uCalc API Version: 2.1.3-preview.2 Released: 6/16/2026

Warning

uCalc API Preview Release Notice:The documentation describes the intended behavior of the API. The current preview build contains incomplete features, unoptimized performance, and is subject to breaking changes.

Name = [string]

Property

Product: 

Transformer Library

Class: 

Rule

Gets the programmatic name of a rule, which is automatically derived from the first non-variable token in its pattern definition.

Remarks

🎯 The Rule's Identifier: Name

The Name property provides runtime access to the programmatic name of a Rule. This identifier is not set manually; instead, it is automatically derived from the structure of the pattern string used to define the rule.

⚙️ How the Name is Derived

The name is determined by the first token in the pattern that is not a variable or a special directive. This makes the name a predictable and meaningful representation of the rule's primary anchor.

  • For a pattern like "Hello {name}", the name will be "hello".
  • For "<{tag}>;{content}</{tag}>", the name will be "<".
  • For "{@Number}: {value}", the name will be ":".

Case Normalization: By default, the derived name is converted to lowercase. This ensures that lookups and comparisons are case-insensitive, providing consistent and predictable behavior regardless of the casing used in the original pattern definition.

💡 Primary Use Cases

  • Debugging & Introspection: When iterating through a Transformer's collection of rules or a list of Matches, you can retrieve a rule's name to log or display which pattern was responsible for a specific action.
  • Dynamic Rule Management: Retrieve a specific rule by its derived name from the Transformer's rule collection to modify or inspect it programmatically.

🆚 Comparative Analysis

This feature provides a unique advantage over traditional Regex engines.

  • vs. Regex Named Capture Groups: In Regex, you must explicitly name parts of your pattern (e.g., (?<myGroup>...)). uCalc's Rule.Name is different; it's an automatically generated identifier for the rule itself, derived from its structure. This provides a zero-effort way to get a meaningful handle for every pattern you define, simplifying debugging and introspection.

Examples

A simple demonstration of how a rule's name is derived from the first token in its pattern.
				
					using uCalcSoftware;

var uc = new uCalc();
var t = new uCalc.Transformer();

var rule1 = t.FromTo("Hello {name}", "Hi {name}");
var rule2 = t.Pattern("<h1>{title}</h1>");

Console.WriteLine($"Rule 1 Name: '{rule1.Name}'");
Console.WriteLine($"Rule 2 Name: '{rule2.Name}'");
				
			
Rule 1 Name: 'hello'
Rule 2 Name: '<'
				
					#include <iostream>
#include "uCalc.h"

using namespace std;
using namespace uCalcSoftware;

int main() {
   uCalc uc;
   uCalc::Transformer t;

   auto rule1 = t.FromTo("Hello {name}", "Hi {name}");
   auto rule2 = t.Pattern("<h1>{title}</h1>");

   cout << "Rule 1 Name: '" << rule1.Name() << "'" << endl;
   cout << "Rule 2 Name: '" << rule2.Name() << "'" << endl;
}
				
			
Rule 1 Name: 'hello'
Rule 2 Name: '<'
				
					Imports System
Imports uCalcSoftware
Public Module Program
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim uc As New uCalc()
      Dim t As New uCalc.Transformer()
      
      Dim rule1 = t.FromTo("Hello {name}", "Hi {name}")
      Dim rule2 = t.Pattern("<h1>{title}</h1>")
      
      Console.WriteLine($"Rule 1 Name: '{rule1.Name}'")
      Console.WriteLine($"Rule 2 Name: '{rule2.Name}'")
   End Sub
End Module
				
			
Rule 1 Name: 'hello'
Rule 2 Name: '<'
A practical example showing how to iterate through all matches and print the name of the rule that generated each one for debugging.
				
					using uCalcSoftware;

var uc = new uCalc();
var t = new uCalc.Transformer();
t.Text = "Log: INFO, Data: 123, Log: WARN";

// Define two rules with different starting anchors
t.Pattern("Log: {@Alpha}");
t.Pattern("Data: {@Number}");
t.Find();

Console.WriteLine("--- Match Analysis ---");
foreach(var match in t.Matches) {
   Console.WriteLine($"Match '{match.Text}' was found by rule '{match.Rule.Name}'");
}
				
			
--- Match Analysis ---
Match 'Log: INFO' was found by rule 'log'
Match 'Data: 123' was found by rule 'data'
Match 'Log: WARN' was found by rule 'log'
				
					#include <iostream>
#include "uCalc.h"

using namespace std;
using namespace uCalcSoftware;

int main() {
   uCalc uc;
   uCalc::Transformer t;
   t.Text("Log: INFO, Data: 123, Log: WARN");

