[fpc-devel] Unicode proceedings

[Michael Schnell]

On 11/18/2011 01:37 PM, Sven Barth wrote:
>
> Because then you don't need to rely on the point that SizeOf(Char) =
> 1. Now imagine you have an applications that uses strings as buffers
> and port that from lets say Delphi 7 to Delphi 2009. Have fun finding
> the bugs if you don't remember that you used a String as buffer.
I don't see what you mean here. My suggestion regarding "new string 
types"  was to provide all thee Types RawByteString,  RawWordString, 
RawDWordString, for this purpose.
>
> Why implement another String type to ease something strings weren't
> intended for?
In C it is very common to use an int for a pointer. :)

My understanding of the word "String" just does not include the 
definition that this is necessarily something providing a "visual" content.


> Implement your own type that handles all this and then you don't even
> have a problem should FPC decide to switch String from AnsiString to
> UnicodeString.
>
Why invent yet another time, when an existing one is perfectly suitable ?

I don't see how a user can define a type that provides reference 
counting and lazy copy. I gather that this needs compiler magic.

With this in mind I feel that (regarding the proceedings regarding the 
new string type definition) it would be a nice thing to provide 
RawByteString,  RawWordString,  RawDWordString that don't ever trigger a 
conversion and (at a later time) additionally consider to do FiFo String 
types that, are optimized for allowing deleting from position 0.

-Michael