Function char-name

Syntax:

Arguments and Values:

character—a character.

name—a string or nil.

Description:

Returns a string that is the name of the character, or nil if the character has no name.

13.4.0 20 \funref{char-name} will only locate ``simple'' character names; it will not construct names on the basis of the \param{character}'s \term{implementation-dependent} \term{attributes}.

All non-graphic characters are required to have names unless they have some implementation-defined attribute which is not null. Whether or not other characters have names is implementation-dependent.

I added this next phrase to highlight why there are two lists here. -kmp 14-May-93The standard characters ⟨Newline⟩ and ⟨Space⟩ have the respective names "Newline" and "Space". Ditto. -kmp 14-May-93The semi-standard characters ⟨Tab⟩, ⟨Page⟩, ⟨Rubout⟩, ⟨Linefeed⟩, ⟨Return⟩, and ⟨Backspace⟩ Next parenthetical remark added for emphasis. -kmp 14-May-93(if they are supported by the implementation) have the respective names "Tab", "Page", "Rubout", "Linefeed", "Return", and "Backspace" (in the indicated case, even though name lookup by “#\” and by the function name-char is not case sensitive).

Examples:

 (char-name #\ ) → "Space"
 (char-name #\Space) → "Space"
 (char-name #\Page) → "Page"

 (char-name #\a)
→ NIL
OR→ "LOWERCASE-a"
OR→ "Small-A"
OR→ "LA01"

 (char-name #\A)
→ NIL
OR→ "UPPERCASE-A"
OR→ "Capital-A"
OR→ "LA02"

 ;; Even though its CHAR-NAME can vary, #\A prints as #\A
 (prin1-to-string (read-from-string (format nil "#\\~A" (or (char-name #\A) "A"))))
→ "#\\A"

Affected By:

None.

Exceptional Situations:

Should signal an error of type type-error if character is not a character.

See Also:

name-char, Section 22.1.3.2 (Printing Characters)

Notes:

Added "non-graphic" to cover objection by Sandra: Does this mean that if (char-name #\A) = "Capital-A" (print #\A) prints #\Capital-A instead of #\A ??? Or does this apply only to non-standard characters.Non-graphic characters having names are written by the Lisp printer as “#\” followed by the their name; see Section 22.1.3.2 (Printing Characters).