Utils

(utils)

Overview

The Utils scripting object provides a range of utility methods for data transformation, formatting, and validation. It includes functionality for handling Base64 encoding and decoding, byte array manipulation, and string transformations such as escaping markup, formatting, and hashing. This makes it a versatile tool for managing data in different formats.

Key methods include base64ToBytes, which converts Base64-encoded strings to byte arrays, and bytesToBase64, which performs the reverse operation. The dateFormat method allows dates to be formatted based on specified patterns, with support for custom timezones and locales. Similarly, numberFormat enables precise number formatting, including locale-specific options.

Advanced string operations such as stringReplace, stringFormat, and stringTrim are complemented by security-focused methods like stringMD5HashBase16 and stringPBKDF2Hash, providing robust options for hashing and validation. For example, validatePBKDF2Hash ensures that a given password matches a hash, supporting modern cryptographic standards like SHA256.

The object also facilitates Unicode character conversion, checks for related records using hasRecords, and parses strings into date objects with parseDate, offering rich functionality for varied use cases.

Methods Summarized

Type	Name	Summary
Array	base64ToBytes(base64String:)	Return the byte array representation of the Base64 value
String	base64ToString(base64String:)	Return the String representation of the Base64 value
String	bytesToBase64(byteArray:)	Return the Base64 value representation of the byteArray
String	bytesToHex(bytearray)
String	bytesToString(byteArray:)	Return the string conversion of the byteArray
String	dateFormat(date, format)	Format a date object to a text representation.
String	dateFormat(date, format, timezone)	Format a date object to a text representation using the format and timezone given.
String	dateFormat(date, format, language, country)	Format a date object to a text representation.
String	dateFormat(date, format, timezone, language, country)	Format a date object to a text representation using the format, timezone, language and country given.
String	getUnicodeCharacter(unicodeCharacterNumber)	Returns a string containing the character for the unicode number.
Boolean	hasRecords(foundset)	Returns true if the (related)foundset exists and has records.
Boolean	hasRecords(record, relationString)	Returns true if the (related)foundset exists and has records.
Array	hexToBytes(hex)
String	hexToString(hex)
Boolean	isMondayFirstDayOfWeek()	Returns true when Monday is the first day of the week for your current locale setting.
String	numberFormat(number, digits)	Format a number to have a defined fraction.
String	numberFormat(number, digits, language, country)	Format a number to have a defined fraction.
String	numberFormat(number, format)	Format a number to specification.
String	numberFormat(number, format, language, country)	Format a number to specification.
Date	parseDate(date, format)	Parse a string to a date object.
Date	parseDate(date, format, timezone)	Parse a string to a date object.
Date	parseDate(date, format, language, country)	Parse a string to a date object.
Date	parseDate(date, format, timezone, language, country)	Parse a string to a date object.
String	stringEscapeMarkup(textString)	Returns the escaped markup text (HTML/XML).
String	stringEscapeMarkup(textString, escapeSpaces)	Returns the escaped markup text (HTML/XML).
String	stringEscapeMarkup(textString, escapeSpaces, convertToHtmlUnicodeEscapes)	Returns the escaped markup text (HTML/XML).
String	stringFormat(text_to_format, parameters)	Formats a string according to format specifiers and arguments.
String	stringFormat(text, format)	Format a string using mask.
String	stringIndexReplace(text, i_start, i_size, replacement_text)	Replaces a portion of a string with replacement text from a specified index.
String	stringInitCap(text)	Returns all words starting with capital chars.
String	stringLeft(text, i_size)	Returns a string with the requested number of characters, starting from the left.
String	stringLeftWords(text, numberof_words)	Returns the number of words, starting from the left.
String	stringMD5HashBase16(textString)	Returns the md5 hash (encoded as base16) for specified text.
String	stringMD5HashBase64(textString)	Returns the md5 hash (encoded as base64) for specified text.
String	stringMiddle(text, i_start, i_size)	Returns a substring from the original string.
String	stringMiddleWords(text, i_start, numberof_words)	Returns a substring from the original string.
String	stringPBKDF2Hash(textString)	Returns the PBKDF2 hash for specified text.
String	stringPBKDF2Hash(textString, iterations)	Returns the PBKDF2 hash for specified text.
Number	stringPatternCount(text, toSearchFor)	Returns the number of times searchString appears in textString.
Number	stringPosition(textString, toSearchFor, i_start, i_occurrence)	Returns the position of the string to search for, from a certain start position and occurrence.
String	stringReplace(text, search_text, replacement_text)	Replaces a portion of a string with replacement text.
String	stringReplaceTags(text, scriptable)	Returns the text with %%tags%% replaced, based on provided record or foundset or form.
String	stringRight(text, i_size)	Returns a string with the requested number of characters, starting from the right.
String	stringRightWords(text, numberof_words)	Returns the number of words, starting from the right.
String	stringToBase64(string:)	Return the Base64 representation of the string
Array	stringToBytes(string:)	Return the byte array representation of the string
String	stringToHex(string)
Number	stringToNumber(textString)	Filters characters out of from a string and leaves digits, returns the number.
Number	stringToNumber(textString, decimalSeparator)	Filters characters out of from a string and leaves digits, returns the number.
String	stringTrim(textString)	Returns the string without leading or trailing spaces.
Number	stringWordCount(text)	Returns the number of words in the text string.
Date	timestampToDate(date)	Returns a datestamp from the timestamp (sets hours,minutes,seconds and milliseconds to 0).
Boolean	validatePBKDF2Hash(password, hash)	Validates the given password against the given hash.

