Removing quotes from a string

Clojure:
Removing quotes from a string

How to:

In Clojure, strings are immutable, so when we talk about “removing quotes,” we’re really talking about creating a new string sans quotes. Here’s the skinny using clojure.string/replace:

(require '[clojure.string :as str])

; Let's ditch those double quotes
(defn remove-double-quotes [s]
  (str/replace s #"\"" ""))

; And kick out the single quotes
(defn remove-single-quotes [s]
  (str/replace s #"\'" ""))

; Sample usage:
(remove-double-quotes "\"Hello, World!\"") ; => "Hello, World!"
(remove-single-quotes "'Hello, World!'")   ; => "Hello, World!"

Wanna handle both single and double quotes in one fell swoop? Peep this:

(defn remove-quotes [s]
  (str/replace s #"[\"\']" ""))

; Sample usage:
(remove-quotes "\"Hello, 'Clojure' World!\"") ; => "Hello, Clojure World!"

Deep Dive

Back in the day when data was messier than a kid’s bedroom, quotes in strings were the norm for denoting text. But as computer science evolved, quotes became more than just text delimiters—they took on syntactical roles in programming languages.

Clojure, with its Lisp heritage, doesn’t use quotes the same way as some other languages might. They’re used for denoting strings for sure, but they also have a special role in creating literals. Regardless, removing quotes from strings remains a timeless task.

Why not just slice off the ends of a string? Well, that’s assuming your quotes are always hugging the start and end of your string like a pair of overly affectionate grandparents. Real world data is messier. Enter regex (regular expressions), which lets you target those quotes no matter where they’re hiding.

Alternatives? Sure, you can get fancy with subs, trim, triml, trimr, or even transducers if you want to show off. But replace with regex is like bringing a lightsaber to a knife fight—it cuts right to the chase.

Clojure:Removing quotes from a string

How to:

Deep Dive

See Also

Clojure:
Removing quotes from a string