Substitution

Description

The most basic form of evaluation is a %-substitution. Even when other forms of evalution are not performed, %-substitutions usually are. A %-substitution is a ‘%’ followed by one or two letters, digits, or symbols.

If a sequence is understood, it is substituted by a corresponding value.

If a sequence is not understood, the initial ‘%’ is removed. In this way, the ‘%’ also acts similarly to the ‘\ escape.

For some substitutions, if the letter following the ‘%’ is capitalized, the first letter of the result of the substitution is also capitalized.

Certain %-sequences provide gender-specific pronouns. Some provide information about the execution state. Some provide control over the appearance of text.

Commonly-Used

%r : Carriage Return %t : Tab %b : Space %% : Literal ‘%’. %\ : Literal ‘\. %x<code> : ANSI color codes. %c<code> : ANSI color codes.

Pronoun-Related

%s, %S : Subjective form: he, she, it, they. See: subj(%#) %o, %O : Objective form: him, her, it, them. See: obj(%#) %p, %P : Possessive form: his, her, its, their. See: poss(%#) %a, %A : Absolute Possessive form: his, hers, its, theirs. See: aposs(%#)

Database

%n, %N : Enactor’s name. See name(%#). %va-%vz : Contents of attribute va through vz. %= : Equivalent to v(attr) or get(me/attr).

Execution State

%m : Text of the last command executed. %0-%9 : Value of positional parameter/stack location 0 through 9. %q0-%q9 : Value of temporary (setq) register 0 through 9. %qa-%qz : Value of temporary (setq) register A through Z. %# : Database number of the object that caused the message to be displayed or the action list to be run (Enactor). %@ : Database number of the object immediately calling %! (Caller). This number starts as the same as %#, but can be affected by u()-type functions, zones, and @function. %! : Database number of the object holding the message or running the action list (Executor). %l : Database number of the location of the object that caused the message to be displayed or the action list to be run. %| : A string piped from the previous command in a pipe.

Note that % is equivalent to v(), but is more efficient.

See also: ANSI(), ANSI codes, ANSI substitution, Gender, V().

Relevant help files: help substitutions, help substitutions2, help substitutions3