Searching substring in the string - unexpected at this time - batch-file

I'm trying to determine if option is define statement/option for the VC compiler (/DSOME_OPTION=1 e.g.). Here is the part of options handling loop, which return error "Unexpected at this time: =option.". I've used search substring solution from StackOverflow: Batch file: Find if substring is in string (not in a file)
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
:loop
if not "%~1"=="" (
rem all defines
set "option=%~1"
if x%option:/D=%==x%option% (
set DEFINE_STR=%DEFINE_STR% %~1
echo "DEFINE_STR=%DEFINE_STR%"
pause
)
shift
goto :loop
)

try this:
#echo off
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set "DEFINE_STR="
:loop
if not "%~1"=="" (
rem all defines
set "option=%~1"
if "!option:/D=!" == "!option!" (
set "DEFINE_STR=!DEFINE_STR! %~1"
echo "DEFINE_STR=!DEFINE_STR!"
pause
)
shift
goto :loop
)
endlocal
In this question you can find more info -> Why can I not get a substring of a delayed expansion variable in an if statement?

Related

how to match the command line arguments in the batch file

The following script commands check matching the command line argument %1 against the fixed word ala
<code>
#echo off
set one=%1
set two=%2
If NOT "%one%"=="%one:ala=%" ( echo the first argument contains the word "ala")
else ( echo no matching ! )
</code>
How to replace the fixed word "ala" with an argument %2 from the command line instead.
(because the simple replacement ala with %2 doesnt work).
Is there any better solution for comparing the argument strings ?
#ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL
ECHO %~1|FIND "%~2">NUL
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 (
ECHO "%~2" NOT found IN "%~1"
) ELSE (
ECHO "%~2" WAS found IN "%~1"
)
GOTO :EOF
Use the find facility. This avoids delayedexpansion but is relatively slow.
You need to use delayed expansion to accomplish that type of string replacement.
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set "one=%~1"
set "two=%~2"
If NOT "%one%"=="!one:%two%=!" (
echo the first argument contains the word "%two%"
) else (
echo no matching
)
And you could also do it without delayed expansion using a technique with the CALL command.
#echo off
set "one=%~1"
CALL set "two=%%one:%~2=%%"
If NOT "%one%"=="%two%" (
echo the first argument contains the word "%two%"
) else (
echo no matching
)

