Obi (publishing)

An obi (帯) is a strip of paper looped around a book or other product. This extends the term obi used for Japanese clothing; it is written with the same kanji. It is also referred to as a tasuki (襷) (another kimono accessory), or more narrowly as obigami (帯紙, belt paper).

For books

Many books in Japan are supplied with an obi, which is normally added outside any dust jacket. However, a book in a slipcase may have an obi around the slipcase.

In English, the term belly-band is sometimes used instead.

Other applications

The term is also used for a strip that is looped over one side (usually on the left) or folded over the top of LP albums released in Japan, and folded over the left side of music CDs, video games, Laserdiscs, or DVDs. This is also called tasuki. Obi are unique to Japan and are used to provide the title of the product, track listings (if applicable), price, catalog number and information on related releases in Japanese. It is used by the consumer to determine what is included in the album or book, and the store can use the information for ordering. Obi are sometimes used on boxes for collectible toys and figures. Products with an obi have become popular with some collectors, as products with the obi intact can fetch premium prices, and are collectible items in their own right. A record or CD with an intact obi is worth more than the same item without.

Trimming (computer programming)

In computer programming, trimming (trim) or stripping (strip) is a string manipulation in which leading and trailing whitespace is removed from a string.

For example, the string (enclosed by apostrophes)

would be changed, after trimming, to

Variants

Definition of whitespace

The characters which are considered whitespace varies between programming languages and implementations. For example, C traditionally only counts space, tab, line feed, and carriage return characters, while languages which support Unicode typically include all Unicode space characters. Some implementations also include ASCII control codes (non-printing characters) along with whitespace characters.

Java's trim method considers ASCII spaces and control codes as whitespace, contrasting with the Java isWhitespace() method, which recognizes all Unicode space characters.

Delphi's Trim function considers characters U+0000 (NULL) through U+0020 (SPACE) to be whitespace.

Usage

Following are examples of trimming a string using several programming languages. All of the implementations shown return a new string and do not alter the original variable.

Strip (comics)

Strip was a short-lived comics anthology published by Marvel UK in 1990. It ran for 20 issues (February - November 1990) and featured work by many British comics creators, including Alan Grant, Ian Gibson, Pat Mills, Kevin O'Neill, Si Spencer and John Wagner. Strips include Marshal Law by Pat Mills and Kev O'Neill and Grimtoad by Grant, Wagner and Gibson.

External links

Strip (The Chameleons album)

Strip is the fourth album by English post-punk band The Chameleons. It was released 1 May 2000 on record label Paradiso, following the band's reformation that year. It consists of acoustic arrangements of The Chameleons' previously released songs.

Release

Strip was released 1 May 2000 on record label Paradiso.

Critical reception

AllMusic wrote that the album "[doesn't] so much retread its golden oldies for the umpteenth time as recast them completely as modern ideas".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by The Chameleons (Mark Burgess, Dave Fielding and Reg Smithies). 

Personnel

References

Obi

Obi may refer to:

People:

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi (later known as Ben Kenobi) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, played by Sir Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor. In the original trilogy, he is a mentor to the protagonist Luke Skywalker to whom he teaches the ways of the Jedi. In the prequel trilogy, he is a master and friend to Anakin Skywalker. In the sequel trilogy, he appears to Rey as a voice in a dream-like-flashback in Maz Kanata's castle. He is frequently featured as a main character in various other Star Wars media.

Lucas borrowed liberally from the films of Akira Kurosawa. Kenob is the name, incidentally, of the son of Tokuemon's mistress in Yojimbo.

Appearances

Original trilogy

Obi-Wan Kenobi is introduced in Star Wars living as the hermit "Ben Kenobi" on the planet Tatooine. When Luke Skywalker and the droid C-3PO wander off in search of the lost droid R2-D2, Ben rescues them from a band of native Tusken Raiders. At his home, R2-D2 plays Ben a recording of Princess Leia Organa which explains that R2-D2 has the battle plans for a super weapon of the evil Galactic Empire within the robot. Leia asks Ben to deliver the droid and the plans safely to the planet Alderaan.

Obi (martial arts)

Many Japanese martial arts feature an obi as part of their exercise outfit. These obis are often made of thick cotton and are about 5 cm wide. The martial arts obis are most often worn in the koma-musubi knot (square knot); in practice where hakama is worn, the obi is tied in other ways.

In many martial arts the colour of the obi signifies the wearer's skill level. Usually the colours start from the beginner's white and end in the master's black, or red and white.

Aikido

Unlike in many other martial arts, adult practitioners of aikido do not wear coloured obis, though in some schools different colour codes have been formed, especially for children. The children's obis range from white for beginner level to 5th kyū, other colours for the rest of the kyū levels, and black for levels 1st dan and up.

In some aikido schools, wearing a hakama is a privilege earned by reaching the first dan level. In other schools, all practitioners may wear a hakama. After taking up using a hakama, the colour of obi does not matter since it will be covered by the hakama.