@stdlib/string/base/first/README.md

String manipulation functions.

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# first

> Return the first `n` UTF-16 code units of a string.

<section class="usage">

## Usage

```javascript
var first = require( '@stdlib/string/base/first' );
```

#### first( str, n )

Returns the first `n` UTF-16 code units of a string.

```javascript
var out = first( 'last man standing', 1 );
// returns 'l'

out = first( 'Hidden Treasures', 1 );
// returns 'H'

out = first( 'foo bar', 5 );
// returns 'foo b'

out = first( 'foo bar', 10 );
// returns 'foo bar'
```

</section>

<!-- /.usage -->

<section class="examples">

## Examples

<!-- eslint no-undef: "error" -->

```javascript
var first = require( '@stdlib/string/base/first' );

var str = first( 'presidential election', 1 );
// returns 'p'

str = first( 'JavaScript', 1 );
// returns 'J'

str = first( 'The Last of the Mohicans', 5 );
// returns 'The L'
```

</section>

<!-- /.examples -->

<!-- Section for related `stdlib` packages. Do not manually edit this section, as it is automatically populated. -->

<section class="related">

* * *

## See Also

-   <span class="package-name">[`@stdlib/string/base/first-code-point`][@stdlib/string/base/first-code-point]</span><span class="delimiter">: </span><span class="description">return the first Unicode code point of a string.</span>
-   <span class="package-name">[`@stdlib/string/base/first-grapheme-cluster`][@stdlib/string/base/first-grapheme-cluster]</span><span class="delimiter">: </span><span class="description">return the first grapheme cluster (i.e., user-perceived character) of a string.</span>
-   <span class="package-name">[`@stdlib/string/base/last`][@stdlib/string/base/last]</span><span class="delimiter">: </span><span class="description">return the last UTF-16 code unit of a string.</span>
-   <span class="package-name">[`@stdlib/string/base/remove-first`][@stdlib/string/base/remove-first]</span><span class="delimiter">: </span><span class="description">remove the first UTF-16 code unit of a string.</span>
-   <span class="package-name">[`@stdlib/string/first`][@stdlib/string/first]</span><span class="delimiter">: </span><span class="description">return the first character(s) of a string.</span>

</section>

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<section class="links">

<!-- <related-links> -->

[@stdlib/string/base/first-code-point]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/string/tree/main/base/first-code-point

[@stdlib/string/base/first-grapheme-cluster]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/string/tree/main/base/first-grapheme-cluster

[@stdlib/string/base/last]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/string/tree/main/base/last

[@stdlib/string/base/remove-first]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/string/tree/main/base/remove-first

[@stdlib/string/first]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/string/tree/main/first

<!-- </related-links> -->

</section>

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