BALL::String Class Reference
[String]

Extended String class. More...

#include <string.h>

Inherits std::string.

List of all members.

Public Member Functions
virtual void *	create (bool=true, bool empty=false) const
Constructors and Destructors
	String ()
	Default Constructor.
	String (const String &string)
	Copy constructor.
	String (const string &string)
	STL string copy constructor.
	String (const String &s, Index from, Size len=EndPos) throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Creates a new string from a given range of another string.
	String (const char *char_ptr, Index from=0, Size len=EndPos) throw (Exception::NullPointer, Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Creates a new string from a C type string.
	String (Size buffer_size, const char *format,...) throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)
	Creates a string using sprintf.
	String (std::strstream &s)
	Create a new string from the contents of a stringstream.
	String (const char c, Size len=1)
	Creates a new string from len copies of c.
	String (const unsigned char uc)
	Creates a string just containing an unsigned character.
	String (short s)
	Construct a String from a short.
	String (unsigned short us)
	Construct a String from an unsigned short.
	String (int i)
	Construct a String from an int.
	String (unsigned int ui)
	Construct a String from an unsigned int.
	String (long l)
	Construct a String from a long.
	String (unsigned long)
	Construct a String from an unsigned long.
	String (float f)
	Construct a String from a float value.
	String (double d)
	Construct a String from a double value.
virtual	~String ()
	Destructor.
void	destroy ()
	Clear the string (reset to the empty string).
virtual void	clear ()
	Clears the string (same as destroy).
Assignment methods
void	set (const String &s)
	Assign a string.
void	set (const String &string, Index from, Size len=EndPos) throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Assign a String from a range of another string Exceptions: Exception::IndexOverflow if from < 0 Exception::IndexUnderflow if from >= size().
void	set (const char *char_ptr, Index from=0, Size len=EndPos) throw (Exception::NullPointer, Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Assign a String from a C type string Exceptions: Exception::IndexUnderflow if from < 0 Exception::IndexOverflow if from >= size().
void	set (Size buffer_size, const char *format,...) throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)
	Assign a string to the result of a sprintf call Exceptions: Exception::IndexUnderflow,if the buffer size is zero Exception::NullPointer,<tt>format</tt> is a NULL pointer.
void	set (std::strstream &s)
	Assign a String from a stringstream.
void	set (char c, Size len=1)
	Assign a String from the result of repeating c len times.
void	set (unsigned char uc)
	Assign a String from an unsigned char.
void	set (short s)
	Assign a String from a short.
void	set (unsigned short us)
	Assign a String from an unsigned short.
void	set (int i)
	Assign a String from an int.
void	set (unsigned int ui)
	Assign a String from an unsigned int.
void	set (long l)
	Assign a String from a long.
void	set (unsigned long ul)
	Assign a String from an unsigned long.
void	set (float f)
	Assign a String from a float value.
void	set (double d)
	Assign a String from a double value.
void	get (char *char_ptr, Index from=0, Size len=EndPos) const throw (Exception::NullPointer, Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Assign to a C type string.
const String &	operator= (const String &s)
	Assign a String from another String.
const String &	operator= (const char *pc) throw (Exception::NullPointer)
	Assign a String from a C type string.
const String &	operator= (std::strstream &s)
	Assign a string from a stringstream.
const String &	operator= (char c)
	Assign a String from a single char.
const String &	operator= (unsigned char uc)
	Assign a String from an unsigned char.
const String &	operator= (short s)
	Assign a String from a short.
const String &	operator= (unsigned short us)
	Assign a String from an unsigned short.
const String &	operator= (int i)
	Assign a String from an int.
const String &	operator= (unsigned int ui)
	Assign a String from an unsigned int.
const String &	operator= (long l)
	Assign a String from a long.
const String &	operator= (unsigned long ul)
	Assign a String from an unsigned long.
const String &	operator= (float f)
	Assign a String from a float.
const String &	operator= (double d)
	Assign a String from a double.
Converters
bool	toBool () const
	Converts the string to a bool value.
char	toChar () const
	Return the first character of the string.
unsigned char	toUnsignedChar () const
	Return the first character of the string converted to an unsigned char.
short	toShort () const throw (Exception::InvalidFormat)
	Convert the string to a short.
unsigned short	toUnsignedShort () const throw (Exception::InvalidFormat)
	Convert the string to an unsigned short.
int	toInt () const throw (Exception::InvalidFormat)
	Convert the string to an int.
unsigned int	toUnsignedInt () const throw (Exception::InvalidFormat)
	Convert the string to an unsigned int.
long	toLong () const throw (Exception::InvalidFormat)
	Convert the string to a long.
unsigned long	toUnsignedLong () const throw (Exception::InvalidFormat)
	Convert the string to an unsigned long.
float	toFloat () const throw (Exception::InvalidFormat)
	Convert the string to a float.
double	toDouble () const throw (Exception::InvalidFormat)
	Convert the string to a double.
Case Conversion
void	toLower (Index from=0, Size len=EndPos) throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Convert all characters in the given range to lower case.
