REPLACE function in REXX?

[Bob Bridges]

It's getting so I'm automating at least as much in VBA as in REXX, which leads to comical malaprops such as "for jr=1 to 5" in REXX and "nam=strip(nam)" in VBA. There's no cure for that other than paying closer attention, I suppose.

But now I'm writing something in REXX — not an Edit macro — and I want to replace one character string with another. In VBA that'd be the Replace function. For example I have a string "/home/bnt013" and I want to change it to "/home/bnx223", where BNT013 and BNX223 are old and new values. I already have the two strings; in VBA I would write

cmd = Replace(cmd, OldACID, NewACID)

I set out to do the same thing in REXX and came up against a blank; I can't figure out REXX's analogous function. Is there one? I have a hard time believing there isn't; REXX is so powerful in the matter of string handling. I mean, I can write such a function for myself; I just feel I must be missing something obvious.

Feel free to jeer a little; it's probably right in front of my eyes.

---
Bob Bridges
robhb...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313
rbri...@InfoSecInc.com

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[Mickey Bee]

Look into the OVERLAY function. If you can find it, you can change it :)

Mickey

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[Lizette Koehler]

Well, you could ISPF Edit Macro to do this. Use the Regular Expressions from ISPF to allow more flexibility.

Lizette

> -----Original Message-----
> From: TSO REXX Discussion List [mailto:TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Bob Bridges
> Sent: Monday, September 05, 2016 10:21 AM
> To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
> Subject: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?
>

[Styles, Andy , SD EP zPlatform]

There isn't a direct drop in - you have to code one up. I got frustrated with that years ago and wrote my own assembler REXX function :-)

Andy Styles

z/Series Systems Programmer
Original Message
From: Bob Bridges
Sent: Monday, 5 September 2016 18:21
To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
Reply To: TSO REXX Discussion List

Subject: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?

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[Paul Gilmartin]

On 2016-09-05, at 11:26, Mickey Bee wrote:

> Look into the OVERLAY function. If you can find it, you can change it :)
>

If the lengths differ? And there's a funky convention for overlaying
or not overlaying blanks that I choose not to remember. PARSE is a
cumbersome alternative.

> -----Original Message----- From: Bob Bridges
> Sent: Monday, September 05, 2016 1:20 PM
>

> It's getting so I'm automating at least as much in VBA as in REXX, which leads to comical malaprops such as "for jr=1 to 5" in REXX and "nam=strip(nam)" in VBA. There's no cure for that other than paying closer attention, I suppose.
>

For that, I'd use "sed". Or "awk". Mr. Natural sez, Use the right
tool for the job.

And using more languages affords more opportunity for malaprops.
Lately in this list I said "eval" when I meant "INTERPRET".

-- gil

[Anania, Philip D]

In reference to Mr Natural - Flakey Foont would agree. :-)

--

"Go about your Music citizen" - PdotDdot

[Ze'ev Atlas]

There is a changestr functioned defined in Rexx standard but NOT implemented in z/OS
See CountStr and ChangeStr for Classic REXX

|
|
|
| | |

|

|
|
| |
CountStr and ChangeStr for Classic REXX
CountStr and ChangeStr are two functions missing from classic REXX. CountStr counts the non-overlapping instanc... | |

|

|

See ode.xmlgadgets.com/2010/07/25/rexx-strreplace-replace-part-of-a-string-with-new-string/for implementations of that functionality
But my real suggestion is to use regular expressions.  VBA has them!

 Ze'ev Atlas

From: Bob Bridges <robhb...@GMAIL.COM>
To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
Sent: Monday, September 5, 2016 1:20 PM
Subject: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?

