Public Member Functions

Initializes a new IlString object from a C pointer to char.

A copy of cstring, up to length characters, is maintained internally. A null value is equivalent to the empty string "".

Parameters

cstring	The source string that is copied to initialize this new IlString.
length	The number of characters to copy from cstring. If length is -1 or greater than the length of cstring, the whole string is copied, up to the final 0 character. Note that if this object represents a multi-byte string, this value may be different than the number of bytes needed to store the string value.

See also

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Copy constructor.

A new IlString object is created as a copy of string. The internal C string is shared by both objects until one of them is modified.

Parameters

string

The string that is copied.

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Initializes a new IlString from an integer.

The conversion is done according to the format string format that follows the same specifications as the format string in the "C" function printf.

Note

This constructor is declared as explicit for compilers that implement this keyword.

Parameters

value	The value that is used to initialize this new IlString.
format	The format to use for the conversion. The default value is "%d".

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Initializes a new IlString from an unsigned integer.

The conversion is done according to the format string format that follows the same specifications as the format string in the "C" function printf.

Note

This constructor is declared as explicit for compilers that implement this keyword.

Parameters

value	The value that is used to initialize this new IlString.
format	The format to use for the conversion. The default value is "%u".

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Initializes a new IlString from an short integer.

The conversion is done according to the format string format that follows the same specifications as the format string in the "C" function printf.

Note

This constructor is declared as explicit for compilers that implement this keyword.

Parameters

value	The value that is used to initialize this new IlString.
format	The format to use for the conversion. The default value is "%hd".

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Initializes a new IlString from an unsigned short integer.

The conversion is done according to the format string format that follows the same specifications as the format string in the "C" function printf.

Note

This constructor is declared as explicit for compilers that implement this keyword.

Parameters

value	The value that is used to initialize this new IlString.
format	The format to use for the conversion. The default value is "%hu".

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Initializes a new IlString from a long integer.

The conversion is done according to the format string format that follows the same specifications as the format string in the "C" function printf.

Note

This constructor is declared as explicit for compilers that implement this keyword.

Parameters

value	The value that is used to initialize this new IlString.
format	The format to use for the conversion. The default value is "%ld".

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Initializes a new IlString from an unsigned long integer.

The conversion is done according to the format string format that follows the same specifications as the format string in the "C" function printf.

Note

This constructor is declared as explicit for compilers that implement this keyword.

Parameters

value	The value that is used to initialize this new IlString.
format	The format to use for the conversion. The default value is "%lu".

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Initializes a new IlString from a float.

The conversion is done according to the format string format that follows the same specifications as the format string in the "C" function printf.

Note

This constructor is declared as explicit for compilers that implement this keyword.

Parameters

value	The value that is used to initialize this new IlString.
format	The format to use for the conversion. The default value is "%f".

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(double, const char*).

Initializes a new IlString from a double.

The conversion is done according to the format string format that follows the same specifications as the format string in the "C" function printf.

Note

This constructor is declared as explicit for compilers that implement this keyword.

Parameters

value	The value that is used to initialize this new IlString.
format	The format to use for the conversion. The default value is "%g".

See also

IlString(const char*, int).

IlString(const IlString&).

IlString(int, const char*).

IlString(unsigned int, const char*).

IlString(short, const char*).

IlString(unsigned short, const char*).

IlString(long, const char*).

IlString(unsigned long, const char*).

IlString(float, const char*).

Compares this IlString, or part of it, to another, or part of it, lexicographically, ignoring case differences.

The strings are compared using the "C" function strcasemp (or the equivalent for multi-byte, or its equivalent stricmp), applied to their internal "C" representations. This is locale-dependent. Simply put, if the return value is 0 then this string and string are equal, ignoring case differences. If the return value is positive then this string is lexicographically after string, not considering the case of the characters. If the return value is negative then this string is lexicographically before string, independantly of the character case.

The comparison can be performed on a fragment of the current IlString object using the parameters start1 and end1.

The comparison can be performed on a fragment of string using the parameters start2 and end2.

Example:

Parameters

string	The IlString to compare this IlString against.
start1	Index, in the current string, of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of the string.
end1	Index, in the current string, of the last character, exclusive, to consider. The default value is -1, indicating down to the end of the string.
start2	Index, in string, of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of the string.
end2	Index, in string, of the last character, exclusive, to consider. The default value is -1, indicating down to the end of the string.