void	toUpper (Index from=0, Size len=EndPos) throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Convert all characters in the given range to upper case.
Substring Definition
Substring	getSubstring (Index from=0, Size len=EndPos) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Return a substring.
Substring	operator() (Index from, Size len=EndPos) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Return a substring.
Substring	before (const String &s, Index from=0) const
	Return a substring containing the string before the first occurence of s.
Substring	through (const String &s, Index from=0) const
	Return a substring containing the beginning of the string including the first occurence of s.
Substring	from (const String &s, Index from=0) const
	Return a substring containing the string from the first occurence of s on.
Substring	after (const String &s, Index from=0) const
	Return a substring containing the string after the first occurence of s.
AWK style field operations
Size	countFields (const char *delimiters=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE) const throw (Exception::NullPointer)
	Count the fields that are separated by a defined set of delimiters.
Size	countFieldsQuoted (const char *delimiters=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE, const char *quotes=CHARACTER_CLASS__QUOTES) const throw (Exception::NullPointer)
	Count the fields and respect quote characters.
String	getField (Index index, const char *delimiters=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE, Index *from=0) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)
	Return a given field as a substring.
String	getFieldQuoted (Index index, const char *delimiters=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE, const char *quotes=CHARACTER_CLASS__QUOTES, Index *from=0) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)
	Return a given field and respect quote characters.
Size	split (String string_array[], Size array_size, const char *delimiters=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE, Index from=0) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)
	Split the string into fields and assign these field to an array of strings.
Size	split (std::vector< String > &strings, const char *delimiters=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE, Index from=0) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)
	Split the string into fields and assign these field to a vector of strings.
Size	splitQuoted (std::vector< String > &strings, const char *delimiters=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE, const char *quotes=CHARACTER_CLASS__QUOTES, Index from=0) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)
	Split the string into fields and respect quote characters.
BASIC style string operations
String &	trimLeft (const char *trimmed=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE)
	Strips all characters in trimmed from the left of the string.
String &	trimRight (const char *trimmed=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE)
	Strips all characters in trimmed from the right of the string.
String &	trim (const char *trimmed=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE)
	Strips all characters in trimmed from both sides of the string.
String	trim (const char *trimmed=CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE) const
	Strips all characters in trimmed from both sides of the string.
String &	truncate (Size size)
	Truncate the string to length size.
Substring	left (Size len) const
	Return a substring containing the len leftmost characters of the string.
Substring	right (Size len) const
	Return a substring containing the len rightmost characters of the string.
Substring	instr (const String &pattern, Index from=0) const
	Return a substring containing the first occurence of pattern in the string.
Base64 String methods
String	encodeBase64 ()
	Convert a string to a base 64 string.
String	decodeBase64 ()
	Decode a base 64 string.
Debugging and Diagnostics
bool	isValid () const
void	dump (std::ostream &s=std::cout, Size depth=0) const
Static Public Member Functions
Compare mode-related methods.
All string comparisons can be made case-sensitive or case insensitive. The behavior can be toggled globally for all strings.
static void	setCompareMode (CompareMode compare_mode)
	Set the compareison mode for all string comparisons.
static CompareMode	getCompareMode ()
	Return the current comparison mode.
Static Public Attributes
static const String	EMPTY
	Constant empty string.
Predefined character classes
There exist several predefined character classes, that may be used in several functions (e.g. trim methods) to represent a set of characters.
static const char *	CHARACTER_CLASS__ASCII_ALPHA
	Character class containing all letters (lower and upper case).
static const char *	CHARACTER_CLASS__ASCII_ALPHANUMERIC
	Character class containing all letters and digits.
static const char *	CHARACTER_CLASS__ASCII_LOWER
	Character class containing all lower case letters.
static const char *	CHARACTER_CLASS__ASCII_UPPER
	Character class containing all upper case letters.
static const char *	CHARACTER_CLASS__ASCII_NUMERIC
	Character class containing the digits from 0 to 9.
static const char *	CHARACTER_CLASS__ASCII_FLOAT
	Character class containing the digits from 0 to 9 and a dot.
static const char *	CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE
	Character class containing all whitespace characters.
static const char *	CHARACTER_CLASS__QUOTES
	Character class containing double quotes.
