Position of backslash

[Emma Glaisher]

Some javascript/style in this post has been disabled (why?)

I am manipulating fields which contain data like
 8.5"/21cm
 17x25x21" h/44x64x54cm h

I need to find the position of the backslash character (because otherwise there isn’t much consistency). The calculation that seems logical to me:

Position(Dimensions;"//";1;1)

but it returns 0. I’ve been tearing my hair out trying every combination of // and /\ and \/ and //// and \\\\ ! Nothing works.

Surely this can be done?

Thanks
Emma

Emma Glaisher
Artworker and Database Development
Fourninety Limited

Tel: [phone]
[hidden email]
http://www.fourninety.com/

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Confidentiality Notice: The information in this document and any attachments are confidential. It is intended only for the use of the named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately and delete this document. The contents on this document must not be disclosed to any other person nor may any copies be taken. The views of the author may not represent the views of the Company.

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[John Haley-2]

Some javascript/style in this post has been disabled (why?)

I think just using a single "/" should work.

I tried:

Position ( "test/five" ; "/" ; 1 ; 1 )

an got a result of 5.

John

Mac OS X.6 FileMaker 10.0v3

On Oct 22, 2009, at 10:28 AM, Emma Glaisher wrote:

I am manipulating fields which contain data like
 8.5"/21cm
 17x25x21" h/44x64x54cm h

I need to find the position of the backslash character (because otherwise there isn’t much consistency). The calculation that seems logical to me:

Position(Dimensions;"//";1;1)

but it returns 0. I’ve been tearing my hair out trying every combination of // and /\ and \/ and //// and \\\\ ! Nothing works.

Surely this can be done?

Thanks
Emma

[Lee Hoong-2]

Emma,

You don't have to escape the backslash character.  Simply using:

Position(Dimensions;"/";1;1)

should work.

Regards,
Lee.
=================
Binary Assist
220 Gaines Oak Way
Suwanee, GA 30024
Voice: [phone]
Internet: [hidden email]
Website: www.binaryassist.com

FileMaker Certified Developer


On Oct 22, 2009, at 11:28 AM, Emma Glaisher wrote:

> I am manipulating fields which contain data like
>  8.5"/21cm
>  17x25x21" h/44x64x54cm h
>
> I need to find the position of the backslash character (because  
> otherwise there isn’t much consistency). The calculation that seems  
> logical to me:
>
> Position(Dimensions;"//";1;1)
>
> but it returns 0. I’ve been tearing my hair out trying every  
> combination of // and /\ and \/ and //// and \\\\ ! Nothing works.
>
> Surely this can be done?
>
> Thanks
> Emma
>
>
> Emma Glaisher
> Artworker and Database Development
> Fourninety Limited
>
> Tel: [phone]
> [hidden email]
> http://www.fourninety.com/
> Fourninety Limited, a member company of the Media Square plc group.  
> Registered in England No. 3737606. Registered address Clarence Mill,  
> Clarence Road, Bollington, Cheshire. SK10 5JZ
>
> Confidentiality Notice: The information in this document and any  
> attachments are confidential. It is intended only for the use of the  
> named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient please notify  
> us immediately and delete this document. The contents on this  
> document must not be disclosed to any other person nor may any  
> copies be taken. The views of the author may not represent the views  
> of the Company.
>
> Security Warning: This e-mail has been created in the knowledge that  
> Internet e-mail is not a 100% secure communications medium. All  
> liability for any claims arising as a result of using this medium to  
> transmit information by us or to us is excluded to the extent  
> permitted by law.

[Jason L DeLooze]

Hi Emma,

The "/" is the forward-slash character - and has no special meaning within FMP, so it doesn't need any special handling.  On the other hand, the "\" is the back-slash, has special meaning, and must be set-off by an additional "\" character.

