trimwhitespace

trimwhitespace is a common string processing utility that returns a new string with leading and trailing whitespace removed from the input. It preserves internal spacing and character order, altering only the elements at the boundaries. This operation is frequently used to normalize user input, configuration values, and parsing results.

Whitespace is a broad category that includes spaces, tabs, newlines, and other formatting gaps. Implementations vary in the set of characters they treat as whitespace. Some libraries use ASCII definitions, while others adopt Unicode-aware rules that include non‑breaking spaces and other whitespace characters.

Commonly, trimwhitespace is provided as a function named trim, strip, or trimStart/trimEnd in different languages. In contexts where a dedicated name is used, trimwhitespace communicates the purpose clearly. Example inputs and outputs: trimwhitespace(' hello world ') returns 'hello world'.

Unicode handling can affect results. If a library adheres to Unicode whitespace, characters such as NBSP or certain locale-specific separators may be removed. In other cases, only the most basic ASCII spaces are trimmed. Developers should check the documentation to understand which characters are removed.

Performance is typically linear in the string length. Trimming is idempotent for strings that are already trimmed, and edge cases include empty strings and strings consisting entirely of whitespace, which yield an empty string. For completeness, trim operations may be paired with trimStart and trimEnd to control which side is affected.