MFC Programmer's SourceBook : Thinking in C++
Bruce Eckel's Thinking in C++, 2nd Ed Contents | Prev | Next

What’s in a string

In C, a string is simply an array of characters that always includes a binary zero (often called the null terminator ) as its final array element. There are two significant differences between C++ strings and their C progenitors. First, C++ string objects associate the array of characters which constitute the string with methods useful for managing and operating on it. A string also contains certain “housekeeping” information about the size and storage location of its data. Specifically, a C++ string object knows its starting location in memory, its content, its length in characters, and the length in characters to which it can grow before the string object must resize its internal data buffer. This gives rise to the second big difference between C char arrays and C++ strings. C++ strings do not include a null terminator, nor do the C++ string handling member functions rely on the existence of a null terminator to perform their jobs. C++ strings greatly reduce the likelihood of making three of the most common and destructive C programming errors: overwriting array bounds, trying to access arrays through uninitialized or incorrectly valued pointers, and leaving pointers “dangling” after an array ceases to occupy the storage that was once allocated to it.

The exact implementation of memory layout for the string class is not defined by the C++ Standard. This architecture is intended to be flexible enough to allow differing implementations by compiler vendors, yet guarantee predictable behavior for users. In particular, the exact conditions under which storage is allocated to hold data for a string object are not defined. String allocation rules were formulated to allow but not require a reference-counted implementation, but whether or not the implementation uses reference counting, the semantics must be the same. To put this a bit differently, in C, every char array occupies a unique physical region of memory. In C++, individual string objects may or may not occupy unique physical regions of memory, but if reference counting is used to avoid storing duplicate copies of data, the individual objects must look and act as though they do exclusively own unique regions of storage. For example: 

//: C17:StringStorage.cpp
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
  string s1("12345");
  // Set the iterator indicate the first element
  string::iterator it = s1.begin();
  // This may copy the first to the second or 
  // use reference counting to simulate a copy 
  string s2 = s1;
  // Either way, this statement may ONLY modify first
  *it = '0';
  cout << "s1 = " << s1 << endl;
  cout << "s2 = " << s2 << endl;
} ///:~

Reference counting may serve to make an implementation more memory efficient, but it is transparent to users of the string class.

Creating and initializing C++ strings

Creating and initializing strings is a straightforward proposition, and fairly flexible as well. In the example shown below, the first string, imBlank, is declared but contains no initial value. Unlike a C char array, which would contain a random and meaningless bit pattern until initialization, imBlank does contain meaningful information. This string object has been initialized to hold “no characters,” and can properly report its 0 length and absence of data elements through the use of class member functions.

The next string, heyMom, is initialized by the literal argument "Where are my socks?". This form of initialization uses a quoted character array as a parameter to the string constructor. By contrast, standardReply is simply initialized with an assignment. The last string of the group, useThisOneAgain, is initialized using an existing C++ string object. Put another way, this example illustrates that string objects let you: 

//: C17:SmallString.cpp
#include <string>
using namespace std;

int main() {
  string imBlank;
  string heyMom("Where are my socks?");
  string standardReply = "Beamed into deep "
    "space on wide angle dispersion?";
  string useThisOneAgain(standardReply);
} ///:~

These are the simplest forms of string initialization, but there are other variations which offer more flexibility and control. You can : 

//: C17:SmallString2.cpp
#include <string>
using namespace std;

int main() {
  string s1
    ("What is the sound of one clam napping?");
  string s2
    ("Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.");
  string s3("I saw Elvis in a UFO.");
  // Copy the first 8 chars
  string s4(s1, 0, 8);
  // Copy 6 chars from the middle of the source
  string s5(s2, 15, 6);
  // Copy from middle to end
  string s6(s3, 6, 15);
  // Copy all sorts of stuff
  string quoteMe = s4 + "that" +  
  // substr() copies 10 chars at element 20
  s1.substr(20, 10) + s5 +
  // substr() copies up to either 100 char
  // or eos starting at element 5 
  "with" + s3.substr(5, 100) +
  // OK to copy a single char this way 
  s1.substr(37, 1);
} ///:~

The string member function substr( ) takes a starting position as its first argument and the number of characters to select as the second argument. Both of these arguments have default values and if you say substr( ) with an empty argument list you produce a copy of the entire string, so this is a convenient way to duplicate a string.

Here’s what the string quoteMe contains after the initialization shown above :

"What is that one clam doing with Elvis in a UFO?"

Notice the final line of example above. C++ allows string initialization techniques to be mixed in a single statement, a flexible and convenient feature. Also note that the last initializer copies just one character from the source string.

Another slightly more subtle initialization technique involves the use of the string iterators string.begin( ) and string.end( ). This treats a string like a container object (which you’ve seen primarily in the form of vector so far in this book – you’ll see many more containers soon) which has iterators indicating the start and end of the “container.” This way you can hand a string constructor two iterators and it will copy from one to the other into the new string:

//: C17:StringIterators.cpp
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
  string source("xxx");
  string s(source.begin(), source.end());
  cout << s << endl;
} ///:~

The iterators are not restricted to begin( ) and end( ), so you can choose a subset of characters from the source string.

Initialization limitations

C++ strings may not be initialized with single characters or with ASCII or other integer values. 

//: C17:UhOh.cpp
#include <string>
using namespace std;

int main() {
  // Error: no single char inits
  //! string nothingDoing1('a');
  // Error: no integer inits
  //! string nothingDoing2(0x37);
} ///:~

This is true both for initialization by assignment and by copy constructor.

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