Returns

IlTrue if this IlString (or part of it) is equal to string (or part of it).

See also

caseCompare(), equals().

Appends a string to this IlString.

The string to be appended may be restricted by using the start and end parameters.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Parameters

string	The string to append to the current object.
start	The index, in string, of the first character to be appended. The default value is 0 (the first character of string).
end	The index, in string, of the last character of the string to be appended. The default value is -1, indicating that we want to append the entire string, starting at index start.

Returns

The current object, potentially modified.

See also

prepend(), insert(), operator+=().

Compares this IlString, or part of it, to another, or part of it, lexicographically.

The strings are compared using the "C" function strcmp (or the equivalent for multi-byte), applied to their internal "C" representations. This is locale-dependent. Simply put, if the return value is 0 then this string and string are equal. If the return value is positive then this string is lexicographically after string. If the return value is negative then this string is lexicographically before string.

The comparison can be performed on a fragment of the current IlString object using the parameters start1 and end1.

The comparison can be performed on a fragment of string using the parameters start2 and end2.

Parameters

string	The IlString to compare this IlString against.
start1	Index, in the current string, of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of the string.
end1	Index, in the current string, of the last character, exclusive, to consider. The default value is -1, indicating down to the end of the string.
start2	Index, in string, of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of the string.
end2	Index, in string, of the last character, exclusive, to consider. The default value is -1, indicating down to the end of the string.

Returns

IlTrue if this IlString (or part of it) is equal to string (or part of it).

See also

compare().

Returns a copy of the internal C-style string.

This conversion operator returns a pointer to char, in single or multi-byte according to the locale of the application. This value is allocated using the new [] operator, and the caller is responsible for deleting it, using delete [], when the value is not needed this value anymore.

See also

getValue().

Tests if this string ends with the specified suffix.

The searched suffix may be restricted by setting the parameters start and end.

Example:

Parameters

suffix	The suffix (or a fragment of it) that is tested.
start	The index in suffix of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of suffix.
end	The index in suffix of the last character (exclusive) to consider. The default value is -1, meaning the last character of suffix, included.

Returns

IlTrue if this IlString ends with suffix (or a sub-string of it as defined with start and end) and IlFalse if it does not.

See also

startsWith(), getLastIndexOf().

Compares this string, or part of it, to another, or part of it, for equality.

The strings are equal if the "C" function strcmp (or the equivalent for multi-byte), applied to their internal "C" representations, returns 0.

The comparison can be performed on a fragment of the current IlString object using the parameters start1 and end1.

The comparison can be performed on a fragment of string using the parameters start2 and end2.

Parameters

string	The IlString to compare this IlString against.
start1	Index, in the current string, of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of the string.
end1	Index, in the current string, of the last character, exclusive, to consider. The default value is -1, indicating down to the end of the string.
start2	Index, in string, of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of the string.
end2	Index, in string, of the last character, exclusive, to consider. The default value is -1, indicating down to the end of the string.

Returns

IlTrue if this IlString (or part of it) is equal to string (or part of it).

See also

compare().

Returns the index of the first occurence of a string in this IlString.

The search starts forwards at the character of index start of the current IlString.

You can also search for a sub-string of subString.

Example:

Parameters

subString	The sub-string that is searched.
start	The start index, inclusive, of the search. The default value is 0, indicating that the search starts at the first character of the current string (and runs forwards).
subStart	The index, in subString, and inclusive, of the first character to search. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of subString.
subEnd	The index, in subString, and exclusive, of the last character to search. The default value is -1, meaning the last character of subString, included.

Returns

The index, in the current string, where subString (or a portion of it, depending on subStart and subEnd) was found, or -1 if the sub-string could not be found. Note that if subString is found in string, the returned value is always greater then or equal to start.

See also

getSubString(), getLastIndexOf().

Returns the index of the last occurence of a string in this IlString.

The search starts backwards at the character of index end of the current IlString.

You can also search for a sub-string of subString.

Example:

Parameters

subString	The sub-string that is searched.
end	The start index, inclusive, of the search. The default value is -1, indicating that the search starts at the last character of the current string (and runs backwards).
subStart	The index, in subString, and inclusive, of the first character to search. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of subString.
subEnd	The index, in subString, and exclusive, of the last character to search. The default value is -1, meaning the last character of subString, included.

