[fpc-devel] Changing Windows API A routines in SysUtils to W in Windows NT

[Felipe Monteiro de Carvalho]

On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 9:35 PM, Sergei Gorelkin <sergei_gorelkin at mail.ru> wrote:
> So, this is basically a first step of locking Windows RTL to use utf-8 by
> default

No, it will not use UTF-8 by default because that would break
compatibility. It will use the system encoding by default and you can
use SetMultiByteConversionCodePage to change it to use UTF-8.

And this is not about just about Windows, but all platforms of the
Ansi RTL. Just that most other platforms are already using APIs which
can handle Unicode so they don't need changes.
SetMultiByteConversionCodePage is not specific to the Windows RTL.

> and reducing chances it ever will call 'W' API without conversions?

This is a very strange argument. You cannot oppose something by
arguing that then it will be successful and people will not want to
implement your way. There are no such barriers in a volunteer led
project. If someone wants the UnicodeString RTL ... he can write it. I
am not against another RTL existing which will use UnicodeString or
which will use 1 different string in each platform or 1 different
string for each weather condition. But I just don't want to use it. I
want to use the Ansi RTL + SetMultiByteConversionCodePage to make it
UTF-8 capable, so that's what I am writing.

So do you think that the Ansi RTL should not exist? Or you just think
it should exist, but in disgrace, using obsolete APIs and with APIs
which don't work properly to get people to give up on it?  It has
already been clearly stated that the Ansi RTL will not be deleted, and
this RTL will not follow Delphi Unicode (because that would break
compatibility). So if we will have an Ansi RTL, then people that use
it intensively should be allowed to improve it. Make it respect
SetMultiByteConversionCodePage fully and make it work reliably, make
it support UTF-8 and use newer APIs when possible. Like my proposed
patch does for improving the Unicode support of
TStringList.LoadFromFile / SaveToFile.

-- 
Felipe Monteiro de Carvalho