Methods Detailed

base64ToBytes(base64String:)

Return the byte array representation of the Base64 value

Parameters

• Object base64String: the Base64 encoded string to convert to byte array

Returns: Array byteArray representation of the base64 string using UTF-8 charset for conversion

Sample

var string = utils.base64ToBytes(base64String);

base64ToString(base64String:)

Return the String representation of the Base64 value

Parameters

• Object base64String: the Base64 value to convert to String

Returns: String String decoded representation of the Base64 value using UTF-8 charset for conversion

Sample

var string = utils.base64ToString(base64Value);

bytesToBase64(byteArray:)

Return the Base64 value representation of the byteArray

Parameters

• Object byteArray: the byte array to convert to Base64 value

Returns: String Base64 representation of the byte array using UTF-8 charset for conversion

Sample

var string = utils.bytesToBase64(byteArray);
x`

bytesToHex(bytearray)

Parameters

• Array bytearray the byte array to convert to hex encoded string

Returns: String returns hex encoded string from bytearray

Sample

var string = utils.bytesToHex(byteArray);

bytesToString(byteArray:)

Return the string conversion of the byteArray

Parameters

• Object byteArray: the byte array to convert to

Returns: String string representation of the byte array using UTF-8 charset for conversion

Sample

var string = utils.bytesToString(byteArray);

dateFormat(date, format)

Format a date object to a text representation.
This will format with the system timezone for the webclient
For NGClient it will use the timezone of the client, the same goes for the Smartclient (but that is the system timezone)
see #dateFormat(Date,String,String) for using the actual clients timezone.

Format can be a string like: 'dd-MM-yyyy' , 'dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm' , 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa', 'dd.MM.yyyy'.
Symbols meaning is:
 G        era designator
 y        year
 Y        week year
 M        month in year
 d        day in month
 h        hour in am/pm (1~12)
 H        hour in day (0~23)
 m        minute in hour
 s        second in minute
 S        millisecond
 E        day in week
 D        day in year
 F        day of week in month
 w        week in year
 W        week in month
 a        am/pm marker
 z        time zone
 k        hour in day (1~24)
 K        hour in am/pm (0~11)

Parameters

• Date date the date
• String format the format to output

Returns: String the date as text

Sample

var formattedDateString = utils.dateFormat(dateobject,'EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss');

dateFormat(date, format, timezone)

Format a date object to a text representation using the format and timezone given.
If the timezone is not given the timezone of the client itself will be used.
see i18n.getAvailableTimeZoneIDs() to get a timezone string that can be used.

