String

A string is a variable type that contains text. Possible length and characters depend on the game and its version.

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The encoding should be mostly transparent. The input files can be encoded both in UTF-16 or UTF-8, the toString and toArray functions always convert from/to UTF-16 representation.

Properties

	OFP	ArmA	Arma 3 (since v1.56)
Max length	2056	No set limit	9,999,999 to 10,000,000 (same as Array length)
Encoding	ASCII	Unicode
Code page	product language defined	UTF-8
"text"
'text'
{text}

Commands and Functions

Single quote limitation

Strings can be written with both double quotes ("text") and single quotes ('text'). While they are identical, there are slightly differences in how they are treated:

Single quote strings are parsed by the preprocessor and may cause undesired results.
Single quote strings do not seem to support tabs:

_string = " "; copyToClipboard _string; diag_log format ["%1 %2 %3 x%4x", toArray _string, toArray copyFromClipboard, toArray (_string select [0]), _string]; /* return is good: "[9,10,9] [9,10,9] [9,10,9] x x" */

_string = ' '; copyToClipboard _string; diag_log format ["%1 %2 %3 x%4x", toArray _string, toArray copyFromClipboard, toArray (_string select [0]), _string]; /* return: "[9,10] [9,10] [9,10] x x" - second tab vanished */

Example courtesy of Rydygier

Examples

Quotes in Quotes

private _string = "my string ""with"" quotes"; private _string = 'my string "with" quotes'; private _string = 'my string with quotes';

String Formats

// Operation Flashpoint _string = "Hello there" // works _string = 'Hello there' // does NOT work _string = {Hello there} // works

// since Armed Assault _string = "Hello there" // works _string = 'Hello there' // works _string = {Hello there} // does NOT work

Operators

private _finalString = "Hello" + " " + "there"; // outputs "Hello there" - the + sign concatenates strings

The only basic operator to be used on strings is "plus". You can use "plus" to concatenate two strings.

Conversion

private _value = 42; // this is a Number hint _value; // error - hint takes a String, not a Number hint format ["%1", _value]; // ok hint str _value; // ok - since Armed Assault