Protected Member Functions
void	validateIndex_ (Index &index) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
void	validateRange_ (Index &from, Size &len) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
Static Protected Member Functions
static void	validateCharPtrRange_ (Index &from, Size &len, const char *char_ptr) throw (Exception::NullPointer, Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
static void	valudateCharPtrIndex_ (Index &index)
Friends
class	Substring
Enums and Constants
enum	CompareMode { CASE_SENSITIVE = 0, CASE_INSENSITIVE = 1 }
	Constants to set the compare mode. More...
static const Size	EndPos
	Constant indicating the end of the string.
String Operations
BALL_EXPORT friend String	operator+ (const char *char_ptr, const String &s)
	Concatenates a C type string and a string.
BALL_EXPORT friend String	operator+ (char c, const String &s)
	Concatenates a character and a string.
String	operator+ (const string &string) const
	Concatenates two strings.
String	operator+ (const char *char_ptr) const
	Concatenates a string and a C type string.
String	operator+ (char c) const
	Concatenates a string and a character.
void	swap (String &s)
	Swaps the contents with another String.
String &	reverse (Index from=0, Size len=EndPos) throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
	Reverses the string.
Size	substitute (const String &to_replace, const String &replacing)
	Substitute the first occurence of to_replace by the content of replacing.
Comparators
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator== (const char *char_ptr, const String &string) throw (Exception::NullPointer)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator!= (const char *char_ptr, const String &string) throw (Exception::NullPointer)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator< (const char *char_ptr, const String &string) throw (Exception::NullPointer)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator<= (const char *char_ptr, const String &string) throw (Exception::NullPointer)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator> (const char *char_ptr, const String &string) throw (Exception::NullPointer)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator>= (const char *char_ptr, const String &string) throw (Exception::NullPointer)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator== (char c, const String &string)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator!= (char c, const String &string)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator< (char c, const String &string)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator<= (char c, const String &string)
BALL_EXPORT friend bool	operator> (char c, const String &string)
bool	operator>= (char c, const String &string)
int	compare (const String &string, Index from=0) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
int	compare (const String &string, Index from, Size len) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
int	compare (const char *char_ptr, Index from=0) const throw (Exception::NullPointer, Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
int	compare (const char *char_ptr, Index from, Size len) const throw (Exception::NullPointer, Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
int	compare (char c, Index from=0) const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)
bool	operator== (const String &string) const
bool	operator!= (const String &string) const
bool	operator< (const String &string) const
bool	operator<= (const String &string) const
bool	operator>= (const String &string) const
bool	operator> (const String &string) const
bool	operator== (const char *char_ptr) const throw (Exception::NullPointer)
bool	operator!= (const char *char_ptr) const throw (Exception::NullPointer)
bool	operator< (const char *char_ptr) const throw (Exception::NullPointer)
bool	operator<= (const char *char_ptr) const throw (Exception::NullPointer)
bool	operator> (const char *char_ptr) const throw (Exception::NullPointer)
bool	operator>= (const char *char_ptr) const throw (Exception::NullPointer)
bool	operator== (char c) const
bool	operator!= (char c) const
bool	operator< (char c) const
bool	operator<= (char c) const
bool	operator> (char c) const
bool	operator>= (char c) const
Stream Operations
std::istream &	getline (std::istream &s, String &string, char delimiter= '\n')
std::istream &	getline (std::istream &s=std::cin, char delimiter= '\n')
Predicates
bool	has (char c) const
	True, if the string contains character c.
bool	hasSubstring (const String &s, Index from=0) const
	True, if the string contains the substring s after index from.
bool	hasPrefix (const String &s) const
	True, if the string starts with s.
bool	hasSuffix (const String &s) const
	True, if the string ends with s.
bool	isEmpty () const
	True, if the string has size 0.
bool	isAlpha () const
	True, if the string only contains letters (any case).
bool	isAlnum () const
	True, if the string only contains letters and digits.
bool	isDigit () const
	True, if the string only contains digits.
bool	isFloat () const
	True, if the string is a floating number.
bool	isSpace () const
	True, if the string only contains spaces.
bool	isWhitespace () const
	True, if the string only contains whitespace characters.
static bool	isAlpha (char c)
	True, if the character is a letter (any case).
static bool	isAlnum (char c)
	True, if the character is a letter or a digit.
static bool	isDigit (char c)
	True, if the character is a digit.
static bool	isSpace (char c)
	True, if the character is a space.
static bool	isWhitespace (char c)
	True, if the character is any whitespace character.

