Substring not working

[Mis3]

I am trying to output the first X characters of a XML response and getting error.

Line in the code below, MESSAGE2 can be very long and I like to output only the first 40 characters.

Please help.

def xmlResponse = tStep.getPropertyValue("Response")
def holder = groovyUtils.getXmlHolder(xmlResponse)
def MESSAGE1 = holder.getNodeValue("/S:Envelope/S:Body/ns2:changeMsisdnResponse/resultData/errorCode")
def MESSAGE2 = holder.getNodeValue("/S:Envelope/S:Body/ns2:changeMsisdnResponse/resultData/message")

MESSAGE3 = substring( MESSAGE2, 0, 39)

log.info MESSAGE1 + " " + MESSAGE3

[ChrisAdams]

Hi,

Substring is a method of the string class.  You cannot call it directly.

Try...

MESSAGE3 = MESSAGE2.substring(0, 39)

For more details, have a look at the Groovy docs.... https://www.tutorialspoint.com/groovy/groovy_substring.htm

[Mis3]

I tried this and it is working:

int str_len = MESSAGE2.length()
if (str_len>92) { MESSAGE2 = MESSAGE2.substring(0,91) }

In this method, I have to determine the length of the string first.

Is there a way I can yield the same result without knowing the length first? 

In other words, I like to output the first 92 characters of MESSAGE2.  If  MESSAGE2 has less characters, output the whole string.

[ChrisAdams · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I honestly cannot think of a way to use an 'if' against string length decision without calculating the length.

Your approach looks good, but if its making it more concise that you're after, then try...

if ( MESSAGE2.length() > 92 ) { MESSAGE2 = MESSAGE2.substring(0,91) }

You might want to have a read about Ternary operators (https://groovy-programming.com/post/175536037619) which are very concise conditionals, but you'll still need to work out the length.

[Mis3]

if ( MESSAGE2.length() > 92 ) { MESSAGE2 = MESSAGE2.substring(0,91) }

Yes, this is better.  I will use this.  Thanks.  

I found this but it does not work for me.  This function does not require string length in advance. 

StringUtils.substring("abc", 2, 4)   = "c"
StringUtils.substring("abc", 4, 6)   = ""