The @urlencode function doesn't seem to URL encode

[Phileosophos]

The issue is that @urlencode doesn't seem to encode properly. Let's say somebody goes to the main Google page and searches for "C#". This is a parameter that should be URL-encoded as "C%23", which is precisely what the main Google page does. When I use @urlencode[C#] in the latest version of TakeCommand (13.00.28 x64), however, it gives me "23" as a result. The help file makes it sound like it should correctly encode an entire string:

Encode a string for Internet transmission, replacing non-alphanumeric characters with their %xx hex representation.

So I don't understand how it can take "C#" as an argument and spit back "23". Could somebody help me understand? Or is this a bug? Thanks in advance!

 

[vefatica]

On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:09:28 -0500, Phileosophos <> wrote:

|So I don't understand how it can take "C#" as an argument and spit back "23". Could somebody help me understand? Or is this a bug? Thanks in advance!

It seems OK here (13.00.28/32-bit/Win7)/

v:\> setdos /x-4

v:\> echo %@urlencode[C#]
C%23

v:\> setdos /x+4

v:\>

 

[rconn]

> So I don't understand how it can take "C#" as an argument and spit back
> "23". Could somebody help me understand? Or is this a bug?

Seems to be working fine here. What is the *exact* syntax you're using, and
how are you retrieving / displaying the result?

 

[Phileosophos]

Here is the text copied out of a TakeCommand session:

C:\> echo %@urlencode[C#]
C

C:\> echo %@urlencode["C#"]
23

I've checked by using the batch file debugger as well, working on on the assumption that maybe the resulting '%' was somehow screwing up the echo command, but it's not. I can't seem to get a properly encoded URL, and I haven't a clue why.

 

[rconn]

> Here is the text copied out of a TakeCommand session:
>
> C:\> echo %@urlencode[C#]
> C

WAD -- that gets translated to C%23, and the parser then does further
variable expansion on the result. %23 is interpreted as an empty argument
to ECHO and gets removed.

> C:\> echo %@urlencode["C#"]
> 23

WAD - that gets translated to %22C%23%22, and %22C% is parsed as an empty
argument, 23 is assumed to be a literal argument, and %22 is interpreted as
an empty argument.

ECHO is a bad way to display arguments with embedded %'s.

 

[Steve Fabian]

rconn wrote:
| ...
| ECHO is a bad way to display arguments with embedded %'s.

This works:

echo "%@urlencode[C#]"

but of course it displays the quotation marks: "C%23".

The SAFEECHO command of C. Dye's plugin SafeChars.dll behave exactly as
ECHO...
--
HTH, Steve

 

[Charles Dye]

rconn wrote:
| ...
| ECHO is a bad way to display arguments with embedded %'s.

This works:

echo "%@urlencode[C#]"

but of course it displays the quotation marks: "C%23".

The SAFEECHO command of C. Dye's plugin SafeChars.dll behave exactly as ECHO...

The args are expanded before SAFEECHO ever sees them. I do, however, have an alternative to @URLENCODE:

HTags Plugin

It uses the same basic idea as SafeChars: the percent signs are replaced with 'fake' percent signs, which get translated back to ASCII when you redirect the resulting string into a file.

 

[vefatica]

On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:25:06 -0500, Steve Fabian <> wrote:

|This works:
|
|echo "%@urlencode[C#]"

That shouldn't work and it doesn't here.

v:\> echo "%@urlencode[C#]"
"C"

Have you forgotten about a prior "SETDOS /X-4"?

 

[Steve Fabian]

From: vefatica
| On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:25:06 -0500, Steve Fabian <> wrote:
|
|| This works:
||
|| echo "%@urlencode[C#]"
|
| That shouldn't work and it doesn't here.
|...
| Have you forgotten about a prior "SETDOS /X-4"?

I sure did! Discovered long after posting.

This does work with SETDOS/X0 (i.e., interpret everything):
echo %@safeexp[@urlencode[C#]]
and correctly displays C%23. As Charles wrote, SAFEECHO receives the string only after the percent sign is mangled, but @SAFEEXP[] generates it in a safe mode.
--
Steve

 

[mfarah]

ECHO is a bad way to display arguments with embedded %'s.

Er... what would be a good way to do it?

 

[rconn]

> ---Quote (Originally by rconn)---
> ECHO is a bad way to display arguments with embedded %'s.
> ---End Quote---
> Er... what would be a good way to do it?

Well, assuming you actually *needed* to do it (and I doubt you would), I'd
assign the result of the function to a var, turn off expansion with SETDOS,
and then echo it.

 

[Phileosophos]

ECHO is a bad way to display arguments with embedded %'s.

I realize that, which is precisely why I mentioned I get the very same thing when using the function in the batch file debugger or anywhere else. I've been trying to come up with a good way to write batch files that launch well-formatted URLs on the basis of user input, and I don't see any good way to use the @urlencode function to do that. If you do, please explain how it's intended to be used; as it is, I don't see how it's useful. Thanks in advance.

 

[mfarah]

Well, assuming you actually *needed* to do it (and I doubt you would), I'd
assign the result of the function to a var, turn off expansion with SETDOS,
and then echo it.

Sure, it's not typical in a CMD/TCC environment, but in HTML processing it is a common sight; there are many situations where a special char ('%' here) needs to be treated as a regular character. Perhaps there should be a %@percentencode[string] function that will "escape" the percentage (by adding the second '%') so it can be displayed or passed around.

 

[Steve Fabian]

From: mfarah
| Sure, it's not typical in a CMD/TCC environment, but in HTML
| processing it is a common sight; there are many situations where a
| special char ('%' here) needs to be treated as a regular character.
| Perhaps there should be a %@percentencode[string] function that will
| "escape" the percentage (by adding the second '%') so it can be
| displayed or passed around.

Look in HELP -> TCC -> Variables and Functions -> Functions -> Functions by Category -> Binary Buffers.
--
HTH, Steve

 

[Phileosophos]

For sake of clarity, here's the batch file on which I'm working. The point is to enable commands of the form "WebSearch arg1 arg2 arg3" that will invoke a given search engine.

iff %#==0 then
echo Usage: WebSearch arg1 arg2 arg3 ...
quit
endiff

set url=http://www.google.com/search?q=%1

do count=2 to %#
set url=%url%^+%[%count]
enddo

echo Launching search URL: %url%
start %url%
unset url

That works as it is, but it goes wrong when using arguments that need to be URL encoded (e.g., C#). If you can explain how I might put the @urlencode function to work, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[Charles Dye]

That works as it is, but it goes wrong when using arguments that need to be URL encoded (e.g., C#). If you can explain how I might put the @urlencode function to work, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Something like this, perhaps?

@echo off
setlocal
setdos /x-4

iff %# == 0 then
   echo Usage: WebSearch arg1 arg2 arg3 ...
   quit
endiff

set url=http://www.google.com/search?q=

do count = 1 to %#
   set arg=%[%count]
   set arg=%@urlencode[%arg]
   iff %count == 1 then
      set url=%url%%arg
   else
      set url=%url+%arg
   endiff
enddo

echo Launching search URL: %url
start %url
endlocal

 

[Phileosophos]

Something like this, perhaps?

Many thanks, Charles, that did the trick!