12.7.7 Number of Fields or Characters in a Data Object

The length function returns an integer for the number of fields bound to a multifield value or the length in characters of a string or symbol.

Syntax

(length <string-symbol-or-multifield-expression>)

If the argument given to length is not the appropriate type, a negative one (1) is returned. This function may also be called using the name length$.

Example

CLIPS> (length (create$ a b c d e f g))
7
CLIPS> (length "cat")
3
CLIPS>