Returns

The index, in the current string, where subString (or a portion of it, depending on subStart and subEnd) was found, or -1 if the sub-string could not be found. Note that if subString is found in string, the returned value is always less than or equal to end.

See also

getSubString(), getIndexOf().

Returns the length of the string.

The length of a string is the number of characters it holds.

Returns

The length of the string in characters.

See also

getSize().

Returns the size, in bytes, of the string. Includes trailing null.

This may be different from the number of characters of this string.

Returns

The size in bytes used by this IlString to store the internal representation of its content.

See also

getLength().

Returns a new IlString that is a sub-string of this string.

This method creates and returns a sub-string of the current string, starting at the character index start, inclusive, and ending at the character index end, exclusive.

Example:

Parameters

start	The index, in the current string, of the first character of the sub-string. The default value is 0 (the first character of the source string).
end	The index, in the current string, of the last character of the sub-string, in the current string. The default value is -1, indicating that we want to copy the entire string, starting at index start.

Returns

An IlString object.

See also

getIndexOf(), getLastIndexOf().

Returns the size, in bytes, of the string without trailying null byte.

This may be different from the number of characters of this string.

Returns

The size in bytes used by this IlString to store the internal representation of its content without the trailing null byte.

See also

getSize() and getLength().

Returns the internal C-style string.

This conversion operator returns a pointer to a char, in single or multi-byte according to the locale of the application.

The C string is stored internally. It must never be modified nor deleted.

Returns

the internal C-style string for this IlString.

See also

copyValue(), operator const char*().

Inserts a string into this IlString at a given position.

The string to be inserted may be restricted by using the start and end parameters.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Parameters

string	The string to prepend to the current object.
position	The index of the character in the current string where string (or a part of it) is inserted. The default value is 0 which corresponds to a prepend() operation.
start	The index, in string, of the first character to be inserted. The default value is 0 (the first character of string).
end	The index, in string, of the last character to be inserted. The default value is -1, indicating that we want to append the entire string, starting at index start.

Returns

The current object, potentially modified.

See also

catenate(), prepend().

Tests if this string contains only white-space characters.

A character in the string is considered as a white-space character if the "C" function isspace (or its multi-byte equivalent) returns true.
For the "C" locale, white-spaces are SPC (' ', 0x20), TAB ('\t', 0x09), LF ('\n', 0x0A), VT ('\v', 0x0B), FF ('\f', 0x0C) and CR ('\r', 0x0D).

Returns

IlTrue if this IlString is empty or contains only white-space characters.

See also

isEmpty().

Tests if this string is empty.

Returns

IlTrue if this IlString is empty (getLength() returns 0) and IlFalse if it is not.

See also

operator!(), isBlank().

Compares this string, or part of it, to a matching pattern, or part of it.

The matching pattern may contain:

• the question mark (?) character, that matches a unique character in the string;
• the asterisk (*) character, that matches any string fragment, potentially empty.

Example:

Parameters

pattern	The IlString to compare this IlString against.
stringStart	Index, in the current string, of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of the string.
stringEnd	Index, in the current string, of the last character, exclusive, to consider. The default value is -1, indicating down to the end of the string.
patternStart	Index, in pattern, of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of the pattern.
patternEnd	Index, in pattern, of the last character, exclusive, to consider. The default value is -1, indicating down to the end of the pattern.

Returns

IlTrue if this IlString (or part of it) matches pattern (or part of it).

See also

equals().

Cast operator to C-style string.

This conversion operator returns a pointer to char, in single or multi-byte according to the locale of the application.

The C string is stored internally. It must never be modified nor deleted.

Returns

the internal C-style string for this IlString.

See also

getValue(), copyValue().

The not operator.

Returns

IlTrue when this string is empty and IlFalse otherwise.

See also

isEmpty().

Inequality operator.

This methods compares the current object with another string.
Two strings are considered not equal when the "C" function strcmp (or equivalent for multi-byte), applied to the internal C string, returns a value that is not 0.

Parameters

string

The string to compare to.

Returns

IlFalse when the strings are equal and IlTrue otherwise.

See also

operator==().

Append operator.

This operator catenates the given string to this.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Parameters

string

The IlString to append to the current object.

Returns

The current object, potentially modified.

See also

operator=(const IlString&), operator+().

Less-than operator.

Parameters

string

The string to compare to.

Returns

IlTrue when this string is strictly before string in the lexicographical order and IlFalse otherwise.

