Re: [boost] [general] What will string handling in C++ looklike inthe future [was Always treat ... ]

Subject: Re: [boost] [general] What will string handling in C++ looklike inthe future [was Always treat ... ]
From: Stewart, Robert (Robert.Stewart_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-01-19 15:42:03

Dave Abrahams wrote:
> Peter Dimov wrote:
> > Dave Abrahams wrote:
>
> > > Nonono; if you don't want to choose an encoding, you store it as a
> > > raw_string, (a.k.a. std::string, for example)!
> >
> > OK. You're designing a portable library that talks to the OS. It has
> > the following functions:
> >
> >    T get_path( ... );
> >    void process_path( T );
> >
> > What do you use for T? string or utf8_string?
>
> OK, according to all the experts (like you), we should be trafficking
> in UTF-8 everywhere, so I guess I'd say T is utf8_string (well, T is
> boost::filesystem::path, but that begs the same questions,
> ultimately).

I think it depends upon get_path() and process_path().  If get_path() returns an OS byte sequence and process_path() uses its argument for OS calls, then T is std::string as both functions are encoding agnostic.  If process_path() is to do character-based processing, then it probably needs a UTF8 string and so it might expect a utf8_string which, presumably, would have a converting constructor from std::string assumed to have unknown encoding.  (I have no idea whether it is possible to determine the encoding from the byte sequence, but I suppose it is.)

In a system which assumes UTF8 encoding in std::strings, then utf8_string might be a typedef for std::string and the only concern is that all sources of such strings be UTF8.

_____
Rob Stewart                           robert.stewart_at_[hidden]
Software Engineer, Core Software      using std::disclaimer;
Susquehanna International Group, LLP  http://www.sig.com

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