An array returned by a meta tag is converted to text when it is being returned to a Web browser. However, array-returning meta tags return an array when an array is copied from one place to another; for example, if an array-returning meta tag is used within <@ASSIGN>, no conversion to text is performed.
Some meta tags, such as <@VAR>, also accept a TYPE=text attribute, which forces an array to be returned as text. In that case, assigning the value of the array to a variable assigns a text representation of the array, with all the array, row, and column prefixes and suffixes described below.
Tango meta tags that return arrays take a series of optional attributes that allow you to format the text representation of the array. There are corresponding configuration variables, with the same names, whose values are used for array formatting if these attributes are not specified. The attributes are given in the following table:
Attribute |
Description |
Far more information, see aPrefix, aSuffix, cPrefix, cSuffix, rPrefix and rSuffix.
These attributes are used for defining the appropriate text for display, before and after the specific components of the array are displayed. This is useful for automatically displaying the contents of arrays as tables (the default) or ordered lists.
Meta tags that return arrays are specified in this manual with {array attributes} in the syntax specification of the meta tag. When using meta tags that return arrays, you can specify any or all of the above attributes, and the values of the attributes are returned with the returned array, when the array is returned as text.