In other words, you are getting the two confused.  For your purposes, reference the "/" character as you would any normal character; that is, use

Position(Dimensions;"/";1;1)

Regards,
Jason L DeLooze
Annapolis, MD USA


On 10/22/09 at 4:28 PM +0100, Emma Glaisher wrote:

> I am manipulating fields which contain data like
>  8.5"/21cm
>  17x25x21" h/44x64x54cm h
>
> I need to find the position of the backslash character (because otherwise there isn't much consistency). The calculation that seems logical to me:
>
> Position(Dimensions;"//";1;1)
>
> but it returns 0. I've been tearing my hair out trying every combination of // and /\ and \/ and //// and \\\\ ! Nothing works.
>
> Surely this can be done?
>
> Thanks
> Emma
> <http://www.fourninety.com>
>
> Emma Glaisher
> Artworker and Database Development
> Fourninety Limited

[Emma Glaisher]

Some javascript/style in this post has been disabled (why?)

Thank you for putting that so kindly. I feel a bit stupid now, and shall crawl back into my corner! (it took me a while to find position of the inches/quote character, and I just assumed this would be even harder and tackled it accordingly!)


On 22/10/09 16:35, "John Haley" <[hidden email]> wrote:

      I think just using a single "/" should work.

I tried:
Position ( "test/five" ; "/" ; 1 ; 1 )
an got a result of 5.

John
Mac OS X.6 FileMaker 10.0v3

On Oct 22, 2009, at 10:28 AM, Emma Glaisher wrote:

I am manipulating fields which contain data like
 8.5"/21cm
 17x25x21" h/44x64x54cm h

I need to find the position of the backslash character (because otherwise there isn’t much consistency). The calculation that seems logical to me:

Position(Dimensions;"//";1;1)

but it returns 0. I’ve been tearing my hair out trying every combination of // and /\ and \/ and //// and \\\\ <smb:////>  ! Nothing works.

Surely this can be done?

Thanks
Emma  

 
 
 

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Emma Glaisher
Artworker and Database Development
Fourninety Limited

Tel: [phone]
[hidden email]
http://www.fourninety.com/

---

Fourninety Limited, a member company of the Media Square plc group. Registered in England No. 3737606. Registered address Clarence Mill, Clarence Road, Bollington, Cheshire. SK10 5JZ

Confidentiality Notice: The information in this document and any attachments are confidential. It is intended only for the use of the named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately and delete this document. The contents on this document must not be disclosed to any other person nor may any copies be taken. The views of the author may not represent the views of the Company.

Security Warning: This e-mail has been created in the knowledge that Internet e-mail is not a 100% secure communications medium. All liability for any claims arising as a result of using this medium to transmit information by us or to us is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

---

[Richard S. Russell]

Some javascript/style in this post has been disabled (why?)

On 2009 Oct 22, at 10:37, Lee Hoong wrote:

Emma,

You don't have to escape the backslash character.  Simply using:

Position(Dimensions;"/";1;1)

should work.

Has anybody besides me noticed that people have taken to referring to the "/" character as a backslash? This is especially frustrating when you hear it on the radio and don't have a chance to visually verify it.

The "/" is known variously as a slash, virgule, solidus, slant, stroke, oblique dash, separatrix, diagonal, forward slash, scratch comma, over (as in "4 over 5" for 4/5), slak, or whack. It is not now, nor has it ever been, known as a backslash.

THIS is a backslash: \

The backslash is also known as a slosh (variant on "slash"), hack (takeoff on "whack"), bash, or reverse solidus.

[Emma Glaisher]

Some javascript/style in this post has been disabled (why?)

Have to confess I have NEVER been able to remember which is which. I mean, does forwards mean it leans forwards: /
or does it mean it goes forwards from top to bottom: \

I am usually very particular about typographic correctness (being first and foremost typesetter, not database designer!) and get cross about people confusing brackets and parentheses, incorrect use of straight and curly quotes and all that sort of stuff.

But (as I have demonstrated today!) I am challenged by those damn slashes. May be something to do with female brains and poor sense of direction!


On 22/10/09 17:02, "Richard S. Russell" <[hidden email]> wrote:

      
On 2009 Oct 22, at 10:37, Lee Hoong wrote:

Emma,



 

You don't have to escape the backslash character.  Simply using:



 

Position(Dimensions;"/";1;1)



 

should work.