[Thom Stone]

I believe Regina Rexx and perhaps Orexx have a chgstr function, but I am not aware of anything for TSO rexx. I wrote this simple doodad for myself in Neview/Tso rexx. Address NetvAsIs is for maintaining case in NetView. I am sure this can be refined a bit. I'll leave that for those with the time and the will.

fromstr=arg(1)
thisstr=arg(2)
tostr=arg(3)
chgs=arg(4)
if tostr==fromstr then
return thisstr
newstr=''
string=thisstr
if chgs='' then
do while chgit()='1'
string=newstr
end
else
do chgs
call chgit
string=newstr
end
if ((newstr='NEWSTR')|(newstr='newstr')|(newstr='')) then
newstr=thisstr
RETURN newstr
/*------------------------------------------------------------------*/
chgit:
ADDRESS NetVAsIs
if pos(fromstr,string)='0' then
return '0'
len=pos(fromstr,string)-1
if len<='0' then
prefix=''
else
prefix=substr(string,1,len)
suffix=''
suffix=substr(string,pos(fromstr,string)+length(fromstr))
newstr=prefix||tostr||suffix
return '1'

-----Original Message-----
From: TSO REXX Discussion List [mailto:TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU] On Behalf Of Bob Bridges
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2016 12:21 PM
To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
Subject: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?

It's getting so I'm automating at least as much in VBA as in REXX, which leads to comical malaprops such as "for jr=1 to 5" in REXX and "nam=strip(nam)" in VBA. There's no cure for that other than paying closer attention, I suppose.

But now I'm writing something in REXX — not an Edit macro — and I want to replace one character string with another. In VBA that'd be the Replace function. For example I have a string "/home/bnt013" and I want to change it to "/home/bnx223", where BNT013 and BNX223 are old and new values. I already have the two strings; in VBA I would write

cmd = Replace(cmd, OldACID, NewACID)

I set out to do the same thing in REXX and came up against a blank; I can't figure out REXX's analogous function. Is there one? I have a hard time believing there isn't; REXX is so powerful in the matter of string handling. I mean, I can write such a function for myself; I just feel I must be missing something obvious.

Feel free to jeer a little; it's probably right in front of my eyes.

---
Bob Bridges
robhb...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313
rbri...@InfoSecInc.com

/* Democracy is three wolves and a sheep deciding what's for dinner. -C B Low */

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[Andreas Fischer]

well i don't know of any rexx function that will do so, but just use parse
in a form like:

parse var cmd cmdpfx (oldacid) cmdsfx
cmd = cmdpfx !! newacid !! cmdsfx

regards,
andi


TSO REXX Discussion List <TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU> schrieb am 05.09.2016
19:20:40:

> Von: Bob Bridges <robhb...@GMAIL.COM>
> An: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU,
> Datum: 05.09.2016 19:21
> Betreff: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?
> Gesendet von: TSO REXX Discussion List <TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU>
>
> It's getting so I'm automating at least as much in VBA as in REXX,
> which leads to comical malaprops such as "for jr=1 to 5" in REXX and
> "nam=strip(nam)" in VBA. There's no cure for that other than paying
> closer attention, I suppose.
>

> But now I'm writing something in REXX ? not an Edit macro ? and I

[Marco Gianfranco Indaco]

To do it in rexx I suppose that you have to write a procedure...

This is mine and allow you to change 1 to n time a string but the control
of neverending changes( i.e. pchange(str,'A','AA') ) shoud be done before:
/*--------------------------------------------------------------------*/
pChange: Procedure Expose iCnt
/*--------------------------------------------------------------------*/
iCnt=0
str = Arg(1)
Do While Index(str,Arg(2)) > 0 Then Do
iCnt = iCnt + 1
tmp = DelStr(str,Index(str,Arg(2)),Length(Arg(2)))
str = Insert(Arg(3),tmp,index(str,Arg(2))-1)
If iCnt = Arg(4) Then Return str
End
Return str

not sure about ispf edit macro with large data...
hope in this.

