Re: [boost] Boost super_string

From: Martin Adrian (adrianm_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-10-13 15:08:22

Jeff Garland <jeff <at> crystalclearsoftware.com> writes:

> > Why is
> > 
> > boost::super_string ss(s)
> > ss.trim()
> > 
> > easier than
> > 
> > boost::trim(s)
> 
> It isn't -- except which header do you include again?

Agree, but we don't need a super_string class to solve that. A new 
header "boost/all_string_related_stuff.hpp" would be just as good.

> And you have to remember that half the functions you might use are free
> functions while the other half are member functions.

Agree, but that is not unique for strings or even C++. Is "sort" and "find" 
member or free functions?
At one point there was a proposal to allow both syntaxes in future C++. Don't 
know what happened to it.
An alternative solution would be to add a few more string_algo functions like  
substr, find_* and all functions would be free just like in VB (begin, end, 
size is already available via range)

> all the functions in one place.  The signature for more advanced regex 
> functions are much simpler with super_string.  Many people don't even
> realize what's already in Boost (see other discussion in this thread).

But they will realize that super_string is available?

I agree that string functionality is scattered into severeal places with maybe 
hard to find documentation but still don't understand why a new type is better 
than combining and unifying the documentation?
(except that most of us programmers prefer to write code instead of 
documentation)

Why stop at super_string? Next step is collosal_super_string which combines 
super_string with spirit, asio and sql.