stringReplaceoldValue

stringReplaceoldValue is a generic term used in documentation to refer to the string replacement operation that substitutes occurrences of an oldValue substring with a newValue in a given string. It is commonly described in the context of string manipulation utilities found in programming languages and data processing tools.

Typical usage and parameters

A typical implementation takes at least three components: the input string to modify, the oldValue to search for, and the newValue to replace it with. Many implementations also provide optional parameters such as a count to limit the number of replacements, and a flag for case sensitivity. The operation may replace all occurrences or a specified number of occurrences, depending on the API. When oldValue is not present in the input, the original string is usually returned unchanged. If oldValue is an empty string, behavior varies by language and can raise an error or insert newValue between characters.

Behavioral variations

Languages differ in how they handle multiple and overlapping matches. Some APIs perform a global replacement, while others require explicit configuration to replace all matches. Case sensitivity affects whether uppercase and lowercase forms are treated as identical. Unicode and locale rules can also influence behavior in some environments. Efficiency considerations arise for large strings or many replacements, where streaming or incremental approaches may be preferred.

Examples and related concepts

For example, replacing "world" with "there" in "hello world" yields "hello there." In languages with different replace semantics, the exact method to perform a global replacement may vary (for instance, using a global flag, a dedicated replaceAll function, or a combination of split and join). Related concepts include substring search, regular expressions, and other string transformation operations such as trim, concatenate, and match. See also: string replace operations, case sensitivity, and substring handling.