[Andreas Fischer]

i'm kind of a fan of self-written rexx functions for all kind of tasks
that will appear more than once and use such functions heavily. but for a
simple two-liner without any internal logic, i don't think that a function
or a procedure pays off. it will only cost performance.

regards,
andi


TSO REXX Discussion List <TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU> schrieb am 06.09.2016
09:22:53:

[Marco Gianfranco Indaco]

Two-liner without internal logic? de facto you have to remove a string and
insert a new one, if the string have the same length the best way is the
OVERLAY otherwise you need to work with the string.
I'm almost sure that using awk or sed under uss you will be able to do it
faster and in a single line... but you have other kind of costs

[Höglund Lars]

You can give this a try...

/* rexx **************************************************************/
/* */
/* NAME - TRANSTR */
/* FUNCTION - Translate "variable" in input string. */
/* RELATED TO - REXX extended functions */
/* */
/* Logic: */
/* */
/* A = transtr('A B C','D','B') */
/* A is then 'A D C' */
/* */
/* */
/* CHANGE LOG: */
/* DATE UID TEXT */
/* */
/*********************************************************************/
string = arg(1)
setname = arg(2)
varname = translate(arg(3))
sl = length(setname)
vl = length(varname)
b = 1

do while pos(varname,translate(string),b) <> 0
b = pos(varname,translate(string),b)
string = left(string,b-1) !! setname !! substr(string,b + vl)
b = b + sl
end /*do while pos(varname,translate(string),b) <> 0*/

return string

//Lasse

-----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
Från: TSO REXX Discussion List [mailto:TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU] För Bob Bridges
Skickat: den 5 september 2016 19:21
Till: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
Ämne: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?

[Farley, Peter x23353]

If the old string is space-separated in the original string, then you can use a Parse loop to simulate "replace all old string with the replace string", with some error checking for null inputs (the replacement string can be null to delete occurrences of the old string):

REPLACE: procedure
Parse arg orig oldstr repstr .
If (orig = '') | (oldstr = '') then Return orig
newstr = ''
Do while (orig /= '')
Parse var orig pfx (oldstr) orig
newstr = newstr || pfx || repstr
End
Return newstr

But that will fail for non-space-separated values in the original string.

Peter

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[Farley, Peter x23353]

Oops. Forgot to check for no more occurrences of oldstr. Fixed version:

REPLACE: procedure
Parse arg orig oldstr repstr .
If (orig = '') | (oldstr = '') then Return orig
newstr = ''
Do while (orig /= '')

curr = orig

Parse var orig pfx (oldstr) orig

If (pfx /= curr) then newstr = newstr || pfx || repstr
End
Return newstr

[Andreas Fischer]

why should that fail for non-space-separated values? i haven't tested your
example but i never experienced any problems with using that parsing
technique, no matter if values are separated by space or not.

regards,
andi


TSO REXX Discussion List <TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU> schrieb am 06.09.2016
16:24:54:

[Farley, Peter x23353]

You're right, I forgot that Parse works even without space separation. Mea culpa.

Peter

-----Original Message-----
From: TSO REXX Discussion List [mailto:TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU] On Behalf Of Andreas Fischer

Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2016 10:35 AM
To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU

[Aviatrexx]

No jeering necessary, Bob. The string-replace built-in function should be in TSO/REXX. It's a shame that it isn't, and should be an embarrassment to IBM that none of their mainframe Rexx interpreters are ANSI Standard compliant. It's been a mere twenty years since it was published. Perhaps if more customers were to demand the same ANSI-compliance that Regina or Open Object Rexx provide, they would consider it.

As for your problem, there are essentially two solutions depending on your knowledge of your data: a simple one, and a really simple one.

If you know that the string you wish to replace is the first occurrence in the record, and is not the very last characters of the record, the following should suffice:

Parse Var record before (ver) after
newrec = before || rep || after

(Extra credit if you are old enough to know where the terms 'ver' & 'rep' come from. :-)

Alternatively, you could create your own ChangeStr() BIF by copying the code directly from the ANSI Standard for Rexx. Most folks aren't aware that ANSI Standard X3.274 was the first (and AFAIK still the only) ANSI Standard written in the programming language that it defines. This speaks volumes about the power and expressiveness of the Rexx language.

