string-replace interactive function hit or miss?

string-replace interactive function hit or miss?

[ChristineLWilson]

Hi,
  I have a large text file that I need to replace multiple pieces of
text with other chunks...so I open my file in emacs, make my function
interactive, but it seems as though the replacements are happening hit
or miss.  Any ideas why this isn't running properly and how I can make
it complete/reliable?  Please see the function and text chunk below.

Thanks,
Christine

;;the interactive function
(defun replacegoals ()
  (interactive)
  (goto-char (point-min))
  (replace-string "(goal qleadin" "\"Consider the following
question:<P>\", \"GNAME:qleadin\",")
  (replace-string "(goal e1b1.q" "\"<B>Suppose that the suitcase has no
wheels, and is instead subject to a frictional force as it slides
across the floor.  If everything else were the same, how would the work
done by the strap on the suitcase change?</B>\", \"GNAME:e1b1.q\",")
  (replace-string "(goal dummyans" "\"<P>Please enter your answer:\",
\"GNAME:dummyans\",")
  (replace-string "(goal ialeadin" "\"Here is how a physics expert
answered the same question:<P>\", \"GNAME:ialeadin\",")
;;;and so on....
)

;;a chunk of the text file
(goal e1b1ctr
  (goal qleadin
	"Consider the following question:<P>")
  (goal e1b1.q
	"<B>Suppose that the suitcase has no wheels, and is instead subject to
a frictional force as it slides across the floor.  If everything else
were the
same, how would the work done by the strap on the suitcase
change?</B>")
  (goal dummyans "<P>Please enter your answer:"
	(("$anything else$")))
  (goal ialeadin
	"Here is how a physics expert answered the same question:<P>")

Re: string-replace interactive function hit or miss?

[Kevin Rodgers]

ChristineLWilson@gmail.com wrote:
 >   I have a large text file that I need to replace multiple pieces of
 > text with other chunks...so I open my file in emacs, make my function
 > interactive, but it seems as though the replacements are happening hit
 > or miss.  Any ideas why this isn't running properly and how I can make
 > it complete/reliable?  Please see the function and text chunk below.
 >
 > Thanks,
 > Christine
 >
 > ;;the interactive function
 > (defun replacegoals ()
 >   (interactive)
 >   (goto-char (point-min))
 >   (replace-string "(goal qleadin" "\"Consider the following
 > question:<P>\", \"GNAME:qleadin\",")
 >   (replace-string "(goal e1b1.q" "\"<B>Suppose that the suitcase has no
 > wheels, and is instead subject to a frictional force as it slides
 > across the floor.  If everything else were the same, how would the work
 > done by the strap on the suitcase change?</B>\", \"GNAME:e1b1.q\",")
 >   (replace-string "(goal dummyans" "\"<P>Please enter your answer:\",
 > \"GNAME:dummyans\",")
 >   (replace-string "(goal ialeadin" "\"Here is how a physics expert
 > answered the same question:<P>\", \"GNAME:ialeadin\",")
 > ;;;and so on....
 > )

Don't use replace-string.  Do as its doc string suggests, making sure
you move point to the beginning of the buffer before each replacement:

| This function is usually the wrong thing to use in a Lisp program.
| What you probably want is a loop like this:
|   (while (search-forward FROM-STRING nil t)
|     (replace-match TO-STRING nil t))
| which will run faster and will not set the mark or print anything.
| (You may need a more complex loop if FROM-STRING can match the null string
| and TO-STRING is also null.)

-- 
Kevin Rodgers