Format can be a string like: 'dd-MM-yyyy' , 'dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm' , 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa', 'dd.MM.yyyy'
Symbols meaning is:
 G        era designator
 y        year
 Y        week year
 M        month in year
 d        day in month
 h        hour in am/pm (1~12)
 H        hour in day (0~23)
 m        minute in hour
 s        second in minute
 S        millisecond
 E        day in week
 D        day in year
 F        day of week in month
 w        week in year
 W        week in month
 a        am/pm marker
 z        time zone
 k        hour in day (1~24)
 K        hour in am/pm (0~11)

Parameters

• Date date the date
• String format the format to output
• String timezone The timezone string to use to parse the date (like GMT+3), if null then the timezone of the current client is used.

Returns: String the date as text

Sample

var formattedDateString = utils.dateFormat(dateobject,'EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss', "UTC");

dateFormat(date, format, language, country)

Format a date object to a text representation.
This will format with the system timezone for the webclient
With language and/or country the locale will be created.
For NGClient it will use the timezone of the client, the same goes for the Smartclient (but that is the system timezone)
see #dateFormat(Date,String,String) for using the actual clients timezone.

Format can be a string like: 'dd-MM-yyyy' , 'dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm' , 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa', 'dd.MM.yyyy'.
Symbols meaning is:
 G        era designator
 y        year
 Y        week year
 M        month in year
 d        day in month
 h        hour in am/pm (1~12)
 H        hour in day (0~23)
 m        minute in hour
 s        second in minute
 S        millisecond
 E        day in week
 D        day in year
 F        day of week in month
 w        week in year
 W        week in month
 a        am/pm marker
 z        time zone
 k        hour in day (1~24)
 K        hour in am/pm (0~11)

Parameters

• Date date the date
• String format the format to output
• String language language used to create locale
• String country country used along side language to create the locale

Returns: String the date as text

Sample

var formattedDateString = utils.dateFormat(dateobject,'EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss', "fr", "CA");

dateFormat(date, format, timezone, language, country)

Format a date object to a text representation using the format, timezone, language and country given.
With the language and country given, the locale will be created.
If the timezone is not given the timezone of the client itself will be used.
see i18n.getAvailableTimeZoneIDs() to get a timezone string that can be used.

Format can be a string like: 'dd-MM-yyyy' , 'dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm' , 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa', 'dd.MM.yyyy'
Symbols meaning is:
 G        era designator
 y        year
 Y        week year
 M        month in year
 d        day in month
 h        hour in am/pm (1~12)
 H        hour in day (0~23)
 m        minute in hour
 s        second in minute
 S        millisecond
 E        day in week
 D        day in year
 F        day of week in month
 w        week in year
 W        week in month
 a        am/pm marker
 z        time zone
 k        hour in day (1~24)
 K        hour in am/pm (0~11)

Parameters

• Date date the date
• String format the format to output
• String timezone the timezone to use the format, if null then current client timezone is used.
• String language language used to create locale
• String country country used along side language to create the locale

Returns: String the date as text

Sample

var formattedDateString = utils.dateFormat(dateobject,'EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss', "UTC", "fr", "CA");

getUnicodeCharacter(unicodeCharacterNumber)

Returns a string containing the character for the unicode number.

Parameters

• Number unicodeCharacterNumber the number indicating the unicode character

Returns: String a string containing the unicode character

Sample

//returns a big dot
var dot = utils.getUnicodeCharacter(9679);

hasRecords(foundset)

Returns true if the (related)foundset exists and has records. Another use is, to pass a record and qualified relations string to test multiple relations/foundset at once

Parameters

• JSFoundSet foundset the foundset to be tested

Returns: Boolean true if exists

Sample

//test the orders_to_orderitems foundset
if (myElement.hasRecords(orders_to_orderitems))
{
	//do work on relatedFoundSet
}
//test the orders_to_orderitems.orderitems_to_products foundset to be reached from the current record
//if (myElement.hasRecords(foundset.getSelectedRecord(),'orders_to_orderitems.orderitems_to_products'))
//{
//	//do work on deeper relatedFoundSet
//}

hasRecords(record, relationString)

Returns true if the (related)foundset exists and has records. Another use is, to pass a record and qualified relations string to test multiple relations/foundset at once

Parameters

• JSRecord record A JSRecord to test.
• String relationString The relation name.

