I'll be danged if I can remember how I did this before...  Anyone got code
to break a string into single character strings with a mark at the
beginning?  For example:

  (foo) -- mark (f) (o) (o)

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  No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.

/foo_mark            % (foo) -> [ (f) (o) (0)
   { mark exch        % [ (foo)
       { 1 string dup % [ 102 ( ) ( )
         3 2 roll     % [ ( ) ( ) 102
         0 exch       % [ ( ) ( ) 0 102
         put          % [ (f)
       }
     forall
   } bind def

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I thought this would be easier than it was:

GS>/split {mark exch {1 string dup 0 4 -1 roll put} forall} def
GS>(foo) split
GS<4>pstack
(o)
(o)
(f)
-mark-
GS<4>
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Repost, not sure if my first reply got lost or not...

GS>/split {mark exch {1 string dup 0 4 -1 roll put} forall} def
GS>(foo) split pstack
(o)
(o)
(f)
-mark-
GS<4>
--

Want to use a wheel? Buy one. Want to understand the wheel? Reinvent it.

says...

While it's always possible that there's a valid, non printing related, reason
for doing something like this in the printer rather than in the originating
app., this sounds like it could be one of those ``if I wanted to get there, I
wouldn't start from here'' questions:-)

If the reason for splitting up strings is anything related to printing
(hit-testing, kerning, fancy typographical effects) or indeed the strings
aren't oging to be printed but might one day be localised, then you should use
the cshow operator.  If you don't use cshow, then the first time someone tries
to run your code on a Japanese printer, you'll likely have to spend months
re-writing your code.  If you do use cshow, you won't.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ian Kemmish                   18 Durham Close, Biggleswade, Beds SG18 8HZ, UK

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
``Behind every successful organisation stands one person who knows the secret
  of how to keep the managers away from anything truly important.''

One possibility that does allocate VM for string storage but uses substring
of the original instead :

% <string> s_p_l_i_t [ <ch0> <ch1> ... <chn>
% s_p_l_i_t creates N one-character substrings of <string>,
% one for each character. Substrings are placed on stack in
% order they appaear in <string> and are shared with the
% original <string> (thus no extra allocation is done)

/s_p_l_i_t {
  mark exch        % [ <string> 1
  dup length 1 sub 0 1
  3 -1 roll        % [ <string> 0 1 <len>
  {                % [ ... <string> <i>
    1 index exch 1 % [ ... <string> <string> <i> 1
    getinterval    % [ ... <string> <ch[i]>
    exch
  } for
  pop              % remove <string> from top

_______________________________________________________
Fran?ois Robert
(to mail me, reverse character order in reply address)

  Hint: you've used ``printer'' where you meant ``PostScript interpreter''.
:-)

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Pongidae, and proud of it.

  All the best people in life seem to like Linux.
                                                        -- Steve Wozniak

  :-)

  Oh right, strings are composite.  <sigh>  Thanks.  :-)

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Pongidae, and proud of it.

  Theists think all gods but theirs are false.  Atheists simply don't
make an exception.