Use of \n in strings

Patrick Nolan

I recently had need to use \n in a javascript string.
Firefox really doesn't like it. It says that I have an
unterminated string literal. I can't figure out how to
get around this.

I have a textarea element, and I want to append lines to it.
I tried
someArea.value += someString + "\n";
When I look at the page source, it looks like
someArea.value += someString + "
";

The string someString comes from a TEXT input element on a
form, so it doesn't come with its own \n.

Is there some way to accomplish this?

Sep 24 '08 #1

Subscribe Reply

3411

slebetman

On Sep 25, 7:20 am, Patrick Nolan <p...@glast2.Stanford.EDUwrote:

I recently had need to use \n in a javascript string.
Firefox really doesn't like it. It says that I have an
unterminated string literal. I can't figure out how to
get around this.

I have a textarea element, and I want to append lines to it.
I tried
someArea.value += someString + "\n";
When I look at the page source, it looks like
someArea.value += someString + "
";

The string someString comes from a TEXT input element on a
form, so it doesn't come with its own \n.

Is there some way to accomplish this?

Works fine on MY Firefox 2 and 3. Are you SURE something on your
server end is not interpreting the \n before the browser sees it?
Here's a simple test case:

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
window.onload = function () {
var someString = "This is a test";
var someArea = document.getElementById('foo');
someArea.value += someString + "\n";
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<textarea id="foo">Hmm.. </textarea>
</body>
</html>

Sep 25 '08 #2

Erwin Moller

Patrick Nolan schreef:

I recently had need to use \n in a javascript string.
Firefox really doesn't like it. It says that I have an
unterminated string literal. I can't figure out how to
get around this.

I have a textarea element, and I want to append lines to it.
I tried
someArea.value += someString + "\n";
When I look at the page source, it looks like
someArea.value += someString + "
";

The string someString comes from a TEXT input element on a
form, so it doesn't come with its own \n.

Is there some way to accomplish this?

Hi,

It is not clear how your piece of code is implemented.
You say:
someArea.value += someString + "\n";

comes up as
someArea.value += someString + "
";
in the source??

The source was someArea.value += someString + "\\n";
So what is it excactly you are doing?

Anyway, give this a shot: Escape the backslash:
someArea.value += someString + "\\n";
Regards,
Erwin Moller

--
============================
Erwin Moller
Now dropping all postings from googlegroups.
Why? http://improve-usenet.org/
============================

Sep 25 '08 #3

Erwin Moller

Erwin Moller schreef:

>
Patrick Nolan schreef:
>I recently had need to use \n in a javascript string.
Firefox really doesn't like it. It says that I have an
unterminated string literal. I can't figure out how to
get around this.

I have a textarea element, and I want to append lines to it.
I tried
someArea.value += someString + "\n";
When I look at the page source, it looks like
someArea.value += someString + "
";

The string someString comes from a TEXT input element on a
form, so it doesn't come with its own \n.

Is there some way to accomplish this?

Hi,

It is not clear how your piece of code is implemented.
You say:
someArea.value += someString + "\n";

comes up as
someArea.value += someString + "
";
in the source??

The source was someArea.value += someString + "\\n";

Typo:
I ment of course:
The source was someArea.value += someString + "\n";

So what is it excactly you are doing?

Anyway, give this a shot: Escape the backslash:
someArea.value += someString + "\\n";
Regards,
Erwin Moller

--
============================
Erwin Moller
Now dropping all postings from googlegroups.
Why? http://improve-usenet.org/
============================

Sep 25 '08 #4

Patrick Nolan

On 2008-09-25, Erwin Moller wrote:

>
Patrick Nolan schreef:
>I recently had need to use \n in a javascript string.
Firefox really doesn't like it. It says that I have an
unterminated string literal. I can't figure out how to
get around this.

I have a textarea element, and I want to append lines to it.
I tried
someArea.value += someString + "\n";
When I look at the page source, it looks like
someArea.value += someString + "
";

Hi,

It is not clear how your piece of code is implemented.
You say:
someArea.value += someString + "\n";

comes up as
someArea.value += someString + "
";
in the source??

Thanks for the response. I am a bonehead.
The web page is produced by a perl CGI script. The javascript
part of it is in a long block of literal text surrounded by
print <<EOF; and EOF. I forgot that perl would interpret the
\n embedded in that. Maybe I never knew it. Replacing \n
with \\n cures the problem.

Maybe I should start putting the javascript into a separate
file, rather than combining it with the generated HTML.

Sep 25 '08 #5

Erwin Moller

Patrick Nolan schreef:

On 2008-09-25, Erwin Moller wrote:
>Patrick Nolan schreef:
>>I recently had need to use \n in a javascript string.
Firefox really doesn't like it. It says that I have an
unterminated string literal. I can't figure out how to
get around this.

I have a textarea element, and I want to append lines to it.
I tried
someArea.value += someString + "\n";
When I look at the page source, it looks like
someArea.value += someString + "
";

>Hi,

It is not clear how your piece of code is implemented.
You say:
someArea.value += someString + "\n";

comes up as
someArea.value += someString + "
";
in the source??

