Extended Text Library for Small Basic: A Complete Guide

Extended Text Library for Small Basic — Functions, Usage, and Tips

What it is

The Extended Text Library for Small Basic is an add-on collection of text-manipulation procedures that supplements Small Basic’s built-in string functions. It provides higher-level routines for common tasks (parsing, formatting, searching, and transformation) to make text-heavy programs simpler and more robust.

Core functions (typical)

• TrimAll(text): remove leading, trailing, and duplicate internal whitespace.
• SplitWords(text): split into a list/array of words using common delimiters (space, tab, punctuation).
• JoinWords(array, sep): join an array of words with a separator.
• ReplaceAll(text, old, new): replace all occurrences (case-sensitive or insensitive option).
• IndexOfN(text, sub, n): find the nth occurrence index of a substring.
• RegexMatch(text, pattern): perform pattern matching (if regex engine included) and return captures.
• WordCount(text): return number of words.
• SubstringSafe(text, start, length): safe substring handling with bounds checks.
• ToTitleCase(text): convert to title case with small-word rules.
• Pad(text, length, dir): pad left/right/center to a given width.

Typical usage patterns

1. Preprocess user input: use TrimAll and NormalizeSpaces before parsing.
2. Tokenization: SplitWords for token lists, then filter/transform tokens.
3. Search & replace: ReplaceAll for bulk edits or IndexOfN + SubstringSafe for targeted changes.
4. Formatting output: Pad and ToTitleCase to make console/UI text look consistent.
5. Validation: RegexMatch or simple pattern checks to validate formats (emails, IDs).

Implementation notes for Small Basic

• Small Basic lacks native arrays/dictionaries like other languages; many libraries represent arrays as indexed properties of a GraphicsWindow or use lists via TextWindow. Expect helper routines to simulate arrays.
• Error handling is usually defensive: functions return empty string or -1 on failure, so check return values.
• Performance: string-heavy loops can be slow in Small Basic; prefer single-pass functions in the library that minimize repeated concatenation.
• Case sensitivity: explicitly provide case-insensitive options where needed since Small Basic string comparisons are straightforward but limited.

Tips and best practices

• Normalize early: trim and normalize spaces as soon as you receive input.
• Use library routines, not repeated code: centralize parsing logic to one helper to avoid bugs.
• Limit regex use if absent: if the library lacks regex, implement simple parsers for common patterns to keep performance predictable.
• Test edge cases: empty strings, very long strings, and missing delimiters.
• Document behavior: note how functions handle indexes (0-based vs 1-based) and empty inputs.
• Combine with file I/O helpers: if processing files, pair text routines with robust read/write helpers that handle encoding.

Example (pseudo-usage)

• Normalize input: cleaned = TrimAll(raw)
• Tokenize: words = SplitWords(cleaned)
• Capitalize each: for each w in words -> w = ToTitleCase(w)
• Reconstruct: output = JoinWords(words, “ “)

If you want, I can provide concrete Small Basic sample code for specific functions (e.g., TrimAll, SplitWords, ReplaceAll).