Re: [boost] Interest in Unicode library for Boost?

Subject: Re: [boost] Interest in Unicode library for Boost?
From: Zach Laine (whatwasthataddress_at_[hidden])
Date: 2018-09-23 15:49:56

On Sun, Sep 23, 2018 at 10:40 AM Peter Dimov via Boost <
boost_at_[hidden]> wrote:

> Zach Laine wrote:
>
> > You can find the online docs here: https://tzlaine.github.io/text
>
> I find the "string" layer a hard sell. First, realistically, nobody is
> going
> to use it over std::string, especially when its selling point is "we make
> your code not compile by removing functions from std::string". Second,
> some
> of the removed functions are part of the Sequence requirements. Hard to
> see
> the benefits of that removal; string<Ch> and vector<Ch> being compatible
> on
> a concept level is useful.
>

string is not and probably never will be a SequenceContainer, but I take
your point about text::string being a breaking change.  The original
impetus for the whole library was a rethink of 'std::string' for a possible
'std2::string'.  'std2' is probably DOA, given LEWG's over-my-dead-body
reaction to the idea.  So, the string layer stuff is still there, but it's
usefulness is now probably restricted to its interoperation with
unencoded_rope.

> This of course in no way diminishes the utility of the library. If its
> opinionated `string` is part of the price of admission, so be it. I'm just
> saying. :-)
>

Other string types, including std::string are interoperable with most of
Boost.Text, via concept-accepting overloads in the string- and text-layer
types.  Also, you can get away with never using text::string at all if you
want, for instance if you only use the text-layer types and/or the Unicode
layer.

Zach