Thanks for the response. I am a bonehead.
The web page is produced by a perl CGI script. The javascript
part of it is in a long block of literal text surrounded by
print <<EOF; and EOF. I forgot that perl would interpret the
\n embedded in that. Maybe I never knew it. Replacing \n
with \\n cures the problem.

Maybe I should start putting the javascript into a separate
file, rather than combining it with the generated HTML.

Hi,

If you DON'T need any variable substitution IN the HERE DOC, you could
use single quotes instead of ".
That might avoid the \n problem.
But I am not 100% sure, since I dropped PERL the same day I saw PHP,
long ago. ;-)

Regards,
Erwin Moller
--
============================
Erwin Moller
Now dropping all postings from googlegroups.
Why? http://improve-usenet.org/
============================

Sep 26 '08 #6

Similar topics

Match beginning of two strings

by: Ravi | last post by:

Hi, I have about 200GB of data that I need to go through and extract the common first part of a line. Something like this. >>>a = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" >>>b = "abcdefghijklmnopBHLHT"...

Python

Mutable strings

by: Gordon Airport | last post by:

Has anyone suggested introducing a mutable string type (yes, of course) and distinguishing them from standard strings by the quote type - single or double? As far as I know ' and " are currently...

Python

Prothon should not borrow Python strings!

by: Paul Prescod | last post by:

I skimmed the tutorial and something alarmed me. "Strings are a powerful data type in Prothon. Unlike many languages, they can be of unlimited size (constrained only by memory size) and can hold...

Python

Comparing two strings with arrays and pointers

by: agent349 | last post by:

First off, I know arrays can't be compared directly (ie: if (arrary1 == array2)). However, I've been trying to compare two arrays using pointers with no success. Basically, I want to take three...

C / C++

sort an array of strings

by: Rainmaker | last post by:

Hi, Can anyone tell me an efficient algorithm to sort an array of strings? Keep in mind that this array is HUGE and so the algorithm should me efficient enough to deal with it. Thanks

C / C++

arrays and strings misunderstanding...

by: Broeisi | last post by:

Hello, I wrote the tiny progam below just to understand arrays and strings better. I have 2 questions about arrays and strings in C. 1. Why is it that when you want to assign a string to an...

C / C++

Reading array of strings from file with char pointer array in C

by: Potiuper | last post by:

Question: Is it possible to use a char pointer array ( char *<name> ) to read an array of strings from a file in C? Given: code is written in ANSI C; I know the exact nature of the strings to be...

C / C++

K&R C and strings

by: pkirk25 | last post by:

I wonder if anyone has time to write a small example program based on this data or to critique my own effort? A file called Realm List.html contains the following data: Bladefist-Horde...

C / C++

Text-Based Windows Library

by: hstagni | last post by:

Where can I find a library to created text-based windows applications? Im looking for a library that can make windows and buttons inside console.. Many old apps were make like this, i guess ...

C / C++

Is that possible of reading the .csv file in column wise and the column have different lengths ?

by: Sonnysonu | last post by:

This is the data of csv file 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 the lengths should be different i have to store the data by column-wise with in the specific length. suppose the i have to...

C / C++

What is ONU?

by: marktang | last post by:

ONU (Optical Network Unit) is one of the key components for providing high-speed Internet services. Its primary function is to act as an endpoint device located at the user's premises. However,...

General

Problem With Comparison Operator <=> in G++

by: Oralloy | last post by:

Hello folks, I am unable to find appropriate documentation on the type promotion of bit-fields when using the generalised comparison operator "<=>". The problem is that using the GNU compilers,...

C / C++

The easy way to turn off automatic updates for Windows 10/11

by: Hystou | last post by:

Overview: Windows 11 and 10 have less user interface control over operating system update behaviour than previous versions of Windows. In Windows 11 and 10, there is no way to turn off the Windows...

Windows Server

Discussion: How does Zigbee compare with other wireless protocols in smart home applications?

by: tracyyun | last post by:

Dear forum friends, With the development of smart home technology, a variety of wireless communication protocols have appeared on the market, such as Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. Each...

General

AI Job Threat for Devs

by: agi2029 | last post by:

Let's talk about the concept of autonomous AI software engineers and no-code agents. These AIs are designed to manage the entire lifecycle of a software development project—planning, coding, testing,...

Career Advice

Couldn’t get equations in html when convert word .docx file to html file in C#.

by: conductexam | last post by:

I have .net C# application in which I am extracting data from word file and save it in database particularly. To store word all data as it is I am converting the whole word file firstly in HTML and...

C# / C Sharp

Trying to create a lan-to-lan vpn between two differents networks

by: TSSRALBI | last post by:

Hello I'm a network technician in training and I need your help. I am currently learning how to create and manage the different types of VPNs and I have a question about LAN-to-LAN VPNs. The...

Networking - Hardware / Configuration

transfer the data from one system to another through ip address

by: 6302768590 | last post by:

Hai team i want code for transfer the data from one system to another through IP address by using C# our system has to for every 5mins then we have to update the data what the data is updated ...

C# / C Sharp