Here is the ANSI definition of the ChangeStr() built-in function:

/* ChangeStr(ver, str, rep) */
/* Returns 'str' with all occurrences of 'ver' replaced with 'rep' */
parse arg Ver, Input, Rep
Output = ''
Position = 1
do forever
FoundPos = pos( Ver, Input, Position )
if FoundPos = 0 then leave
Output = Output || substr( Input, Position, FoundPos - Position ) ,
|| Rep
Position = FoundPos + length( Ver )
end
return Output || substr( Input, Position )

(Only very minor editorial changes were made to make the variable names more sensible.)

A copy of ANSI X3.274 can be found here if you are curious:

http://www.rexxla.org/rexxlang/standards/

HTH, YMMV, etc.

-Chip-

[Marco Gianfranco Indaco]

Funny and shorter with parse. Maybe I'm wrong but in this case:
- trailing blanks are removed
- cannot change space with other character
right?

I tried this:
STR = 'AAA BAB CCA '
say STR
say length(str)
SAY REPLACE(str,' ','')
say length(REPLACE(str,' ',''))
SAY REPLACE(str,'A','X')
say length(REPLACE(str,'A','X'))
return
REPLACE: procedure
/*

Parse arg orig oldstr repstr .

*/
orig = Arg(1)
oldstr = Arg(2)
repstr = Arg(3)

If (orig = '') | (oldstr = '') then Return orig
newstr = ''
Do while (orig /= '')

curr = orig

Parse var orig pfx (oldstr) orig

If (pfx /= curr) then newstr = newstr || pfx || repstr
End
Return newstr


2016-09-06 16:49 GMT+02:00 Farley, Peter x23353 <Peter....@broadridge.com
>:

[Gerard Schildberger]

On Monday, September 5, 2016 at 12:20:55 PM UTC-5, Bob Bridges wrote:
> It's getting so I'm automating at least as much in VBA as in REXX, which leads to comical malaprops such as "for jr=1 to 5" in REXX and "nam=strip(nam)" in VBA. There's no cure for that other than paying closer attention, I suppose.
>
> But now I'm writing something in REXX — not an Edit macro — and I want to replace one character string with another. In VBA that'd be the Replace function. For example I have a string "/home/bnt013" and I want to change it to "/home/bnx223", where BNT013 and BNX223 are old and new values. I already have the two strings; in VBA I would write
>
> cmd = Replace(cmd, OldACID, NewACID)
>
> I set out to do the same thing in REXX and came up against a blank; I can't figure out REXX's analogous function. Is there one? I have a hard time believing there isn't; REXX is so powerful in the matter of string handling. I mean, I can write such a function for myself; I just feel I must be missing something obvious.
>
> Feel free to jeer a little; it's probably right in front of my eyes.

I wrote a CHANGESTR function (that implements the ANSI version). It
has more functionality added. To view my version, it can be seen (and/or
downloaded) from the Rosetta Code site:

http://rosettacode.org/wiki/CHANGESTR.REX

It properly handles [nulls] for any of the strings (old, haystack, new).
It can also limit the number of changes, allows the specification when to
start changing (starting with a particular occurrence), and also allows
where (the character position) to start the changes. I tried to code the
function to catch as many (specification) errors as possible.
_______________________________________________________ Gerard Schildberger

[Farley, Peter x23353]

True on both points, but changing "=" and "/=" to "==" and "/==", plus one more early-exit condition and an else clause in the parse loop solves both deficiencies:

STR = 'AAA BAB CCA '
say STR
say length(str)
SAY REPLACE(str,' ','')
say length(REPLACE(str,' ',''))
SAY REPLACE(str,'A','X')
say length(REPLACE(str,'A','X'))
return
REPLACE: procedure
/*
Parse arg orig oldstr repstr .
*/
orig = Arg(1)
oldstr = Arg(2)
repstr = Arg(3)

If (orig == '') | (oldstr == '') | ,
(pos(oldstr, orig) = 0) then Return orig
newstr = ''
Do while (orig /== '')

curr = orig
Parse var orig pfx (oldstr) orig

If (pfx /== curr) then newstr = newstr || pfx || repstr
else newstr = newstr || pfx
End
Return newstr