Returns: Boolean true if the foundset/relation has records.

Sample

//test the orders_to_orderitems foundset
if (myElement.hasRecords(orders_to_orderitems))
{
	//do work on relatedFoundSet
}
//test the orders_to_orderitems.orderitems_to_products foundset to be reached from the current record
//if (myElement.hasRecords(foundset.getSelectedRecord(),'orders_to_orderitems.orderitems_to_products'))
//{
//	//do work on deeper relatedFoundSet
//}

hexToBytes(hex)

Parameters

• String hex hex encoded string to be decoded into a byte array.

Returns: Array a byte array from hex encoded string

Sample

var array = utils.hexToBytes(hex);

hexToString(hex)

Parameters

• String hex ;

Returns: String returns decoded string from hex

Sample

var string = utils.hexToString(hex);

isMondayFirstDayOfWeek()

Returns true when Monday is the first day of the week for your current locale setting.

Returns: Boolean true if Monday is first day of the week in current locale

Sample

if(utils.isMondayFirstDayOfWeek())
{
	//a date calculation
}

numberFormat(number, digits)

Format a number to have a defined fraction.

Parameters

• Number number the number to format
• Number digits nr of digits

Returns: String the resulting number in text

Sample

var textalNumber = utils.numberFormat(16.749, 2); //returns 16.75

numberFormat(number, digits, language, country)

Format a number to have a defined fraction.

Parameters

• Number number the number to format
• Number digits nr of digits
• String language language used to create locale
• String country country used along side language to create the locale

Returns: String the resulting number in text

Sample

var textalNumber = utils.numberFormat(16.749, 2, "fr", "CA"); //returns 16.75

numberFormat(number, format)

Format a number to specification.

Parameters

• Number number the number to format
• String format the format

Returns: String the resulting number in text

Sample

var textalNumber2 = utils.numberFormat(100006.749, '#,###.00'); //returns 100,006.75

numberFormat(number, format, language, country)

Format a number to specification.

Parameters

• Number number the number to format
• String format the format
• String language language used to create locale
• String country country used along side language to create the locale

Returns: String the resulting number in text

Sample

var textalNumber2 = utils.numberFormat(100006.749, '#,###.00', "fr", "CA"); //returns 100,006.75

parseDate(date, format)

Parse a string to a date object. This parses the date using the TimeZone of the server Format can be a string like: 'dd-MM-yyyy' , 'dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm' , 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa', 'dd.MM.yyyy'

Parameters

• String date the date as text
• String format the format to parse the date

Returns: Date the date as date object

Sample

var parsedDate = utils.parseDate(datestring,'EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss');

parseDate(date, format, timezone)

Parse a string to a date object. Using the timezone that is given, if null then it formats it with the clients timezone.

see i18n.getAvailableTimeZoneIDs() to get a timezone string that can be used.

Format can be a string like: 'dd-MM-yyyy' , 'dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm' , 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa', 'dd.MM.yyyy'

Parameters

• String date the date as text
• String format the format to parse the date
• String timezone The timezone string to use to parse the date (like GMT+3)

Returns: Date the date as date object

Sample

var parsedDate = utils.parseDate(datestring,'EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss');

parseDate(date, format, language, country)

Parse a string to a date object. Using language and country that are given, if null then it formats it with the locale of the client

Format can be a string like: 'dd-MM-yyyy' , 'dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm' , 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa', 'dd.MM.yyyy'

Parameters

• String date the date as text
• String format the format to parse the date
• String language language used to create locale
• String country country used along side language to create the locale

Returns: Date the date as date object

Sample

var parsedDate = utils.parseDate(datestring,'EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss', 'en', 'US');

parseDate(date, format, timezone, language, country)

Parse a string to a date object. Using the timezone, language and country that are given, if null then it formats it with the timezone and locale of the client

see i18n.getAvailableTimeZoneIDs() to get a timezone string that can be used.

