Processing Lines
SNOBOL is a line-oriented pattern-based text processing language.
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Its object of analysis is text: an ordered collection of human-readable symbols (letters, digits, spaces, and punctuation).
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Its unit of analysis is an individual line of text: a segment of text without any line breaks, typically constrained in length. For instance, a Python program line is up to 80 characters, and a typewriter line ranges from 45 to 75 characters. The concept of a line is defined in a subtly recursive manner: it’s characterized by the absence of line breaks—characters that terminate a line. Fortunately, line breaks (also known as newlines) are independently clearly defined by their ASCII/Unicode codes: 10 (LF, “line feed,” \n), 13 (CR, “carriage ...
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