---

Detailed Description

Extended String class.

---

Member Enumeration Documentation

enum BALL::String::CompareMode

Constants to set the compare mode.

Use one of these constants to set the mode you need. These modes affect all compare methods. As these methods are also used in the implementation of comparison operators, all comparison operations will get affected from a change.

You may change the comparison mode by invoking setCompareMode.

Enumerator:

CASE_SENSITIVE	Constant to set to case sensitive comparisons (default).
CASE_INSENSITIVE	Constant to set to case insensitive comparisons.

---

Constructor & Destructor Documentation

BALL::String::String	(	const String &	s,
		Index	from,
		Size	len = EndPos
	)			throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)

Creates a new string from a given range of another string.

See also:

String:Indices

Exceptions:

	Exception::IndexUnderflow	if from < 0
	Exception::IndexOverflow	if from >= size()

BALL::String::String	(	const char *	char_ptr,
		Index	from = 0,
		Size	len = EndPos
	)			throw (Exception::NullPointer, Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)

Creates a new string from a C type string.

The new string contains the contents of s until it has reached a length of len or contains a zero character (whichever comes first). Default value for len is EndPos, meaning as long as possible.

BALL::String::String	(	Size	buffer_size,
		const char *	format,
			...
	)			throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)

Creates a string using sprintf.

This constructor creates a new string and sets its content to the result of a call to sprintf using format as a format string and all additional parameters as arguments.

The result of the sprintf call is intermediately written to a buffer of a maximum size of buffer_size characters, so choose an appropriate size for this variables.

Exceptions:

	IndexUnderflow,if	the buffer size specified is not larger than 0
	NullPointer,if	format == 0

BALL::String::String

(

std::strstream &

s

)

Create a new string from the contents of a stringstream.

The contents of the stringstream are not modified, i.e. successive construction of multiple strings from the same stringstream object leads to identical copies.

---

Member Function Documentation

String BALL::String::decodeBase64

(

)

Decode a base 64 string.

Return an empty string, if base64 string is not right encoded.

Substring BALL::String::instr	(	const String &	pattern,
		Index	from = 0
	)			const

Return a substring containing the first occurence of pattern in the string.

If the pattern is not contained in the string, an empty Substring is returned. The search for the pattern may also start from an index different from zero, allowing incremental search.

Returns:

Substring containing the search pattern, empty if not found

Parameters:

	pattern	the search pattern
	from	the index in the string to start the search from

bool BALL::String::isAlnum

(

)

const

True, if the string only contains letters and digits.

It returns also true, if called for an empty string.

bool BALL::String::isAlpha

(

)

const

True, if the string only contains letters (any case).

It returns also true, if called for an empty string.

bool BALL::String::isDigit

(

)

const

True, if the string only contains digits.