identify or delete equal sign (=) in Windows command script environment variable

Is there methods to do the subject? For example, we can't simply replace equal sign usual way through substring replacing syntax %variable:substring1=substring2%, because substring1 can't contain equal sign.
What about a simple loop that walks through the string and checks every character against =?
#echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions DisableDelayedExpansion
rem // Define constants here:
set "STRING=%~1" & rem // (string from first command line argument)
set "SEARCH==" & rem // (specify a single character here)
set "REPLAC=" & rem // (specify an arbitrary string here)
rem // Check search string for validity (one character):
if not defined SEARCH ((>&2 echo ERROR: no search string defined!) & exit /B 1)
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
if not "!SEARCH:~1!"=="" ((>&2 echo ERROR: search string too long^^!) & exit /B 1)
rem // Loop through each character of the string:
set "RESULT="
:LOOP
if not defined STRING goto :QUIT
rem // Compare current character with search string:
set "CHAR=!STRING:~,1!"
if "!CHAR!"=="!SEARCH!" (
rem // Match found, so replace character:
set "RESULT=!RESULT!!REPLAC!"
) else (
rem // No match found, so keep character:
set "RESULT=!RESULT!!CHAR!"
)
rem // Remove processed character from (remaining) string:
set "STRING=!STRING:~1!"
goto :LOOP
:QUIT
rem // Return result here finally:
echo(!RESULT!
endlocal
endlocal
exit /B
This should be a bit better in terms of performance, because there are less string manipulations:
#echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions DisableDelayedExpansion
rem // Define constants here:
set "STRING=%~1" & rem // (string from first command line argument)
set "SEARCH==" & rem // (specify a single character here)
set "REPLAC=" & rem // (specify an arbitrary string here)
rem // Check search string for validity (one character):
if not defined SEARCH ((>&2 echo ERROR: no search string defined!) & exit /B 1)
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
if not "!SEARCH:~1!"=="" ((>&2 echo ERROR: search string too long^^!) & exit /B 1)
rem // Loop through each character of the string:
set /A "INDEX=0" & set "RESULT="
if not defined STRING goto :QUIT
:LOOP
rem // Compare currently indexed character with search string:
set "CHAR=!STRING:~%INDEX%,1!"
if not defined CHAR goto :QUIT
if "!CHAR!"=="!SEARCH!" (
rem // Match found, so replace character:
set "RESULT=!RESULT!!REPLAC!"
) else (
rem // No match found, so keep character:
set "RESULT=!RESULT!!CHAR!"
)
rem // Increment character index:
set /A "INDEX+=1"
goto :LOOP
:QUIT
rem // Return result here finally:
echo(!RESULT!
endlocal
endlocal
exit /B
here's one way (the idea is to split it with for /f and replace the equal signs with same amount of replacements calculating their length with strlen function):
#echo off
rem ===== testing the function =======
set "eqs====abcd=abcd===abcdabcd======~*"
set replace_with=X1
echo %eqs%
call :eqreplacer "%eqs%" %replace_with% res
echo %res%
exit /b %errorlevel%
rem ===============================
:eqreplacer String Replacer [RtnVar]
setlocal
rem the result of the operation will be stored here
set "result=#%~1#"
set "replacer=%~2"
call :strlen0 result wl
call :strlen0 replacer rl
:start
set "part1="
set "part2="
rem splitting the string on two parts
for /f "tokens=1* delims==" %%w in ("%result%") do (
set "part1=%%w"
set "part2=%%x"
)
rem calculating the count replace strings we should use
call :strlen0 part1 p1l
call :strlen0 part2 p2l
set /a iteration_end=wl-p1l-p2l
rem creating a sequence with replaced strings
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set "sequence="
for /l %%i in (1,1,%iteration_end%) do (
set sequence=!sequence!%replacer%
)
endlocal & set "sequence=%sequence%"
rem adjust the string length
set /a wl=wl+iteration_end*(rl-1)
rem replacing for the current iteration
set result=%part1%%sequence%%part2%
rem if the second part is empty the task is over
if "%part2%" equ "" (
set result=%result:~1,-1%
goto :endloop
)
goto :start
:endloop
endlocal & if "%~3" neq "" (set %~3=%result%) else echo %result%
exit /b
:strlen0 StrVar [RtnVar]
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
set "s=#!%~1!"
set "len=0"
for %%N in (4096 2048 1024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1) do (
if "!s:~%%N,1!" neq "" (
set /a "len+=%%N"
set "s=!s:~%%N!"
)
)
endlocal&if "%~2" neq "" (set %~2=%len%) else echo %len%
exit /b
here you can find more solutions.Take a look at dbenham's post.
Simple way to identify =.
echo "%variable%"|find "=">nul
if not errorlevel 1 echo equal sign detected

