StringArray Classic ASP Reference Documentation

StringArray

Current Version: 11.6.0

Chilkat.StringArray

Manage an ordered collection of strings, with StringTable recommended for new code.

Chilkat.StringArray is an ordered string-collection class that can append, prepend, insert, replace, remove, pop, and retrieve strings by index. It can load one string per line from files or in-memory text, save the collection back to text or files, enforce uniqueness, trim incoming values, normalize line endings, search by exact value or wildcard pattern, sort entries, split text into entries, serialize and restore the collection, and perform set-style operations such as union and subtraction.

Recommendation: For new development, prefer Chilkat.StringTable instead of Chilkat.StringArray. StringTable provides a simpler, faster, and more memory-efficient way to manage ordered lists of strings. Use StringArray primarily when maintaining existing code or when a specific API or older example already uses it.

Ordered string collection

Store strings in an internal ordered collection and retrieve them by zero-based index using GetString, StrAt, or LastString.

Add and modify entries

Append, prepend, insert, replace, remove, clear, or pop strings as the collection changes.

Load and save text

Load one string per line from files or text, and save the collection back to files or a single line-delimited string.

Charset-aware file I/O

Use charset-specific load and save methods when working with UTF-8, UTF-16, or other non-ANSI text encodings.

Search, match, and sort

Check for exact strings, find values from a starting index, match wildcard patterns, and sort ascending or descending.

Serialize and combine

Serialize the collection for later restoration, split text into entries, and combine or subtract collections with set-style operations.

Common pattern: Create a StringArray, optionally set Trim, Crlf, or Unique, then append strings directly or load them from a file or text block. Search, sort, split, remove, union, or subtract entries as needed, then save the result with SaveToText, SaveToFile, or SaveToFile2. For new code that only needs an ordered list of strings, use Chilkat.StringTable instead.
Naming note: Although the class name contains Array, Chilkat.StringArray is a Chilkat object that manages an ordered string collection. It should not be confused with a native array type in a programming language.

Object Creation

set stringArray = Server.CreateObject("Chilkat.StringArray")

' ... use stringArray ...

set stringArray = Nothing

Classic ASP creates Chilkat objects with Server.CreateObject. The registered Chilkat ActiveX must match the bitness of the IIS application pool: a pool with Enable 32-Bit Applications set to True needs the 32-bit ActiveX, otherwise the 64-bit ActiveX. To bind to a specific major version of Chilkat, append the major version number to the ProgID, such as Server.CreateObject("Chilkat.StringArray.11") for Chilkat v11.*.*.

VBScript requires set when assigning an object, so the signatures on this page show set x = obj.Method(...) for methods that return a Chilkat object; test the result with Is Nothing, since a method that fails to return an object returns Nothing. A method with no return value is called as a statement without parentheses (obj.Method arg1, arg2). Boolean properties, arguments and return values are integers in the ActiveX: pass 1 or 0, and test success with = 1. Byte arrays are Variant arrays and can be sent with Response.BinaryWrite. Asynchronous (*Async) methods and event callbacks are not used from Classic ASP.

Properties

Count
stringArray.Count ' Long (read-only)

The number of strings contained within the object's internal array (i.e. ordered collection).

Important: This is an object that contains a collection of strings. Although the class/object name includes the word Array, it should not be confused with an array in the sense of the primitive array type used in a given programming language.

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Crlf
stringArray.Crlf ' Long

If 1, strings are always automatically converted to use CRLF line endings. If 0, strings are automatically converted to use bare LF line endings.

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DebugLogFilePath
stringArray.DebugLogFilePath ' String

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

More Information and Examples
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LastBinaryResult
stringArray.LastBinaryResult ' Variant (read-only)

This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. It is only accessible if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1. This feature allows for the retrieval of large varbinary results in an SQL Server environment, which has restrictions on returning large data via method calls, though temp tables can handle binary properties.

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LastErrorHtml
stringArray.LastErrorHtml ' String (read-only)

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorText
stringArray.LastErrorText ' String (read-only)

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorXml
stringArray.LastErrorXml ' String (read-only)

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastMethodSuccess
stringArray.LastMethodSuccess ' Long

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.

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LastStringResult
stringArray.LastStringResult ' String (read-only)

In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. It is accessible only when Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to TRUE. SQL Server has limitations on string lengths returned from methods and properties, but temp tables can be used to access large strings.

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LastStringResultLen
stringArray.LastStringResultLen ' Long (read-only)

The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.

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Length
stringArray.Length ' Long (read-only)

The number of strings contained within the internal collection. (Identical to the Count property.)

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Trim
stringArray.Trim ' Long

If 1, whitespace, including carriage-returns and linefeeds, are automatically removed from the beginning and end of a string when added to the collection.