HTH

[Robin]

I don't have any platform on which to test. I have reviewed most entries in this thread. I suggest that exploiting the full capability of a rexx function/subroutine will yield the desired result regardless of the values (including spaces or null). The routine expects 3 arguments namely 'text', 'old', 'new'

Substitution:
If find(arg(1),arg(2)) = 0 return arg(1)
Parse var (arg(1)) left (arg(2)) right
Return left !! arg(2) !! right /* no concat symbol on my keyboard */

-----Original Message-----
From: TSO REXX Discussion List [mailto:TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU] On Behalf Of Bob Bridges
Sent: September 5, 2016 1:21 PM
To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU

[Marco Gianfranco Indaco]

Thank Peter, this is probably the best way... I stopped using parse for
this but can't remember why...

[Robin]

I don't have any platform on which to test. I have reviewed most entries in this thread. I suggest that exploiting the full capability of a rexx function/subroutine will yield the desired result regardless of the values (including spaces or null). The routine expects 3 arguments namely 'text', 'old', 'new'.

Desk checking I spotted some errors and realized recursion for multiple ocurrances is possible

Substitution:
If find(arg(1),arg(2)) = 0 return arg(1)

Parse value(arg(1)) with left (arg(2)) right
Return left || arg(3) || substitution(right,arg(2),arg(3))

[Mickey Bee]

off topic, yet on topic, the split bar on the PC keyboard will translate to
the solid bar on the mainframe on *most* decent emulators :)

Mickey

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[Robert Zenuk]

Late to the party... Here is my version...

say chgstr('xexexe','qq','xe')
say chgstr('xexexe','ae','k')
say chgstr('xexexe','ae','e')
say chgstr('xexexe','Q','xexex')
say chgstr('xexe xe xe xexex','ll','e')
say chgstr('xexe xe xe xexex','f','xe')
say chgstr('aaaa','1','a')
say chgstr('zzzz','26','z')
say chgstr('zzzz','-AAAAA-','z')
say chgstr('error','xx')
say chgstr('JOHN JACOB GEORGE SCHMIDT','JINGLEHEIMER','GEORGE')
say chgstr('JOHN JACOB GEORGE SCHMIDT','*',' ')
say chgstr('the quick brown fox','SLOW RED','quick brown')
exit 0
chgstr: procedure
if arg() <> 3 then
return 'chgstr: missing args, must have string, new and old'
string = arg(1)
new = arg(2)
old = arg(3)
lnew = length(new)
lold = length(old)
x = 1
do forever
if pos(old,string,x) = 0 then return string
x = pos(old,string,x)
string = insert(new,delstr(string,x,lold),x-1,lnew)
x = x + length(new)
end

Rob

[MARC IRVIN]

 I have attached a program that does find/replace in text and words, and
has options for case sensitivity, multiple find values, and more.   I
have more advanced versions that also include screening for literals and
or comments.
 Marc Irvin

[David Spiegel]

What's with the double equal signs for comparison? ... Rexx is not C (It's a lot easier to code!), and therefore double equal signs are not necessary.

send email to LIST...@VM.MARIST.EDU<mailto:LIST...@VM.MARIST.EDU> with the message: INFO TSO-REXX

[Höglund Lars]

Quote:

"... 'strict comparisons' . Here the expressions must be exactly the same to get a 1 as the result. Leading and trailing spaces are not removed... case sensitive..."

//Lasse

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Skickat: den 8 september 2016 12:08
Till: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
Ämne: [TSO-REXX] Fwd: Re: [TSO-REXX] SV: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?

[Bill Turner, WB4ALM]

double equal signs (==) is an EXACT equal compare
single equal sign (=) is an "approximate" equal compare. (Blanks padding
is allowed.)

if a = '' will compare against a null string and against a string
filled with blanks
if a == '' will not compare against a string filled with blanks.

