strings as variable's name...

[OJAG]

Dear all,

Could any of you give me any clue about:
a.)How to assign the name of a previously defined string to a NEURON variable/object?
b.) How can I get the string of the name of any object or variable and compare it with another string?

Thanks in advance,

[Klas]

b) To compare strings use strcmp
SYNTAX
x = strcmp("string1", "string2")
DESCRIPTION
return negative, 0, or positive value depending on how the strings compare lexicographically. 0 means they are identical.

Example
if ((strcmp(secname(),"dend10[9]"))==0){
stimuli = new AlphaSynapse(abs(inverted - rel_pos))
print "alphasynapse inserted in ",secname()
}

[ted]

a.)How to assign the name of a previously defined string to a NEURON variable/object?

It is not clear whether you are asking how to use a string as the name of a strdef, double, or objref, or whether the question is how to use a string as a _second_ name for an existing strdef, double, or objref.

If your question is the former: the idiom is
strdef cmd
sprint(cmd, format string, variable names)
execute(cmd)

For example,
strdef foo
foo = "whatever"
strdef cmd
sprint(cmd, "%s = %f", foo, sqrt(2))
execute(cmd)
creates a new double called whatever with the value 1.414214...

For objects, there must be two sprint/execute pairs. The first pair
sprint(cmd, "objref %s", foo)
execute(cmd)
is needed to make whatever be an objref. The second pair
sprint(cmd, "%s = new SomeClassName()", foo)
is needed to make whatever point to an instance of SomeClassName.

If your question is the latter, here is your answer: in hoc there is no way to make multiple names refer to the same double or strdef. However, multiple objref names may refer to a single object.
objref bar
bar = new Vector()
strdef foo
foo = "whatever"
strdef cmd
sprint(cmd, "objref %s", foo)
execute(cmd)
sprint(cmd, "%s = %s", foo, "bar")
execute(cmd) // the command is "whatever = bar"
print bar // demonstrate that foo and bar refer to the same Vector instance
print whatever