Removing non alphanumeric characters in a batch variable

In batch, how would I remove all non alphanumeric (a-z,A-Z,0-9,_) characters from a variable?
I'm pretty sure I need to use findstr and a regex.
The solutionof MC ND works, but it's really slow (Needs ~1second for the small test sample).
This is caused by the echo "!_buf!"|findstr ... construct, as for each character the pipe creates two instances of cmd.exe and starts findstr.
But this can be solved also with pure batch.
Each character is tested if it is in the map variable
:test
set "_input=Th""i\s&& is not good _maybe_???"
set "_output="
set "map=abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890"
:loop
if not defined _input goto endLoop
for /F "delims=*~ eol=*" %%C in ("!_input:~0,1!") do (
if "!map:%%C=!" NEQ "!map!" set "_output=!_output!%%C"
)
set "_input=!_input:~1!"
goto loop
:endLoop
echo(!_output!
And it could be speed up when the goto loop is removed.
Then you need to calculate the stringLength first and iterate then with a FOR/L loop over each character.
This solution is ~6 times faster than the above method and ~40 times faster than the solution of MC ND
set "_input=Th""i\s&& is not good _maybe_!~*???"
set "_output="
set "map=abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890"
%$strLen% len _input
for /L %%n in (0 1 %len%) DO (
for /F "delims=*~ eol=*" %%C in ("!_input:~%%n,1!") do (
if "!map:%%C=!" NEQ "!map!" set "_output=!_output!%%C"
)
)
exit /b
The macro $strlen can be defined with
set LF=^
::Above 2 blank lines are required - do not remove
#set ^"\n=^^^%LF%%LF%^%LF%%LF%^^":::: StrLen pResult pString
set $strLen=for /L %%n in (1 1 2) do if %%n==2 (%\n%
for /F "tokens=1,2 delims=, " %%1 in ("!argv!") do (%\n%
set "str=A!%%~2!"%\n%
set "len=0"%\n%
for /l %%A in (12,-1,0) do (%\n%
set /a "len|=1<<%%A"%\n%
for %%B in (!len!) do if "!str:~%%B,1!"=="" set /a "len&=~1<<%%A"%\n%
)%\n%
for %%v in (!len!) do endlocal^&if "%%~b" neq "" (set "%%~1=%%v") else echo %%v%\n%
) %\n%
) ELSE setlocal enableDelayedExpansion ^& set argv=,
EDITED - #jeb is right. This works but is really, really slow.
#echo off
setlocal enableextensions enabledelayedexpansion
set "_input=Th""i\s&& is not good _maybe_???"
set "_output="
:loop
if not defined _input goto endLoop
set "_buf=!_input:~0,1!"
set "_input=!_input:~1!"
echo "!_buf!"|findstr /i /r /c:"[a-z 0-9_]" > nul && set "_output=!_output!!_buf!"
goto loop
:endLoop
echo !_output!
endlocal
So, back to the drawing board. How to make it faster? lets try to do as less operations as we can and use as much long substring as we can. So, do it in two steps
1.- Remove all bad characters that can generate problems. To do it we will use the hability of for command to identify these chars as delimiters , and then join the rest of the sections of god characters of string
2.- Remove the rest of the bad characters, locating them in string using the valids charactes as delimiters to find substrings of bad characters, replacing then in string
So, we end with (sintax adapted to what has been answered here)
#echo off
setlocal enableextensions enabledelayedexpansion
rem Test empty string
call :doClean "" output
echo "%output%"
rem Test mixed strings
call :doClean "~~asd123#()%%%^"^!^"~~~^"""":^!!!!=asd^>^<bm_1" output
echo %output%
call :doClean "Thi\s&& is ;;;;not ^^good _maybe_!~*???" output
echo %output%
rem Test clean string
call :doClean "This is already clean" output
echo %output%
rem Test all bad string
call :doClean "*******//////\\\\\\\()()()()" output
echo "%output%"
rem Test long string
set "zz=Thi\s&& is not ^^good _maybe_!~*??? "
set "zz=TEST: %zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%%zz%"
call :doClean "%zz% TEST" output
echo %output%
rem Time long string
echo %time%
for /l %%# in (1 1 100) do call :doClean "%zz%" output
echo %time%
exit /b
rem ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
:doClean input output
setlocal enableextensions enabledelayedexpansion
set "map=abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890 "
set "input=%~1"
set "output="
rem Step 1 - Remove critical delimiters
(
:purgeCritical
for /L %%z in (1 1 10) do (
for /f tokens^=1^-9^,^*^ delims^=^=^"^"^~^;^,^&^*^%%^:^!^(^)^<^>^^ %%a in ("!input!") do (
set "output=!output!%%a%%b%%c%%d%%e%%f%%g%%h%%i"
set "input=%%j"
)
if not defined input goto outPurgeCritical
)
goto purgeCritical
)
:outPurgeCritical
rem Step 2 - remove any remaining special character
(
:purgeNormal
for /L %%z in (1 1 10) do (
set "pending="
for /f "tokens=1,* delims=%map%" %%a in ("!output!") do (
set "output=!output:%%a=!"
set "pending=%%b"
)
if not defined pending goto outPurgeNormal
)
goto purgeNormal
)
:outPurgeNormal
endlocal & set "%~2=%output%"
goto :EOF
Maybe not the fastest, but at least a "decent" solution
#echo eof
call :purge "~~asd123#()%%%^"^!^"~~~^:^=asd^>^<bm_1" var
echo (%var%)
goto :eof
:purge StrVar [RtnVar]
setlocal disableDelayedExpansion
set "str1=%~1"
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
for %%a in ( - ! # # $ % ^^ ^& + \ / ^< ^> . ' [ ] { } ` ^| ^" ) do (
set "str1=!str1:%%a=!"
)
rem dealing with some delimiters
set "str1=!str1:(=!"
set "str1=!str1:)=!"
set "str1=!str1:;=!"
set "str1=!str1:,=!"
set "str1=!str1:^^=!"
set "str1=!str1:^~=!"
set "temp_str="
for %%e in (%str1%) do (
set "temp_str=!temp_str!%%e"
)
endlocal & set "str1=%temp_str%"
setlocal disableDelayedExpansion
set "str1=%str1:!=%"
set "str1=%str1::=%"
set "str1=%str1:^^~=%"
for /f "tokens=* delims=~" %%w in ("%str1%") do set "str1=%%w"
endlocal & set "str1=%str1%"
endlocal & if "%~2" neq "" (set %~2=%str1%) else echo %str1%
goto :eof
Still cannot deal with ~ and = but working on it
EDIT: = now will be cleared
EDIT: ~ now will be cleared