Has anybody besides me noticed that people have taken to referring to the "/" character as a backslash? This is especially frustrating when you hear it on the radio and don't have a chance to visually verify it.

The "/" is known variously as a slash, virgule, solidus, slant, stroke, oblique dash, separatrix, diagonal, forward slash, scratch comma, over (as in "4 over 5" for 4/5), slak, or whack. It is not now, nor has it ever been, known as a backslash.

THIS is a backslash: \

The backslash is also known as a slosh (variant on "slash"), hack (takeoff on "whack"), bash, or reverse solidus.
 
 
 

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Emma Glaisher
Artworker and Database Development
Fourninety Limited

Tel: [phone]
[hidden email]
http://www.fourninety.com/

---

Fourninety Limited, a member company of the Media Square plc group. Registered in England No. 3737606. Registered address Clarence Mill, Clarence Road, Bollington, Cheshire. SK10 5JZ

Confidentiality Notice: The information in this document and any attachments are confidential. It is intended only for the use of the named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately and delete this document. The contents on this document must not be disclosed to any other person nor may any copies be taken. The views of the author may not represent the views of the Company.

Security Warning: This e-mail has been created in the knowledge that Internet e-mail is not a 100% secure communications medium. All liability for any claims arising as a result of using this medium to transmit information by us or to us is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

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[Blackburn, Melissa Chappars Ms.]

Some javascript/style in this post has been disabled (why?)

Hi folks,  

Just wanted to interject that the character you are discussing is a slash—not a backslash. :)

A backslash is this character: “\”  

Blessings,
Melissa


On 10/22/09 11:38 AM, "Emma Glaisher" <emma.glaisher@...> wrote:

Thank you for putting that so kindly. I feel a bit stupid now, and shall crawl back into my corner! (it took me a while to find position of the inches/quote character, and I just assumed this would be even harder and tackled it accordingly!)


On 22/10/09 16:35, "John Haley" <jhaley@...> wrote:

      I think just using a single "/" should work.

I tried:
Position ( "test/five" ; "/" ; 1 ; 1 )
an got a result of 5.

John
Mac OS X.6 FileMaker 10.0v3

On Oct 22, 2009, at 10:28 AM, Emma Glaisher wrote:

I am manipulating fields which contain data like
 8.5"/21cm
 17x25x21" h/44x64x54cm h

I need to find the position of the backslash character (because otherwise there isn’t much consistency). The calculation that seems logical to me:

Position(Dimensions;"//";1;1)

but it returns 0. I’ve been tearing my hair out trying every combination of // and /\ and \/ and //// and \\\\ <smb:////>  ! Nothing works.

Surely this can be done?

Thanks
Emma  

 
 
 

---

Inbound email scanned by Mimecast <http://www.mimecast.co.uk> .

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 <http://www.fourninety.com>  
Emma Glaisher
 Artworker and Database Development
Fourninety Limited

Tel: [phone]
 emma.glaisher@...
 http://www.fourninety.com/

---

Fourninety Limited, a member company of the Media Square plc group. Registered in England No. 3737606. Registered address Clarence Mill, Clarence Road, Bollington, Cheshire. SK10 5JZ

Confidentiality Notice: The information in this document and any attachments are confidential. It is intended only for the use of the named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately and delete this document. The contents on this document must not be disclosed to any other person nor may any copies be taken. The views of the author may not represent the views of the Company.

Security Warning: This e-mail has been created in the knowledge that Internet e-mail is not a 100% secure communications medium. All liability for any claims arising as a result of using this medium to transmit information by us or to us is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

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Melissa Blackburn | Sr. Program Assistant MSTR | Miami University | Marketing Communications | T: 513.529.7596 | F: 513.529.1950 | E: Melissa.Blackburn@...

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Connect with Miami on Blogger <http://miamiuadmission.blogspot.com/> , Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oxford-OH/Miami-University/75387987874?ref=ts> , Twitter <http://twitter.com/MiamiUAdmission/> and  YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/miamiofohio> .