   // Define two rules with different starting anchors
   t.Pattern("Log: {@Alpha}");
   t.Pattern("Data: {@Number}");
   t.Find();

   cout << "--- Match Analysis ---" << endl;
   for(auto match : t.Matches()) {
      cout << "Match '" << match.Text() << "' was found by rule '" << match.Rule().Name() << "'" << endl;
   }
}
				
			
--- Match Analysis ---
Match 'Log: INFO' was found by rule 'log'
Match 'Data: 123' was found by rule 'data'
Match 'Log: WARN' was found by rule 'log'
				
					Imports System
Imports uCalcSoftware
Public Module Program
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim uc As New uCalc()
      Dim t As New uCalc.Transformer()
      t.Text = "Log: INFO, Data: 123, Log: WARN"
      
      '// Define two rules with different starting anchors
      t.Pattern("Log: {@Alpha}")
      t.Pattern("Data: {@Number}")
      t.Find()
      
      Console.WriteLine("--- Match Analysis ---")
      For Each match In t.Matches
         Console.WriteLine($"Match '{match.Text}' was found by rule '{match.Rule.Name}'")
      Next
   End Sub
End Module
				
			
--- Match Analysis ---
Match 'Log: INFO' was found by rule 'log'
Match 'Data: 123' was found by rule 'data'
Match 'Log: WARN' was found by rule 'log'
Rule Name
				
					using uCalcSoftware;

var uc = new uCalc();
var t = uc.NewTransformer();
t.Text = "<b>(5+4)</b> this and that etc";
var a = t.Pattern("<{tg}>");
var b = t.Pattern("This {body} That");
var c = t.Pattern("etc");
var d = t.Pattern("({expr})");

t.Filter();
Console.WriteLine("--- Matches ---");
Console.WriteLine(t.Matches.Text);
Console.WriteLine("--- Pattern names ---");
Console.WriteLine(a.Name);
Console.WriteLine(b.Name);
Console.WriteLine(c.Name);
Console.WriteLine(d.Name);
Console.WriteLine("--- Pattern defs ---");
Console.WriteLine(a.Pattern);
Console.WriteLine(b.Pattern);
Console.WriteLine(c.Pattern);
Console.WriteLine(d.Pattern);
				
			
--- Matches ---
<b>
(5+4)
</b>
this and that
etc
--- Pattern names ---
<
this
etc
(
--- Pattern defs ---
<{tg}>
This {body} That
etc
({expr})
				
					#include <iostream>
#include "uCalc.h"

using namespace std;
using namespace uCalcSoftware;

int main() {
   uCalc uc;
   auto t = uc.NewTransformer();
   t.Text("<b>(5+4)</b> this and that etc");
   auto a = t.Pattern("<{tg}>");
   auto b = t.Pattern("This {body} That");
   auto c = t.Pattern("etc");
   auto d = t.Pattern("({expr})");

   t.Filter();
   cout << "--- Matches ---" << endl;
   cout << t.Matches().Text() << endl;
   cout << "--- Pattern names ---" << endl;
   cout << a.Name() << endl;
   cout << b.Name() << endl;
   cout << c.Name() << endl;
   cout << d.Name() << endl;
   cout << "--- Pattern defs ---" << endl;
   cout << a.Pattern() << endl;
   cout << b.Pattern() << endl;
   cout << c.Pattern() << endl;
   cout << d.Pattern() << endl;
}
				
			
--- Matches ---
<b>
(5+4)
</b>
this and that
etc
--- Pattern names ---
<
this
etc
(
--- Pattern defs ---
<{tg}>
This {body} That
etc
({expr})
				
					Imports System
Imports uCalcSoftware
Public Module Program
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim uc As New uCalc()
      Dim t = uc.NewTransformer()
      t.Text = "<b>(5+4)</b> this and that etc"
      Dim a = t.Pattern("<{tg}>")
      Dim b = t.Pattern("This {body} That")
      Dim c = t.Pattern("etc")
      Dim d = t.Pattern("({expr})")
      
      t.Filter()
      Console.WriteLine("--- Matches ---")
      Console.WriteLine(t.Matches.Text)
      Console.WriteLine("--- Pattern names ---")
      Console.WriteLine(a.Name)
      Console.WriteLine(b.Name)
      Console.WriteLine(c.Name)
      Console.WriteLine(d.Name)
      Console.WriteLine("--- Pattern defs ---")
      Console.WriteLine(a.Pattern)
      Console.WriteLine(b.Pattern)
      Console.WriteLine(c.Pattern)
      Console.WriteLine(d.Pattern)
   End Sub
End Module
				
			
--- Matches ---
<b>
(5+4)
</b>
this and that
etc
--- Pattern names ---
<
this
etc
(
--- Pattern defs ---
<{tg}>
This {body} That
etc
({expr})
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