String-Oriented Output Formats
| "text" | a string containing arbitrary text |
Text strings.
The quotes are not included in standard Mathematica output form.
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In input form, the quotes are included.
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You can put any kind of text into a
Mathematica string. This includes non-English characters, as well as newlines and other control information.
"Strings and Characters" discusses in more detail how strings work.
| StringForm["cccc``cccc",x1,x2,...] | output a string in which successive `` are replaced by successive xi |
| StringForm["cccc`i`cccc",x1,x2,...] | output a string in which each `i` is replaced by the corresponding xi |
Using format strings.
In many situations, you may want to generate output using a string as a "template", but "splicing" in various
Mathematica expressions. You can do this using
StringForm.
This generates output with each successive `` replaced by an expression.
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You can use numbers to pick out expressions in any order.
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The string in
StringForm acts somewhat like a "format directive" in the formatted output statements of languages such as C and Fortran. You can determine how the expressions in
StringForm will be formatted by wrapping them with standard output format functions.
You can specify how the expressions in StringForm are formatted using standard output format functions.
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You should realize that
StringForm is only an output format. It does not evaluate in any way. You can use the function
ToString to create an ordinary string from a
StringForm object.
StringForm generates formatted output in standard Mathematica output form.
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In input form, you can see the actual StringForm object.
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This creates an ordinary string from the StringForm object.
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StringForm allows you to specify a "template string", then fill in various expressions. Sometimes all you want to do is to concatenate together the output forms for a sequence of expressions. You can do this using
Row.
| Row[{expr1,expr2,...}] | give the output forms of the expri concatenated together |
| Row[list, s] | insert s between successive elements |
| Spacer[w] | a space of w points which can be used in Row |
| Invisible[expr] | a space determined by the physical dimensions of expr |
Output of sequences of expressions.
Row prints as a sequence of expressions concatenated together.
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Row also works with typeset expressions.
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Row can automatically insert any expression between the displayed elements.
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Spacer can be used to control the precise spacing between elements.
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| Column[{expr1,expr2,...}] | a left-aligned column of objects |
| Column[list,alignment] | a column with a specified horizontal alignment (Left, Center or Right) |
| Column[list,alignment,s] | a column with elements separated by s x-heights |
Output of columns of expressions.
This arranges the two expressions in a column.
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| Defer[expr] | give the output form of expr, with expr maintained unevaluated |
| Interpretation[e,expr] | give an output which displays as e, but evaluates as expr |
Output of unevaluated expressions.
Using text strings and functions like
Row, you can generate pieces of output that do not necessarily correspond to valid
Mathematica expressions. Sometimes, however, you want to generate output that corresponds to a valid
Mathematica expression, but only so long as the expression is not evaluated. The function
Defer maintains its argument unevaluated, but allows it to be formatted in the standard
Mathematica output form.
Defer maintains 1+1 unevaluated.
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The Defer prevents the actual assignment from being done.
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When the output of
Defer is evaluated again, which might happen by modifying the output or by using copy and paste, it will evaluate normally.
The following output was copied from the previous output cell into an input cell.
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It is also possible to produce output whose appearance has no direct correlation to how it evaluates by using
Interpretation. This method is effectively used by
Mathematica when formatting some kinds of outputs where the most readable form does not correspond well to the internal representation of the object. For example,
Series always generates an
Interpretation object in its default output.
Although this output displays as y, it will evaluate as x.
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Copying and pasting the previous output will reference the value earlier assigned to x.
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