Extract the portion of a string before the first dot

Summary

The stem macro returns the portion of a string up to (but not including) the first dot character. If no dot is found, returns the entire string.

Syntax 

${stem;<string>}

Parameters

  • string - The string to process

Behavior

  • Finds the first dot (.) character
  • Returns substring before the first dot
  • Returns entire string if no dot is found
  • Only considers the first dot (not subsequent dots)

Examples

Extract file basename:

${stem;example.txt}
# Returns: "example"

Get package prefix:

${stem;com.example.api}
# Returns: "com"

Extract version major:

${stem;1.2.3}
# Returns: "1"

No dot present:

${stem;filename}
# Returns: "filename"

Multiple dots:

${stem;archive.tar.gz}
# Returns: "archive" (only first dot)

Use Cases

  • Extracting file basenames without extension
  • Getting first component of qualified names
  • Parsing dotted strings
  • Version number parsing
  • File name manipulation
  • Package name prefixes

Notes

  • Only removes up to the first dot
  • For removing all extensions, use multiple applications or other methods
  • Returns original string if no dot found
  • Empty string before dot returns empty
  • See also: ${basename} for file name extraction

See test cases in MacroTestsForDocsExamples.java