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Use White Space to Improve Readability

A white-space character is a type of character that determines the spacing and placement of text in your code. Each of the following items is an example of a white-space character:

• Space
• Tab
• Carriage-return
• New line

White space makes your code easier to read. Siebel eScript ignores white space characters.

A line of script ends with a carriage-return character. Each line is typically a separate statement. In some editors a line ends with a carriage-return and the following linefeed pair:

\r\n

Siebel eScript typically interprets as white space one or more white-space characters that exist between names of methods and functions. Each of the following Siebel eScript statements are equivalent to one another:

var x=a+b
var x = a + b
var x =     a     +     b
var x = a+
        b

White space separates the names, methods, functions, and variables. For example, ab is one variable name, and a b are two variable names. The following example is valid:

var ab = 2

The following example is not valid:

var a b = 2

Some developers use spaces and not tabs because tab size settings vary from editor to editor. If a developer uses only spaces, then the script format is consistent across editors.

Using White Space in a String Literal Can Cause Errors

CAUTION:  Siebel eScript treats white space in a string literal differently from how it treats white space that occurs elsewhere. Placing a line break in a string causes Siebel eScript to treat each line as a separate statement. Each of these statements contains an error because they are not complete. To avoid this situation, you must keep string literals on a single line or create separate strings, and then use the string concatenation operator to concatenate them.

For example:

var Gettysburg = "Fourscore and seven years ago, " +
"our fathers brought forth on this continent a " +
"new nation.";

For more information, see Concatenating Strings.