# startsWith
> Test if a string starts with the characters of another string.
## Usage
```javascript
var startsWith = require( '@stdlib/string/starts-with' );
```
#### startsWith( str, search\[, position] )
Tests if a `string` starts with the characters of another `string`.
```javascript
var str = 'To be, or not to be, that is the question.';
var bool = startsWith( str, 'To be' );
// returns true
bool = startsWith( str, 'to be' );
// returns false
```
By default, the function searches from the beginning of the input `string`. To search from a different character index, provide a `position` value (zero-based). If provided a negative `position`, the start index is determined relative to the string end (`pos = str.length + position`).
```javascript
var str = 'Remember the story I used to tell you when you were a boy?';
var bool = startsWith( str, 'the story' );
// returns false
bool = startsWith( str, 'the story', 9 );
// returns true
bool = startsWith( str, 'you', -15 );
// returns true
```
If provided an empty `search` string, the function **always** returns `true`.
```javascript
var str = 'beep boop';
var bool = startsWith( str, '' );
// returns true
```
## Examples
```javascript
var startsWith = require( '@stdlib/string/starts-with' );
var bool;
var str;
str = 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air';
bool = startsWith( str, 'Fair' );
// returns true
bool = startsWith( str, 'fair' );
// returns false
bool = startsWith( str, 'foul', 8 );
// returns true
bool = startsWith( str, 'filthy', -10 );
// returns true
```
* * *
## CLI
### Usage
```text
Usage: starts-with [options] --search= []
Options:
-h, --help Print this message.
-V, --version Print the package version.
--search string Search string.
--pos int Search position.
--split sep Delimiter for stdin data. Default: '/\\r?\\n/'.
```
### Notes
- If the split separator is a [regular expression][mdn-regexp], ensure that the `split` option is either properly escaped or enclosed in quotes.
```bash
# Not escaped...
$ echo -n $'Hello, World!\nBeep Boop Baz' | starts-with --search=Beep --split /\r?\n/
# Escaped...
$ echo -n $'Hello, World!\nBeep Boop Baz' | starts-with --search=Beep --split /\\r?\\n/
```
- The implementation ignores trailing delimiters.
### Examples
```bash
$ starts-with --search=be beep
true
```
To use as a [standard stream][standard-streams],
```bash
$ echo -n 'boop' | starts-with --search=bo
true
```
By default, when used as a [standard stream][standard-streams], the implementation assumes newline-delimited data. To specify an alternative delimiter, set the `split` option.
```bash
$ echo -n 'Hello, World!\tBeep Boop' | starts-with --search=Beep --split '\t'
false
true
```
[standard-streams]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_streams
[mdn-regexp]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions
[@stdlib/string/ends-with]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/string/tree/main/ends-with