IDL_VALIDNAME
Syntax | Return Value | Arguments | Keywords | Examples | Version History | See Also
The IDL_VALIDNAME function determines whether a string may be used as a valid IDL variable name or structure tag name. Optionally, the routine can convert non-valid characters into underscores, returning a valid name string.
Syntax
Result = IDL_VALIDNAME(String [, /CONVERT_ALL] [, /CONVERT_SPACES])
Return Value
Returns the input string or strings, optionally converting all spaces or non-alphanumeric characters to underscores. If an input string cannot be used as a valid variable or structure tag name, a null string is returned.
Arguments
String
A scalar string or string array or representing the IDL variable or structure tag names to be checked.
Keywords
CONVERT_ALL
If this keyword is set, then each element of String is converted into a valid IDL variable name using the following rules:
- All non-alphanumeric characters (except "_", "!" and "$") are converted to underscores
- If the first character is a number or a "$", then an underscore is prepended to the string
- If the first character is not a valid character ("_", "!", "A"..."Z") then that character is converted to an underscore
- If the element of String is an empty string or a reserved word (such as "AND") then an underscore is prepended to the string
Tip
The CONVERT_ALL keyword guarantees that a valid variable name is returned. It is useful in converting user-supplied strings into valid IDL variable names.
CONVERT_SPACES
If this keyword is set, then all spaces within each element of String are converted to underscores. If an element of String contains any other non-alphanumeric characters, then a null string is returned, indicating that the string cannot be used as a valid variable name.
Note
CONVERT_SPACES behaves the same as CREATE_STRUCT when checking structure tag names.
Examples
The following table provides IDL_VALIDNAME examples and their results.
Version History
See Also