Read each character of argument in a batch file

sample input in cmd:
test.bat /p 1,3,4
expected result:
1
3
4
my codes so far:
#echo off
set arg = %1
set var = %2
if (%1)==(/p) (
... need code that will read and print each character of var
)
There is a potential problem with your question. If test.bat is:
#echo %1%
Then
test 1,2,3
Prints:
1
Because, in this context, the comma is treated as an argument delimiter.
So you either need to enclose in quotes:
test "1,2,3"
Or use a different internal delimiter:
test 1:2:3
Unless you want the parts to be placed in %2, %3, etc., in which case you problem is solved by a trivial use of SHIFT.
For my solution I have elected to require quotes around the group parameter, "1,2,3" (though this is easily adapted for a different delimiter by changing delims=, to specify the character you want to use).
#echo off
setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION ENABLEEXTENSIONS
set args=%~2
if "%1"=="/p" (
:NextToken
for /F "usebackq tokens=1* delims=," %%f in ('!args!') do (
echo %%f
set args=%%g
)
if defined args goto NextToken
)
Call like:
readch.bat /p "1,2,3"
%~2 is used to remove the quotes.
The FOR statement parses args, puts the first token in %f and the remainder of the line in %g.
The `goto NextToken' line loops until there are no more tokens.
#echo off
if "%1"=="/p" (
:LOOP
echo %2
shift
set arg=%2
if defined arg goto :LOOP else exit >nul
)
set params=%%~2
if (%1)==(/p) (
set params=%params:,= %
)
if "%params%" NEQ "" (
call :printer %params%
)
goto :eof
:printer
:shifting
if "%%1" NEQ "" (
echo %%1
) else (
goto :eof
)
shift
goto :shifting
goto :eof

How to receive even the strangest command line parameters?