[Lee Hoong-2]

Thanks for the correction, Richard.  Duly noted.

Lee.
=================
Binary Assist
220 Gaines Oak Way
Suwanee, GA 30024
Voice: [phone]
Internet: [hidden email]
Website: www.binaryassist.com

FileMaker Certified Developer






On Oct 22, 2009, at 12:02 PM, Richard S. Russell wrote:

>
> On 2009 Oct 22, at 10:37, Lee Hoong wrote:
>
>> Emma,
>>
>> You don't have to escape the backslash character.  Simply using:
>>
>> Position(Dimensions;"/";1;1)
>>
>> should work.
>
>
> Has anybody besides me noticed that people have taken to referring  
> to the "/" character as a backslash? This is especially frustrating  
> when you hear it on the radio and don't have a chance to visually  
> verify it.
>
> The "/" is known variously as a slash, virgule, solidus, slant,  
> stroke, oblique dash, separatrix, diagonal, forward slash, scratch  
> comma, over (as in "4 over 5" for 4/5), slak, or whack. It is not  
> now, nor has it ever been, known as a backslash.
>
> THIS is a backslash: \
>
> The backslash is also known as a slosh (variant on "slash"), hack  
> (takeoff on "whack"), bash, or reverse solidus.

[Jason L DeLooze]

Surely you jest, Emma; for a moment I thought you believe "math class is tough" or "women can't do math or science".   8-)

Jason


On 10/22/09 at 5:05 PM +0100, Emma Glaisher wrote:
> May be something to do with female brains and poor sense of direction!

[Jonathan Fletcher]

Oh, good. Now I don't have to resist my A-R urge to go all pedantic on  
y'all.

Richard did it quite nicely, thank you.

Now I can get back to work.

j.


On Oct 22, 2009, at 12:02 PM, Richard S. Russell wrote:

>
> On 2009 Oct 22, at 10:37, Lee Hoong wrote:
>
>> Emma,
>>
>> You don't have to escape the backslash character.  Simply using:
>>
>> Position(Dimensions;"/";1;1)
>>
>> should work.
>
>
> Has anybody besides me noticed that people have taken to referring  
> to the "/" character as a backslash? This is especially frustrating  
> when you hear it on the radio and don't have a chance to visually  
> verify it.
>
> The "/" is known variously as a slash, virgule, solidus, slant,  
> stroke, oblique dash, separatrix, diagonal, forward slash, scratch  
> comma, over (as in "4 over 5" for 4/5), slak, or whack. It is not  
> now, nor has it ever been, known as a backslash.
>
> THIS is a backslash: \
>
> The backslash is also known as a slosh (variant on "slash"), hack  
> (takeoff on "whack"), bash, or reverse solidus.

--
Jonathan Fletcher
FileMaker 9 & 10 Certified Developer
****NEW Ph no: 502-509-7137****

Project Foreman
NewMedia Construction Co.
[hidden email]

Instigator
The BB&J Network
The "Go-To Guys" for
FileMaker Development in Louisville
www.thebbandj.net

FileMaker Louisville Blog:
http://filemakerlouisville.posterous.com

[Tim Mansour]

2009/10/23 Emma Glaisher <[hidden email]>
>
> Have to confess I have NEVER been able to remember which is which

You can thank those pesky DOS/Windows users for the confusion Emma!

There's really no such thing as a "forward slash" in typesetting. It
has always been a "slash" (or oblique, or virgule, depending on
usage). And the "leaning-back" version "\" is called the backslash.

DOS or Windows paths used the backslash to show directory hierarchy.
And with frequent usage people started saying "slash" where they
really meant "backslash", which led to the invention of "forward
slash", which emphasises that it's a real slash and not a backslash
that's being called a slash.

No wonder we're all confused :-)

--
Tim Mansour <[hidden email]>
Neologica Print & Promotions ABN 63 904 335 408
Certified FileMaker 10 Developer

"Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence." -- Danish proverb

[Richard S. Russell]

Some javascript/style in this post has been disabled (why?)

