Cpp.StringLiteral Class

Namespace: Cpp
Superclasses: AstNodeProperties

Represents the string_literal nodes in the syntax tree of your code

Since R2026a

Description

The PQL class Cpp.StringLiteral represents the node string_literal in the syntax tree of your code.

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    const char* s1 = "Hello";
    const char* s2 = "Line\\nBreak";
    const char* s3 = "A \"quoted\" string";
    (void)s1; (void)s2; (void)s3;
    return 0;
}

The C++ code shows several string_literal occurrences. Each quoted token like "Hello" corresponds to a Cpp.StringLiteral node.

Predicates

Type

Type	Raisable	Printable
StringLiteral	Yes	No

Syntaxes

This class defines these predicates that act on the objects of this class. In addition, objects of this class can access the predicates defined by the base class AstNodeProperties. An object of this class is an object of AstNodeProperties class.

Predicates	Description	Example
is(required StringLiteral &lit)	Matches a string_literal node and binds it to lit for further inspection. Use this to directly obtain string literals.	This PQL defect checks for any string literal in the code. defect FindStringLiterals = when Cpp.StringLiteral.is(&lit) and lit.nodeText(&txt) raise "Found string literal: {txt}" on lit In this C++ code the defect finds every quoted string token such as "Hello". #include <iostream> int main() { const char* s = "Hello"; (void)s; return 0; }
cast(Cpp.Node.Node node, required StringLiteral &cast)	Checks whether an arbitrary Node is a string_literal and if so returns it as cast. Use this when you have a node of unknown specific type.	This PQL defect checks for nodes that are string literals after casting from a generic node. defect CastNodeToStringLiteral = when Cpp.Node.is(&node, &,&,&) and Cpp.StringLiteral.cast(node, &lit) and lit.nodeText(&txt) raise "Casted node to string literal: {txt}" on lit In this C++ code the defect finds string literal by casting from generic syntax nodes. #include <iostream> int main() { const char* s = "World"; (void)s; return 0; }
isa(Cpp.Node.Node node)	Returns true if the given Node is a string_literal. Use this for boolean checks or negation.	This PQL defect checks whether a node is not a string literal using isa for negation. defect NodeIsNotStringLiteral = when Cpp.Node.is(&node, &,&,&) and not Cpp.StringLiteral.isa(node) raise "Node is not a string literal" on node In this C++ code the defect finds all syntax nodes that are not string literals. int main() { int x = 42; (void)x; return 0; }
stringContent(StringLiteral self, Cpp.StringContent.StringContent &content)	Returns the inner text of the string literal excluding surrounding quotes and escapes as content. Use this to examine the actual text characters.	This PQL defect checks for string literals that contain a specific content fragment. defect ContainsHelloContent = when Cpp.StringLiteral.is(&lit) and lit.stringContent(&content) and content.nodeText(&txt) and txt == "Hello" raise "String literal contains Hello" on lit In this C++ code the defect looks into the literal "Hello" and matches its unquoted content Hello. #include <iostream> int main() { const char* s = "Hello"; (void)s; return 0; }
escapeSequence(StringLiteral self, Cpp.EscapeSequence.EscapeSequence &escape)	Returns each escape sequence found inside the string literal asescape to. Use this to detect escapes like \n or \t.	This PQL defect checks for string literals that contain escape sequences. defect HasEscapeSequence = when Cpp.StringLiteral.is(&lit) and lit.escapeSequence(&esc) and esc.nodeText(&txt) raise "String literal has escape sequence: {txt}" on lit In this C++ code the defect finds the \n escape inside the string "Line\nBreak". #include <iostream> int main() { const char* s = "Line\nBreak"; std::cout << s << std::endl; return 0; }
getEnclosingStringLiteral(Cpp.Node.Node child, required StringLiteral &parent)	Given a child node, finds the closest enclosing string_literal and returns it as parent. Use this to map inner parts back to their literal.	This PQL defect checks for a string content node and then finds its enclosing string literal. defect EnclosingStringLiteralFromContent = when Cpp.StringContent.is(&sc) and sc.toNode(&child) and Cpp.StringLiteral.getEnclosingStringLiteral(child, &parent) and parent.nodeText(&txt) raise "Enclosing string literal: {txt}" on parent In this C++ code the defect starts from the inner content node Hello and finds the enclosing "Hello" literal. #include <iostream> int main() { const char* s = "Hello"; (void)s; return 0; }
isEnclosedInStringLiteral(Cpp.Node.Node child)	Returns true if the given node has a string_literal ancestor. Use this to test whether a node appears inside a string literal.	This PQL defect checks whether a node is located inside any string literal. defect ChildIsInsideStringLiteral = when Cpp.StringContent.is(&sc) and sc.toNode(&child) and Cpp.StringLiteral.isEnclosedInStringLiteral(child) raise "Node is enclosed in a string literal" on child In this C++ code the defect checks that a StringContent node for is inside a string literal. #include <iostream> int main() { const char* s = "Hello"; (void)s; return 0; }

Version History

Introduced in R2026a