Format can be a string like: 'dd-MM-yyyy' , 'dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm' , 'MM/dd/yyyy', 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa', 'dd.MM.yyyy'

Parameters

• String date the date as text
• String format the format to parse the date
• String timezone The timezone string to use to parse the date (like GMT+3)
• String language language used to create locale
• String country country used along side language to create the locale

Returns: Date the date as date object

Sample

var parsedDate = utils.parseDate(datestring,'EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss', 'GMT+3', 'en', 'US');

stringEscapeMarkup(textString)

Returns the escaped markup text (HTML/XML).

Parameters

• String textString the text to process

Returns: String the escaped text

Sample

var escapedText = utils.stringEscapeMarkup('<html><body>escape me</body></html>')

stringEscapeMarkup(textString, escapeSpaces)

Returns the escaped markup text (HTML/XML).

Parameters

• String textString the text to process
• Boolean escapeSpaces indicating to escape spaces

Returns: String the escaped text

Sample

var escapedText = utils.stringEscapeMarkup('<html><body>escape me</body></html>')

stringEscapeMarkup(textString, escapeSpaces, convertToHtmlUnicodeEscapes)

Returns the escaped markup text (HTML/XML).

Parameters

• String textString the text to process
• Boolean escapeSpaces indicating to escape spaces
• Boolean convertToHtmlUnicodeEscapes indicating to use unicode escapes

Returns: String the escaped text

Sample

var escapedText = utils.stringEscapeMarkup('<html><body>escape me</body></html>')

stringFormat(text_to_format, parameters)

Formats a string according to format specifiers and arguments.

Parameters

• String text_to_format the text to format
• Array parameters the array with parameters

Returns: String the formatted text

Sample

// the  format specifier has the syntax: %[argument_index$][flags][width][.precision]conversion
// argument index is 1$, 2$ ...
// flags is a set of characters that modify the output format
// typical values: '+'(The result will always include a sign), ','(The result will include locale-specific grouping separators)
// width is a non-negative decimal integer indicating the minimum number of characters to be written to the output
// precision is a non-negative decimal integer usually used to restrict the number of characters
// conversion is a character indicating how the argument should be formatted
// typical conversion values: b(boolean), s(string), c(character), d(decimal integer), f(floating number), t(prefix for date and time)
// Date/Time Conversions (used after 't' prefix):
		// 'H' 	Hour of the day for the 24-hour clock, formatted as two digits with a leading zero as necessary i.e. 00 - 23.
		// 'I' 	Hour for the 12-hour clock, formatted as two digits with a leading zero as necessary, i.e. 01 - 12.
		// 'k' 	Hour of the day for the 24-hour clock, i.e. 0 - 23.
		// 'l' 	Hour for the 12-hour clock, i.e. 1 - 12.
		// 'M' 	Minute within the hour formatted as two digits with a leading zero as necessary, i.e. 00 - 59.
		// 'S' 	Seconds within the minute, formatted as two digits with a leading zero as necessary, i.e. 00 - 60 ("60" is a special value required to support leap seconds).
		// 'L' 	Millisecond within the second formatted as three digits with leading zeros as necessary, i.e. 000 - 999.
		// 'p' 	Locale-specific morning or afternoon marker in lower case, e.g."am" or "pm". Use of the conversion prefix 'T' forces this output to upper case.
		// 'z' 	RFC 822 style numeric time zone offset from GMT, e.g. -0800.
		// 'Z' 	A string representing the abbreviation for the time zone.
		// 'B' 	Locale-specific full month name, e.g. "January", "February".
		// 'b' 	Locale-specific abbreviated month name, e.g. "Jan", "Feb".
		// 'h' 	Same as 'b'.
		// 'A' 	Locale-specific full name of the day of the week, e.g. "Sunday", "Monday"
		// 'a' 	Locale-specific short name of the day of the week, e.g. "Sun", "Mon"
		// 'C' 	Four-digit year divided by 100, formatted as two digits with leading zero as necessary, i.e. 00 - 99
		// 'Y' 	Year, formatted as at least four digits with leading zeros as necessary, e.g. 0092 equals 92 CE for the Gregorian calendar.
		// 'y' 	Last two digits of the year, formatted with leading zeros as necessary, i.e. 00 - 99.
		// 'j' 	Day of year, formatted as three digits with leading zeros as necessary, e.g. 001 - 366 for the Gregorian calendar.
		// 'm' 	Month, formatted as two digits with leading zeros as necessary, i.e. 01 - 13.
		// 'd' 	Day of month, formatted as two digits with leading zeros as necessary, i.e. 01 - 31
		// 'e' 	Day of month, formatted as two digits, i.e. 1 - 31.