On 2009 Oct 22, at 15:46, Tim Mansour wrote:

DOS or Windows paths used the backslash to show directory hierarchy.

And with frequent usage people started saying "slash" where they

really meant "backslash", which led to the invention of "forward

slash", which emphasises that it's a real slash and not a backslash

that's being called a slash.

No wonder we're all confused :-)

Linguists have taken note of this phenomenon, which is not at all unique to computing. As you would expect of linguists, they've coined a term for it: retronym.

A retronym is a word or phrase that tacks on a modifier to a noun that previously never needed one, due to the development of some new variation of it. When my mom was baking, she used an oven. Just that: oven. No need to call it a "conventional oven". That particular retronym didn't come along until the microwave oven was introduced.

Our family also used a phone. Not a rotary-dial phone, just a plain old ordinary phone. "Rotary-dial phone" is another retronym, necessitated by the introduction of the touch-tone phone. And, of course, there was no need to specify then (as we must now) that those were "land-line phones", because there was no other kind.

And I suppose the folks over at IBM are still grumbling about the need to stick the word "mainframe" in front of what used to be known simply as a "computer", but I don't have a lot of sympathy for them. Back during WW2, when Alan Turing was leading the Allied effort to crack the German Enigma code, he had at his disposal a room full of computers. They were all human, mainly women with a background in artillery ballistics. After the war, the advent of the "electronic computer" put them all out of work, and after awhile the term "electronic" was dropped because nobody any more thot of "computer" as being a person. AFAICT, nobody ever came up with the retronym "human computer".

So too with "forward slash" to describe something that was simply known as a "slash" for most of its existence.

[Jonathan Fletcher]

On Oct 22, 2009, at 7:18 PM, Richard S. Russell wrote:

> AFAICT, nobody ever came up with the retronym "human computer".


How about "wetware" or "organic processing unit?"

::-)

j.

--
Jonathan Fletcher
FileMaker 9 & 10 Certified Developer
****NEW Ph no: 502-509-7137****

Project Foreman
NewMedia Construction Co.
[hidden email]

Instigator
The BB&J Network
The "Go-To Guys" for
FileMaker Development in Louisville
www.thebbandj.net

FileMaker Louisville Blog:
http://filemakerlouisville.posterous.com

[Beverly Voth-2]

We refer to them as "carbon" here. As in "That was a carbon-based error, not
a silicon-based error..."
Beverly

On 10/22/09 7:58 PM, "Jonathan Fletcher" <[hidden email]> wrote
in whole or in part:

> On Oct 22, 2009, at 7:18 PM, Richard S. Russell wrote:
>
>> AFAICT, nobody ever came up with the retronym "human computer".
>
>
> How about "wetware" or "organic processing unit?"
>
> ::-)
>
> j.

[Rowland & Wilma Carson]

At 2009-10-22 11:02 -0500 Richard S. Russell wrote:

>Has anybody besides me noticed that people have taken to referring
>to the "/" character as a backslash

Richard - no, but on UK TV, URLs have been frequently called out
using the word "forward-slash". I think that the BBC is now trying to
get the correct usage of "slash" implemented (it's usualy correct on
live news now) but it hasn't percolated through everywhere yet.

I presume that the word "forward-slash" was invented because some
people had been familiar with the backslash in DOS/Windows file
paths, and maybe called it "slash" because they didn't know any
better. (I'm guessing - I haven't been around enough DOS/Windows
people to be sure.) Thus, "forward-slash" was coined to make it clear
for those lazy people that URLs don't use the same delimiters as
DOS/Windows file paths.

regards

Rowland
--
| Rowland Carson          ... that's Rowland with a 'w' ...
| <[hidden email]>            http://home.clara.net/rowil/
| Twitter: rowland_carson      Facebook: Rowland Carson

[Douglas Cummings]

Hello,

I'm in need of a library of basic financial calculation functions (e.g.,
annuities, rates of return, loan ammortization, etc.) that run natively
in FMP or that run in Excel and exchange data with an FMP front end.
Any pointers or suggestions are much appreciated.

Regards,

Doug