On Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 3:01 PM, Jim Gibson <jimsgib...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10/7/10 Thu Oct 7, 2010 12:20 PM, "jm" <jm5...@gmail.com> scribbled:
>
>
>>
>> Shawn and John,
>>
>> thanks, your leads gave me this:
>>
>> #############################################
>> #!/usr/bin/perl
>>
>> print &surname($ARGV[0]) . "\n";
>>
>>
>> # SUB SURNAME
>> # removes leading/trailing whitespace
>> # consolidates grouped whitespaces into single whitespaces
>> # capitalizes first letter after "Mac/Mc/'" in name (names of
>> Scottish/Irish descent)
>> # capitalizes first letter of name upon return
>> sub surname
>> {
>> my $name = shift;
>> $name = join(' ', split(' ', $name));
>> $name =~ s/(^[Mm]a?c|.')(.*)/\u$1\u$2/;
>> return(ucfirst($name));
>> } # end of sub surname
>> #############################################
>>
>
>
>> i'm thinking about trying to include the whitespace cleanup in the
>> s/// but i'm thinking it'll be an ugly piece of code i'll always have
>> trouble understanding.
>
> Use a separate regex instead of the join/split:
>
> $name =~ s/\s+/ /g;
>
> Not ugly. Easy to understand: "substitute any substring of one or more
> whitespace characters with a single space character".
>
> Don't try to add this to your other regex. I am not sure that can even be
> done. I am sure that it is not worth it.
>
> Here is one perhaps more specific to your problem that may be a little
> harder to understand:
>
> $name =~ s/ {2,}/ /g;
>
> That one will not substitute a single space with a single space, but you are
> not likely to notice the difference in execution speed (if there even is
> one). \s includes spaces, tabs, and newlines, so they are not exactly
> equivalent.
>
> Other possibilities:
>
> $name =~ s/\s{2,}/ /g;
> $name =~ s/[ ]{2,}/ /g;
> $name =~ s/\s\s+/ /g;
>
>
>
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>
>
jim,
thanks. i'd initially considered separate regex's for whitespace but
decided on the join because it takes care of all whitespace
(leading/trailing/embedded) in one fell swoop. i won't be trying to
combine the join with the existing regex; decided i'm not that much of
a glutton for punishment.
i actually did understand the {2,} so maybe i'm not as far out in the
cold as i'd feared :) .
i appreciate your insights and suggestions.
joe
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