		// common compositions for date/time conversion
		// 'R' 	Time formatted for the 24-hour clock as "%tH:%tM"
		// 'T' 	Time formatted for the 24-hour clock as "%tH:%tM:%tS".
		// 'r' 	Time formatted for the 12-hour clock as "%tI:%tM:%tS %Tp". The location of the morning or afternoon marker ('%Tp') may be locale-dependent.
		// 'D' 	Date formatted as "%tm/%td/%ty".
		// 'F' 	ISO 8601 complete date formatted as "%tY-%tm-%td".
		// 'c' 	Date and time formatted as "%ta %tb %td %tT %tZ %tY", e.g. "Sun Jul 20 16:17:00 EDT 1969".

utils.stringFormat('%s Birthday: %2$tm %2$te,%2$tY',new Array('My',new Date(2009,0,1))) // returns My Birthday: 01 1,2009
utils.stringFormat('The time is: %1$tH:%1$tM:%1$tS',new Array(new Date(2009,0,1,12,0,0))) // returns The time is: 12:00:00
utils.stringFormat('My %s: %2$.0f, my float: %2$.2f',new Array('integer',10)) // returns My integer: 10, my float: 10.00
utils.stringFormat('Today is: %1$tc',new Array(new Date())) // returns current date/time as:  Today is: Fri Feb 20 14:15:54 EET 2009
utils.stringFormat('Today is: %tF',new Array(new Date())) // returns current date as: Today is: 2009-02-20

stringFormat(text, format)

Format a string using mask.

Parameters

• String text the string to format
• Object format the format

Returns: String the resulting text

Sample

var formattedString = utils.stringFormat('0771231231', '(###)####-###'); //returns [phone]

stringIndexReplace(text, i_start, i_size, replacement_text)

Replaces a portion of a string with replacement text from a specified index.

Parameters

• String text the text to process
• Number i_start the start index to work from
• Number i_size the size of the text to replace
• String replacement_text the replacement text

Returns: String the changed text string

Sample

//returns 'this was a test'
var retval = utils.stringIndexReplace('this is a test',6,2,'was');

stringInitCap(text)

Returns all words starting with capital chars.

Parameters

• String text the text to process

Returns: String the changed text

Sample

//returns 'This Is A Test'
var retval = utils.stringInitCap('This is A test');

stringLeft(text, i_size)

Returns a string with the requested number of characters, starting from the left.

Parameters

• String text the text to process
• Number i_size the size of the text to return

Returns: String the result text string

Sample

//returns 'this i'
var retval = utils.stringLeft('this is a test',6);

stringLeftWords(text, numberof_words)

Returns the number of words, starting from the left.

Parameters

• String text to process
• Number numberof_words to return

Returns: String the string with number of words form the left

Sample

//returns 'this is a'
var retval = utils.stringLeftWords('this is a test',3);

stringMD5HashBase16(textString)

Returns the md5 hash (encoded as base16) for specified text.

NOTE: MD5 (Message-Digest Algorythm 5) is a hash function with a 128-bit hash value, for more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5

Parameters

• String textString the text to process

Returns: String the resulting hashString

Sample

var hashed_password = utils.stringMD5HashBase16(user_password)

stringMD5HashBase64(textString)

Returns the md5 hash (encoded as base64) for specified text.