/s/ Bill Turner, wb4alm

send email to LIST...@VM.MARIST.EDU with the message: INFO TSO-REXX

[Walter Pachl]

Why not

chgstr: procedure
if arg() <> 3 then
return 'chgstr: missing args, must have string, new and old'

Parse Arg string,new,old

lnew = length(new)
lold = length(old)
x = 1
do forever
if pos(old,string,x) = 0 then return string
x = pos(old,string,x)
string = insert(new,delstr(string,x,lold),x-1,lnew)
x = x + length(new)
end

Same function, Better reading !?!
Walter

-----Original Message-----
From: TSO REXX Discussion List [mailto:TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU] On Behalf Of Robert Zenuk
Sent: Donnerstag, 8. September 2016 01:22
To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
Subject: Re: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?

Late to the party... Here is my version...

...

[Hardee, Chuck]

Why execute the POS() call more than once?
Why execute a call to LENGTH() more than necessary?

chgstr: procedure
if arg() <> 3 then
return 'chgstr: missing args, must have string, new and old'
Parse Arg string,new,old
lnew = length(new)
lold = length(old)
x = 1
do forever

x = pos(old,string,x)
if x = 0 then return string
string = insert(new,delstr(string,x,lold),x-1,lnew)
x = x + lnew
end

That's my 2₵ for whatever it's worth. :)

Outside of those changes, I would (personaly) prefer using ARG(n) instead of pares:

Parse Arg string,new,old

string = arg(1)
new = arg(2)
old = arg(3)

C-

Charles (Chuck) Hardee
Senior Systems Engineer/Database Administration
EAS Information Technology

Thermo Fisher Scientific
300 Industry Drive | Pittsburgh, PA 15275
Phone +1 (724) 517-2633 | Mobile +1 (412) 877-2809 | FAX: +1 (412) 490-9230
Chuck....@ThermoFisher.com | www.thermofisher.com

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[Walter Pachl]

Why execute the POS() call more than once?

Notice POS' third argument replacing 'A' by 'A' is safe that way.

Why execute a call to LENGTH() more than necessary?

Where do you see that? The lengths may be different

Outside of those changes, I would (personaly) prefer using ARG(n) instead of pares:

That's my 2 (Euro)cents improvement
But beauty (readability) is in the eye of...
Walter

[Walter Pachl]

Oops I see. Length of old ain't necessary.
Good catch!

[Walter Pachl]

Oops the second! lold IS used!!!

[Bill Ashton]

I had done some testing a while ago, and the PARSE statement is much
quicker than simple assign statements.

Billy

On Thu, Sep 8, 2016 at 9:55 AM, Walter Pachl <christel....@chello.at>
wrote:

--
Thank you and best regards,
*Billy Ashton*

[Hardee, Chuck]

That's good to know!
Thanks Billy!

Charles (Chuck) Hardee
Senior Systems Engineer/Database Administration
EAS Information Technology

Thermo Fisher Scientific
300 Industry Drive | Pittsburgh, PA 15275
Phone +1 (724) 517-2633 | Mobile +1 (412) 877-2809 | FAX: +1 (412) 490-9230
Chuck....@ThermoFisher.com | www.thermofisher.com

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-----Original Message-----
From: TSO REXX Discussion List [mailto:TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU] On Behalf Of Bill Ashton
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2016 11:04 AM
To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
Subject: Re: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?

[Paul Gilmartin]

On 2016-09-08, at 09:03, Bill Ashton wrote:

> I had done some testing a while ago, and the PARSE statement is much
> quicker than simple assign statements.
>

I'm skeptical. But I'm confident that PARSE is quicker than SUBSTR().
I attrbute this to function call-return overhead. So:

PARSE UPPER ARG X

Rather than:

X = TRANSLATE( ARG( 1 ) )

Rule of thumb: Use <, =, > to compare numbers; use <<, ==, >> to compare strings.

Fear not the ==! If it makes C programmers more comfortable, we should
welcome the newcomers.

