecimalVariable.ToString()

myDecimalVariable.ToString("0.##") - this will take a decimal value and convert it to a string value with two decimal places (e.g. convert ‘3.1474436’ to ‘3.15’).

Also see the Linx Community for more on this topic.

Double

ToDecimal

Converts a double-precision floating-point number to a decimal number.

Syntax:

[baseDouble].ToDecimal()

Examples:

myDoubleVariable.ToDecimal()

ToInt64

Converts a double value to a 64-bit signed integer.

Syntax:

[baseDouble].ToInt64()

Examples:

myDoubleVariable.ToInt64()

Integer

ToInt32

Converts a 64-bit signed integer to a 32-bit signed integer.

Syntax:

[baseInteger].ToInt32()

Examples:

myIntegerVariable.ToInt32()

List

Any

Determines whether a sequence contains any elements.

Syntax:

[list].Any([(optional) condition])

Examples:

listOfCars.Any()

listOfPeople.Any(person => person.Name == "John")

Average

Computes the average of a sequence of numeric values.

Syntax:

[list].Average([(optional) selector])

Examples:

listOfNumbers.Average()

listOfPeople.Average(person => person.Age)

Count

Returns the number of elements in a sequence.

Syntax:

[list].Count([(optional) condition])

Examples:

listOfCars.Count()

listOfPeople.Count(person => person.Name == "John")

Max

Returns the maximum value in a sequence of values.

Syntax:

[list].Max([(optional) condition])

Examples:

listOfNumbers.Max()

listOfPeople.Max(person => person.Age)

Min

Returns the minimum value in a sequence of values.

Syntax:

[list].Min([(optional) selector])

Examples:

listOfNumbers.Min()

listOfPeople.Min(person => person.Age)

Sum

Computes the sum of a sequence of numeric values.

Syntax:

[list].Sum([(optional) selector])

Examples:

listOfNumbers.Sum()

listOfPeople.Sum(person => person.Age)

List(Byte)

ToBase64

Returns the list of bytes as a Base64 string.

Syntax:

[listOfByte].ToBase64()

Examples:

listOfBytesVariable.ToBase64()

C# classes

C# has many useful classes, for example the Math class. These classes can be used in any of your Linx Expressions.

A #. construct can be used to expose any C# classes found under the System and System.IO namespaces.

Example:

To use the Math.Abs method, type #.System.Math.Abs(MyInteger) into an expression.

Tutorial video

Links

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