sic strings

literal string values

If a string is NOT to have {substitutions} run on it, it’s sic erat scriptum, or sic for short. This is handy especially when you are dealing with json as a string, rather than an actual json object, so you don’t have to use escape sequences to double curly all the structural braces and it simplifies the need for escape sequences.

A sic string looks like this:

!sic <<your string literal here>>

For example:

!sic piping {key} the valleys wild

Will return piping {key} the valleys wild without attempting to substitute {key} from context. You can happily use ", ' or {} inside a !sic my string string without escaping these any further. This makes sic strings ideal for strings containing json or code.

You can surround the Sic string with single or double quotes like this !sic 'my string here' or !sic "my string here". This is handy if your string starts with a yaml structural character like square [ or curly { braces. Check example below for escape sequences if you do so.

- name: pypyr.steps.echo
  description: >
              use a sic string not to format any {values}. Do watch the
              use of the yaml literal with block chomping indicator |- to
              prevent the last character in the string from being a LF.              
  in:
    echoMe: !sic |-

            {
              "key1": "key1 value with a {curly}"
            }
- name: pypyr.steps.echo
  description: use a sic string not to format any {values} on one line. No need to escape further quotes.
  in:
    echoMe: !sic string with a {curly} with ", ' and & and double quote at end:"
- name: pypyr.steps.echo
  description: use a sic string with single quotes.
  in:
    echoMe: !sic '{string} with {curlies} inside single quotes, : colon, quote ", backslash \.'
- name: pypyr.steps.echo
  description: use a sic string with double quotes. Double up the backslashes!
  in:
    echoMe: !sic "[string] with {curlies} inside double quotes, : colon, quote ", backslash \\."

You can pick single or double quotes, so just go with whichever is less annoying for your particular string.

See a worked example for substitutions with sic strings.