I need to try:

SAY '8100'X >> '81'X /* Does it CLCL with blank padding? */

-- gil

[Roger Suhr]

Look at the OVERLAY ()function. It may do what you need done.

On Sep 5, 2016 13:22, "Bob Bridges" <robhb...@gmail.com> wrote:

> It's getting so I'm automating at least as much in VBA as in REXX, which
> leads to comical malaprops such as "for jr=1 to 5" in REXX and
> "nam=strip(nam)" in VBA. There's no cure for that other than paying closer
> attention, I suppose.
>
> But now I'm writing something in REXX — not an Edit macro — and I want to
> replace one character string with another. In VBA that'd be the Replace
> function. For example I have a string "/home/bnt013" and I want to change
> it to "/home/bnx223", where BNT013 and BNX223 are old and new values. I
> already have the two strings; in VBA I would write
>
> cmd = Replace(cmd, OldACID, NewACID)
>
> I set out to do the same thing in REXX and came up against a blank; I
> can't figure out REXX's analogous function. Is there one? I have a hard
> time believing there isn't; REXX is so powerful in the matter of string
> handling. I mean, I can write such a function for myself; I just feel I
> must be missing something obvious.
>
> Feel free to jeer a little; it's probably right in front of my eyes.
>
> ---
> Bob Bridges
> robhb...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313
> rbri...@InfoSecInc.com
>
> /* Democracy is three wolves and a sheep deciding what's for dinner. -C B
> Low */
>

[Gerard Schildberger]

On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 11:23:06 AM UTC-5, Paul Gilmartin wrote:
> On 2016-09-08, at 09:03, Bill Ashton wrote:
>
> > I had done some testing a while ago, and the PARSE statement is much
> > quicker than simple assign statements.
> >
> I'm skeptical. But I'm confident that PARSE is quicker than SUBSTR().
> I attrbute this to function call-return overhead. So:
>
> PARSE UPPER ARG X
>
> Rather than:
>
> X = TRANSLATE( ARG( 1 ) )

----- snip ----- snip ----- snip -----

Or better still: arg x


And, yes, the (or any) BIF invocation and return overhead
(saving/restoring all kinds of "stuff") is substantial, but
you needed worry about it unless you want the performance gain
when invoking it thousands of times, for instance.


parse arg x
---versus---
x=arg(1)


is measurable (the PARSE is faster).
__________________________________________ Gerard Schildberger

[David Bishop]

With so many suggestions and examples in this thread Bob, I'm curious to know what REXX avenue you decided to pursue?

David Bishop

[Roger Suhr]

When OVERLAY () doesn't do what I want I also use DEL() followed by INSERT
() at the same position. I'm not very concerned about function call
overhead. After all we're using an interpreter. Compiled REXX may help
with that.

[Marco Gianfranco Indaco]

Thanks Billy.
In the Robin's approach the factorial replace is the best approach instead
of a loop?
How these affect I/O cost and performances? We are talking about a function
that is used strongly... I made mistakes using delstr and insert but we are
playing together so I think that this symposium will be proficient for all
our minds...

Thanks in advance

[Bob Bridges]

I got busy with something else and haven't chosen yet. I still plan to come back to it, and soon.

Before I do, though, I'm going to pose another question to the listserv that will affect how I approach it. You'll see a new post soon so don't start replying in this thread and confuse everything, but it has to do with writing a "static" external function, ie one that REXX doesn't load and then discard with every invocation.

---
Bob Bridges
robhb...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313
rbri...@InfoSecInc.com

/* Here is one of the great ironies of contemporary feminism: Elite young women these days take their cues about how to behave primarily from unmarried (and therefore adolescent) males. -Maggie Gallagher, 2002-05-20 */

-----Original Message-----
From: TSO REXX Discussion List [mailto:TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU] On Behalf Of David Bishop
Sent: Thursday, September 8, 2016 20:38
To: TSO-...@VM.MARIST.EDU
Subject: Re: [TSO-REXX] REPLACE function in REXX?