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Unique
stringArray.Unique ' Long

If 1, then duplicates are not allowed. When an attempt is made to insert a string that already exists, the duplicate insertion is silently suppressed and no error is returned. The default value is 0.

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VerboseLogging
stringArray.VerboseLogging ' Long

If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
stringArray.Version ' String (read-only)

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

More Information and Examples
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Methods

Append
success = stringArray.Append(str) ' Long (1/0)

Appends a string to the end of the internal ordered collection.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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AppendSerialized
success = stringArray.AppendSerialized(encodedStr) ' Long (1/0)

Appends multiple strings to the end of the internal ordered collection. The encodedStr is what is returned from the Serialize method (see below).

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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Clear
stringArray.Clear

Remove all strings from the internal collection.

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Contains
success = stringArray.Contains(str) ' Long (1/0)

Returns 1 if the string is present in the internal collection. The string comparisons are case sensitive.

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Find
n = stringArray.Find(findStr, startIndex) ' Long

Finds the index of the first string equal to findStr. The search begins at startIndex. If the string is not found, -1 is returned. The first string in the array is at index 0.

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FindFirstMatch
n = stringArray.FindFirstMatch(matchPattern, startIndex) ' Long

Finds the first string that matches the matchPattern. The search begins at startIndex. If the string is not found, -1 is returned. The first string in the array is at index 0.

The matchPattern may contain zero or more asterisk chars, each of which matches 0 or more of any character.

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GetString
str = stringArray.GetString(index) ' String

Returns the string at an indexed location within the internal collection. The first string is located at index 0.

Returns Nothing on failure

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InsertAt
stringArray.InsertAt index, str

Inserts a string into the internal collection at a specified index. Using index 0 will insert at the beginning.

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LastString
str = stringArray.LastString() ' String

Returns the last string in the internal collection.

Returns Nothing on failure

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LoadFromFile
success = stringArray.LoadFromFile(path) ' Long (1/0)

Loads strings from a file (one per line) into the internal collection. It is assumed the file contains ANSI strings. To load from a file containing non-ANSI strings (such as utf-8), call LoadFromFile2 instead.

Note: This method appends the strings in path to the existing collection of strings contained in this object.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadFromFile2
success = stringArray.LoadFromFile2(path, charset) ' Long (1/0)

Loads strings from a file (one per line) into the internal collection. The charset specifies the character encoding (such as utf-8) of the strings contained in the file.

Note: This method appends the strings in path to the existing collection of strings contained in this object.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadFromText
stringArray.LoadFromText str

Loads strings from an in-memory string (one per line) into the internal collection.

Note: This method appends the strings in str to the existing collection of strings contained in this object.

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Pop
str = stringArray.Pop() ' String

Returns the last string and removes it from the internal collection.

Returns Nothing on failure

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Prepend
stringArray.Prepend str

Adds a string to the beginning of the internal collection.

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Remove
stringArray.Remove str

Removes all strings equal to the string argument from the internal collection.

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RemoveAt
success = stringArray.RemoveAt(index) ' Long (1/0)

Removes the string at a particular index.

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ReplaceAt
stringArray.ReplaceAt index, str
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Replaces the string at a specified index.

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SaveNthToFile
success = stringArray.SaveNthToFile(index, saveToPath) ' Long (1/0)

Saves the Nth string in the collection to a file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SaveToFile
success = stringArray.SaveToFile(path) ' Long (1/0)

Saves the collection of strings to a file, one string per line. Strings are saved using the ANSI charset. (Call SaveToFile2 to specify a charset, such as utf-8)

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SaveToFile2
success = stringArray.SaveToFile2(saveToPath, charset) ' Long (1/0)

Saves the collection of strings to a file, one string per line. Strings are saved using the specified charset.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SaveToText
str = stringArray.SaveToText() ' String

Writes the collection of strings to a single string, one per line (separated by CRLF line endings).

Returns Nothing on failure

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Serialize
str = stringArray.Serialize() ' String

Returns an string which is an encoded representation of all the strings in the collection. The string collection can be re-created by calling the AppendSerialized method.

Returns Nothing on failure

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Sort
stringArray.Sort ascending

Sorts the strings in the collection in ascending or descending order. To sort in ascending order, set ascending to 1, otherwise set ascending equal to 0.

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SplitAndAppend
stringArray.SplitAndAppend str, boundary

Splits a string at a character or substring boundary and adds each resulting string to the internal collection.

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Subtract
stringArray.Subtract stringArrayObj

Subtracts the strings contained within stringArrayObj from the caller's internal collection.

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Union
stringArray.Union stringArrayObj

Performs the union set-operator. The result is that the caller will have a string collection that is the union of itself and stringArrayObj.

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