sublist ';' START ';' END (';' LIST )*

Summary

The sublist macro extracts elements from a list between start and end positions. It supports negative indices to count from the end of the list.

Syntax

${sublist;<start>;<end>;<list>[;<list>...]}

Parameters

• start - Starting index (0-based, negative counts from end)
• end - Ending index (exclusive, negative counts from end)
• list - One or more lists to combine and extract from

Behavior

• Combines all provided lists
• Extracts elements from start (inclusive) to end (exclusive)
• Negative indices count from the end
• If start > end, they are automatically swapped
• Returns comma-separated sublist

Examples

Get first 3 elements:

${sublist;0;3;apple,banana,cherry,date,elderberry}
# Returns: "apple,banana,cherry"

Get last 2 elements:

${sublist;-2;-0;apple,banana,cherry}
# Returns: "banana,cherry"

Skip first element:

${sublist;1;-0;red,green,blue}
# Returns: "green,blue"

Get middle elements:

${sublist;2;5;a,b,c,d,e,f,g}
# Returns: "c,d,e"

Extract from multiple lists:

${sublist;0;3;one,two;three,four,five}
# Returns: "one,two,three"

Use Cases

• Extracting ranges from lists
• Pagination of results
• Removing headers or trailers
• List slicing operations
• Selecting specific segments
• Windowing over lists

Notes

• Indices are 0-based (first element is 0)
• Negative indices count backwards (-1 adjusts to list end)
• End index is exclusive (not included in result)
• Start and end are swapped if start > end
• Combines multiple list arguments first
• See also: ${first}, ${last}, ${get} for single elements

See test cases in MacroTestsForDocsExamples.java