NOTE: MD5 (Message-Digest Algorythm 5) is a hash function with a 128-bit hash value, for more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5

Parameters

• String textString the text to process

Returns: String the resulting hashString

Sample

var hashed_password = utils.stringMD5HashBase64(user_password)

stringMiddle(text, i_start, i_size)

Returns a substring from the original string.

Parameters

• String text the text to process
• Number i_start the start index to work from
• Number i_size the size of the text to return

Returns: String the result text string

Sample

//returns 'his'
var retval = utils.stringMiddle('this is a test',2,3);

stringMiddleWords(text, i_start, numberof_words)

Returns a substring from the original string.

Parameters

• String text to process
• Number i_start start word index
• Number numberof_words the word count to return

Returns: String the string with number of words form the left and

Sample

//returns 'is a'
var retval = utils.stringMiddleWords('this is a test',2,2);

stringPBKDF2Hash(textString)

Returns the PBKDF2 hash for specified text. This method is preferred above the old MD5 hash for enhanced security. It uses a default of 9999 iterations. The string that is returned can only be used in the utils.validatePBKDF2Hash(password,thisReturnValue) to check if this hash is a result of that password. This will always be false: utils.stringPBKDF2Hash("test") == utils.stringPBKDF2Hash("test"). Because for the same string in multiply calls it will not generate the same hash. So you can only check it like this: utils.validatePBKDF2Hash("test",utils.stringPBKDF2Hash("test"))

NOTE: PBKDF2 is the key hash function for the PKCS (Public-Key Cryptography) standard, for more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBKDF2

Parameters

• String textString the text to process

Returns: String the resulting hashString

Sample

var hashed_password = utils.stringPBKDF2Hash(user_password)

stringPBKDF2Hash(textString, iterations)

Returns the PBKDF2 hash for specified text. This method is preferred above the old MD5 hash for enhanced security. From Servoy 2024.3.1 on this method will use SHA256 (HmacSHA256) as the Hash Algorithm. Before that it did use SHA1 (HmacSHA1) as the Hash Algorithm, this does result in the a different length of the hash. The total hash length (including interations of 9999) for SHA256 is 87 that was 63. So you need to make sure you can store at least 87 characters in your database. (but make sure you can handle more for future updates)

NOTE: PBKDF2 is the key hash function for the PKCS (Public-Key Cryptography) standard, for more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBKDF2

Parameters

• String textString the text to process
• Number iterations how many hash iterations should be done, minimum should be 1000 or higher.

Returns: String the resulting hashString

Sample

var hashed_password = utils.stringPBKDF2Hash(user_password,9999)

stringPatternCount(text, toSearchFor)

Returns the number of times searchString appears in textString.

Parameters

• String text the text to process
• String toSearchFor the string to search for

Returns: Number the occurrenceCount that the search string is found in the text

Sample

//returns 2 as count
var count = utils.stringPatternCount('this is a test','is');

stringPosition(textString, toSearchFor, i_start, i_occurrence)

Returns the position of the string to search for, from a certain start position and occurrence.

Parameters

• String textString the text to process
• String toSearchFor the string to search
• Number i_start the start index to search from
• Number i_occurrence the occurrence

Returns: Number the position

Sample

//returns 4 as position
var pos = utils.stringPosition('This is a test','s',1,1)

stringReplace(text, search_text, replacement_text)

Replaces a portion of a string with replacement text.

Parameters

• String text the text to process
• String search_text the string to search
• String replacement_text the replacement text

Returns: String the changed text string

Sample

//returns 'these are cow 1 and cow 2.'
var retval = utils.stringReplace('these are test 1 and test 2.','test','cow');

stringReplaceTags(text, scriptable)

Returns the text with %%tags%% replaced, based on provided record or foundset or form.

