format

[eddier]

Lutz,



I've found use on several occasions to have an optional list of variables or values in format.



For instance, suppose L = ("bob" "this" "that" 3 2 10 "a" 96 "----" 456). We could write

Code Select Expand


(println (format "%s,%d,%s,%dn" (select L 0 4 1 7)))


vs

Code Select Expand


(println (format "%s,%d,%s,%dn" (L 0) (L 4) (L 1) (L 7))))


Implicit indexing helps, but selecting from a list would be nicer.



Eddie

[Sammo]

> (define (myformat str) (apply format (cons str (flat (args)))))

(lambda (str) (apply format (cons str (flat (args)))))



> (myformat "%s,%d,%s,%dn" (select L 0 4 1 7))

"bob,2,this,96n"

[eddier]

Thanks Sammo!



Works like a charm :)  I didn't know I could use "apply" on functions with a variable number of arguments without defining a lambda or helper function. I can use this knowlege to make more elegant solutions for a lot of other functions as well :)



Eddie