as discussed in an other thread How to avoid cmd.exe interpreting shell special characters like < > ^
it is not easy to get all parameters from the command line.
A simple
set var=%1
set "var=%~1"
are not enough, if you have a request like
myBatch.bat abc"&"^&def
I have one solution, but it needs a temporary file, and it is also not bullet proof.
#echo off
setlocal DisableDelayedExpansion
set "prompt=X"
(
#echo on
for %%a in (4) do (
rem #%1#
)
) > XY.txt
#echo off
for /F "delims=" %%a in (xy.txt) DO (
set "param=%%a"
)
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
set param=!param:~7,-4!
echo param='!param!'
It fails with something like myBatch.bat %a, it display 4 not the %a
in this situation a simple echo %1 would work.
It's obviously the for-loop but I don't know how to change this.
Perhaps there exists another simple solution.
I don't need this to solve an actual problem, but I like solutions that are bullet proof in each situation, not only in the most cases.
I don't think anyone found any holes in this, except for the inability to read newlines in the parameters:
#echo off
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set argCnt=1
:getArgs
>"%temp%\getArg.txt" <"%temp%\getArg.txt" (
setlocal disableExtensions
set prompt=#
echo on
for %%a in (%%a) do rem . %1.
echo off
endlocal
set /p "arg%argCnt%="
set /p "arg%argCnt%="
set "arg%argCnt%=!arg%argCnt%:~7,-2!"
if defined arg%argCnt% (
set /a argCnt+=1
shift /1
goto :getArgs
) else set /a argCnt-=1
)
del "%temp%\getArg.txt"
set arg
The above comes from a lively DosTips discussion - http://www.dostips.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=13002#p13002. DosTips user Liviu came up with the critical SETLOCAL DisableExtensions piece.
The code below is based on the rambling Foolproof Counting of Arguments topic on DosTips and this answer by jeb:
#echo off & setLocal enableExtensions disableDelayedExpansion
(call;) %= sets errorLevel to 0 =%
:: initialise variables
set "paramC=0" & set "pFile=%tmp%\param.tmp"
:loop - the main loop
:: inc param counter and reset var storing nth param
set /a paramC+=1 & set "pN="
:: ECHO is turned on, %1 is expanded inside REM, GOTO jumps over REM,
:: and the output is redirected to param file
for %%A in (%%A) do (
setLocal disableExtensions
set prompt=#
echo on
for %%B in (%%B) do (
#goto skip
rem # %1 #
) %= for B =%
:skip - do not re-use this label
#echo off
endLocal
) >"%pFile%" %= for A =%
:: count lines in param file
for /f %%A in ('
find /c /v "" ^<"%pFile%"
') do if %%A neq 5 (
>&2 echo(multiline parameter values not supported & goto die
) %= if =%
:: extract and trim param value
for /f "useBack skip=3 delims=" %%A in ("%pFile%") do (
if not defined pN set "pN=%%A"
) %= for /f =%
set "pN=%pN:~7,-3%"
:: die if param value is " or "", else trim leading/trailing quotes
if defined pN (
setLocal enableDelayedExpansion
(call) %= OR emulation =%
if !pN!==^" (call;)
if !pN!=="" (call;)
if errorLevel 1 (
for /f delims^=^ eol^= %%A in ("!pN!") do (
endLocal & set "pN=%%~A"
) %= for /f =%
) else (
>&2 echo(empty parameter values (""^) not supported & goto die
) %= if errorLevel =%
) else (
:: no more params on cmd line
set /a paramC-=1 & goto last
) %= if defined =%
:: die if param value contains "
if not "%pN:"=""%"=="%pN:"=%" (
>&2 echo(quotes (^"^) in parameter values not supported & goto die
) %= if =%
:: assign nth param, shift params, and return to start of loop
set "param%paramC%=%pN%" & shift /1 & goto loop
:last - reached end of params
:: no param values on cmd line
if %paramC% equ 0 (
>&2 echo(no parameter values found & goto die
) %= if =%
:: list params
set param
goto end
:die
(call) %= sets errorLevel to 1 =%
:end
:: exit with appropriate errorLevel
endLocal & goto :EOF
The following conditions will terminate the program immediately:
no parameters found
multiline parameter
empty parameter (""", or " is permitted for the last parameter)
one or more quotes (") in a parameter value
To ease these restrictions, simply comment out the relevant lines. Read the inline comments for more information. Do not attempt to turn off the multiline parameter trap!
I invented the syntax-error-technic to solve the problem (partially).
With this solution it's even possible to receive multiline parameters and also carriage return characters.
There is no known parameter which fails!
BUT the drawback of this solution, the main process exits and only a child process continues.
That is a consequence of the capture trick, a syntax error is created by using an invalid parenthesis block ( Prepare ) PARAMS....
But the syntax error itself outputs the complete block, including the expanded value of %*.
The output is redirected to a file by the permanent redirect technic.
And the child process can retrieve the complete parameter from the file.
This solution can be useful, when the batch file only handles the parameter and always exit afterwards.
#echo off
REM *** Thread redirector
for /F "tokens=3 delims=:" %%F in ("%~0") do goto %%F
REM *** Clear params.tmp
break > params.tmp
start "" /b cmd /k "%~d0\:StayAlive:\..\%~pnx0 params.tmp"
(set LF=^
%=empty=%
)
REM *** Change prompt for better recognition
prompt #PROMPT#
REM *** Change streams permanently
REM *** stream1 redirects to params.tmp
REM *** stream2 redirects to nul
echo on >nul 2>nul 0>nul 3>params.tmp 4>nul 5>&3
#REM *** This is the magic part, it forces a syntax error, the error message itself shows the expanded %asterix without ANY modification
( Prepare ) PARAMS:%LF%%*%LF%
echo Works
exit /b
REM *** Second thread to fetch and show the parameters
:StayAlive
:__WaitForParams
if %~z1 EQU 0 (
goto :__WaitForParams
)
REM *** Show the result
findstr /n "^" %1
It's up to the user who types the command to escape any special characters. Your program cannot do anything about what the shell does before your program even runs. There is no other "bullet proof" solution to this.

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