Parameters

• String text the text tags to work with
• Object scriptable the javascript object or foundset,record,form to be used to fill in the tags

Returns: String the text with replaced tags

Sample

//Next line places a string in variable x, whereby the tag(%%TAG%%) is filled with the value of the database column 'company_name' of the selected record.
var x = utils.stringReplaceTags("The companyName of the selected record is %%company_name%% ", foundset)
//var otherExample = utils.stringReplaceTags("The amount of the related order line %%amount%% ", order_to_orderdetails);
//var recordExample = utils.stringReplaceTags("The amount of the related order line %%amount%% ", order_to_orderdetails.getRecord(i);
//Next line places a string in variable y, whereby the tag(%%TAG%%) is filled with the value of the form variable 'x' of the form named 'main'.
//var y = utils.stringReplaceTags("The value of form variable is %%x%% ", forms.main);
//The next sample shows the use of a javascript object
//var obj = new Object();//create a javascript object
//obj['x'] = 'test';//assign an named value
//var y = utils.stringReplaceTags("The value of object variable is %%x%% ", obj);//use the named value in a tag

stringRight(text, i_size)

Returns a string with the requested number of characters, starting from the right.

Parameters

• String text the text to process
• Number i_size the size of the text to return

Returns: String the result text string

Sample

//returns 'a test'
var retval = utils.stringLeft('this is a test',6);

stringRightWords(text, numberof_words)

Returns the number of words, starting from the right.

Parameters

• String text to process
• Number numberof_words to return

Returns: String the string with number of words form the right

Sample

//returns 'is a test'
var retval = utils.stringRightWords('this is a test',3);

stringToBase64(string:)

Return the Base64 representation of the string

Parameters

• Object string: the string to convert to Base64

Returns: String Base64 encoded representation of the string using UTF-8 charset for conversion

Sample

var string = utils.stringToBase64('This is A test');

stringToBytes(string:)

Return the byte array representation of the string

Parameters

• Object string: the string to convert to bytes

Returns: Array byte array representation of the string using UTF-8 charset for conversion

Sample

var byteArray = utils.stringToBytes('This is A test');

stringToHex(string)

Parameters

• String string String to be encoded into hex

Returns: String returns hex encoded string

Sample

var hex = utils.stringToHex(string);

stringToNumber(textString)

Filters characters out of from a string and leaves digits, returns the number. Uses locale decimal separator.

Parameters

• String textString the text to process

Returns: Number the resulting number

Sample

//returns 65567
var retval = utils.stringToNumber('fg65gf567');

stringToNumber(textString, decimalSeparator)

Filters characters out of from a string and leaves digits, returns the number. Decimal separator is specified as parameter.

Parameters

• String textString the text to process
• String decimalSeparator decimal separator

Returns: Number the resulting number

Sample

//returns 65.567
var retval = utils.stringToNumber('fg65gf.567','.');

stringTrim(textString)

Returns the string without leading or trailing spaces.

Parameters

• String textString the text to process

Returns: String the resulting trimmed string

Sample

//returns 'text'
var retval = utils.stringTrim('   text   ');

stringWordCount(text)

Returns the number of words in the text string.

Parameters

• String text the text to process

Returns: Number the word count

Sample

//returns '4' as result
var retval = utils.stringWordCount('this is a test');

timestampToDate(date)

Returns a datestamp from the timestamp (sets hours,minutes,seconds and milliseconds to 0).

Parameters

• Date date object to be stripped from its time elements

Returns: Date the stripped date object

Sample

var date = utils.timestampToDate(application.getTimeStamp());

validatePBKDF2Hash(password, hash)

Validates the given password against the given hash. The hash should be generated by one of the stringPBKDF2Hash(password [,iteration]) functions. If hash is null or empty string the method will return false. This method can handle the older generated hash values based on SHA1 (HmacSHA1) and the new SHA256 (HmacSHA256) hash values.

NOTE: PBKDF2 is the key hash function for the PKCS (Public-Key Cryptography) standard, for more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBKDF2

Parameters

• String password the password to test against
• String hash the hash the password needs to validate to.

Returns: Boolean true if his hash is valid for that password

Sample

if (utils.validatePBKDF2Hash(user_password, hashFromDb)) {
   // logged in
}

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