It returns also true, if called for an empty string.

bool BALL::String::isFloat

(

)

const

True, if the string is a floating number.

(It contains only numbers and maybe a dot). It returns also true, if called for an empty string.

bool BALL::String::isSpace

(

)

const

True, if the string only contains spaces.

It returns also true, if called for an empty string.

static bool BALL::String::isWhitespace

(

char

c

)

[static]

True, if the character is any whitespace character.

Whitespaces are defined in CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE

bool BALL::String::isWhitespace

(

)

const

True, if the string only contains whitespace characters.

Whitespaces are defined in CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE. It returns also true, if called for an empty string.

const String& BALL::String::operator=

(

std::strstream &

s

)

Assign a string from a stringstream.

The contents of the stringstream object are not modified.

String& BALL::String::reverse	(	Index	from = 0,
		Size	len = EndPos
	)			throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::IndexOverflow)

Reverses the string.

If called without arguments, this method simply reverses the character sequence of the string. By giving arguments for the indices, only a subsequence of the string may be reversed.

Parameters:

	from	first index of the sequence to be reversed
	to	last index of the sequence to be reversed

See also:

String:Indices

void BALL::String::set

(

std::strstream &

s

)

Assign a String from a stringstream.

The contents of the stringstream object are not modified.

Size BALL::String::split	(	std::vector< String > &	strings,
		const char *	delimiters = CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE,
		Index	from = 0
	)			const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)

Split the string into fields and assign these field to a vector of strings.

The vector of strings is cleared in any case. Its final size is returned.

Exceptions:

	IndexOverflow	if from < 0
	NullPointer	if delimiters == 0

Size BALL::String::splitQuoted	(	std::vector< String > &	strings,
		const char *	delimiters = CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE,
		const char *	quotes = CHARACTER_CLASS__QUOTES,
		Index	from = 0
	)			const throw (Exception::IndexUnderflow, Exception::NullPointer)

Split the string into fields and respect quote characters.

Similar to split , but delimiters that are inside quote characters (default is CHARACTER_CLASS__QUOTES ) are not considered to split the string. The vector of strings is cleared in any case. Its final size is returned.

Exceptions:

	IndexOverflow	if from < 0
	NullPointer	if delimiters == 0

Size BALL::String::substitute	(	const String &	to_replace,
		const String &	replacing
	)

Substitute the first occurence of to_replace by the content of replacing.

Returns:

the first position of the substitution or EndPos if to_replace is not found

bool BALL::String::toBool

(

)

const

Converts the string to a bool value.

This method returns false, if the string contains the string false (may be surrounded by whitespaces), or true otherwise.

String BALL::String::trim

(

const char *

trimmed = CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE

)

const

Strips all characters in trimmed from both sides of the string.

trim calls trimRight(trimmed).trimLeft(trimmed).

String& BALL::String::trim

(

const char *

trimmed = CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE

)

Strips all characters in trimmed from both sides of the string.

trim calls trimRight(trimmed).trimLeft(trimmed).

String& BALL::String::trimLeft

(

const char *

trimmed = CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE

)

Strips all characters in trimmed from the left of the string.

trimLeft stops at the first character encountered that is not in trimmed. Using its default parameter CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE, it is usually handy to remove blanks from the beginning of a string. Strings consisting of character from trimmed only yield an empty string.

String& BALL::String::trimRight

(

const char *

trimmed = CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE

)

Strips all characters in trimmed from the right of the string.

trimRight stops at the first character encountered that is not in trimmed. Using its default parameter CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE, it is usually handy to remove blanks from the end of a string. Strings consisting of character from trimmed only yield an empty string.

---

Member Data Documentation

const char* BALL::String::CHARACTER_CLASS__WHITESPACE [static]

Character class containing all whitespace characters.

Whitespace characters are:

• blank " "
• horizontal tab $ "\backslash t" $
• new-line $ "\backslash n" $
• line-feed $ "\backslash r" $
• vertical tab $ "\backslash v" $
• form-feed $ "\backslash f" $

const Size BALL::String::EndPos [static]

Constant indicating the end of the string.

Use this constant instead of string::npos to indicate an invalid position inside the string or the end of the string in those methods requiring indices.