isCOBOL Evolve : Appendices : Library Routines : C$REPLACE_ALL
C$REPLACE_ALL
The C$REPLACE_ALL library routine allows to replace parts of text in an alphanumeric variable according to a regular expression.
Syntax
 CALL "C$REPLACE_ALL" USING variable
                            regExp
                            replacement
                           [options]
                           [errorDesc]
                     GIVING returnCode
Parameters
variable
PIC X(n)
Variable subjected to replacement
regExp
PIC X(n)
Regular expression
replacement
PIC X(n)
Text to use as replacement. This text is not trimmed, so trailing spaces will be used as replacement as well.
options
PIC 9(n)
Optional parameter. It’s the sum between two or more of the following values defined in iscobol.def:
CREP_CASE_INSENSITIVE
CREP_LEFT_TRIMMED
CREP_RIGHT_TRIMMED
 
These options affect only variable.
errorDesc
PIC X(n)
Optional parameter. It holds the error description in case of illegal regular expression.
Return code:
returnCode can be any signed numeric data item and provides additional information:
0
operation successful
1
invalid regular expression
2
insufficient parameters
3
malformed replacement
Examples:
Example - Replace the beginning of a string with a prefix
*> copy "iscobol.def" in working-storage
*> it’s good practice to define the involved alphanumeric data items as pic x any length.
 
move " second third fourth" to wrk-str
move "^" to search-reg-exp | Search for the beginning of the string
move "first" to new-text
call "c$replace-all" using wrk-str 
                           search-reg-exp
                           new-text
                           crep-right-trimmed 
                           W-error
*> wrk-str new value will be: first second third fourth