See also

operator>(), operator<=(), compare().

Less-or-equal operator.

Parameters

string

The string to compare to.

Returns

IlTrue when this string is equal to or strictly before string in the lexicographical order and IlFalse otherwise.

See also

operator<(), operator>=(), compare().

Assignment from char* operator.

IlvPathName

This operator assigns the given char* to this.

Parameters

str	The char* to be assigned to the current object.

Returns

The current object, modified by the assigment.

Assignment operator.

This operator assigns the given string to this.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Parameters

string

The IlString to be assigned to the current object.

Returns

The current object, modified by the assigment.

See also

IlString(const IlString&).

Equality operator.

This methods compares the current object with another string.
Two strings are considered equal when the "C" function strcmp (or equivalent for multi-byte), applied to the internal C string, returns 0.

Parameters

string

The string to compare to.

Returns

IlTrue when the strings are equal and IlFalse otherwise.

See also

operator!=(), equals().

Greater-than operator.

Parameters

string

The string to compare to.

Returns

IlTrue when this string is strictly after string in the lexicographical order and IlFalse otherwise.

See also

operator<(), operator>=(), compare().

Greater-or-equal operator.

Parameters

string

The string to compare to.

Returns

IlTrue when this string is equal to or strictly after string in the lexicographical order and IlFalse otherwise.

See also

operator>(), operator<=(), compare().

Prepends a string to this IlString.

The string to be prepended may be restricted by using the start and end parameters.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Parameters

string	The string to prepend to the current object.
start	The index, in string, of the first character to be prepended. The default value is 0 (the first character of string).
end	The index, in string, of the last character of the string to be prepended. The default value is -1, indicating that we want to append the entire string, starting at index start.

Returns

The current object, potentially modified.

See also

catenate(), insert(), operator+=().

Reads this IlString content from and an input stream.

The format is defined in the method writeQuoted().

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Parameters

istr	The input stream where the string is read.

See also

writeQuoted(), operator>>(std::istream&, IlString&).

Removes a sub-string from the current string.

If removed does not appear in the current string, this method does nothing.

The string to be removed may be restricted by using the start and end parameters.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Example:

Parameters

removed	The string to be removed.
start	The index, in removed, of the first character to be removed. The default value is 0 (the first character of removed).
end	The index, in string, of the last character of the string to be removed. The default value is -1, indicating that we want to remove the entire string, starting at index start.

Returns

The current object, potentially modified.

See also

remove(int, int), replace(), substitute().

Removes a part from the current string.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Parameters

start	The index of the first character to remove. The default value is 0 which is the first character of the string.
end	The index of the last character to be removed. The default value is -1, indicating that the removal goes down to the end of the string.

Returns

The current object, potentially modified.

See also

remove(const IlString&, int, int).

Replaces a part of the current string by another string.

A porting of the current string is replaced by another string or part of it.
Note that if the caller leaves start, end, subStart and subEnd to their default value, this method is equivalent to a raw assignment (see operator=()).
Similarly, if start and end are equal, this method is equivalent to insert().

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Example:

Parameters

replacement	The string to replace in the current string.
start	The index in the current string of the first character to be replaced. The default value is 0 which is the first character of the string.
end	The index of the last character to be replaced. The default value is -1, indicating that the replacement goes down to the end of the string.
subStart	The index in replacement of the first character that is inserted. The default value is 0 which is the first character of the string.
subEnd	The index in replacement of the last character that is inserted. The default value is -1, indicating that the replacement goes down to the end of the string.

Returns

The current object, potentially modified.

See also

remove(), substitute().

Tests if this string starts with the specified prefix.

The searched prefix may be restricted by setting the parameters start and end.

Example:

Parameters

prefix	The prefix (or a fragment of it) that is tested.
start	The index in prefix of the first character to consider. The default value is 0, meaning the first character of prefix.
end	The index in prefix of the last character (exclusive) to consider. The default value is -1, meaning the last character of prefix, included.

Returns

IlTrue if this IlString begins with prefix (or a sub-string of it as defined with start and end) and IlFalse if it does not.

See also

endsWith(), getIndexOf().

Substitutes all the occurrences of a sub-string by another one.

Every occurences of target, in the range [targetStart, targetEnd], that appear in the current string, in the range [start, end], will be replaced by replacement, in the range [replacementStart, replacementEnd].

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Example:

Parameters

target	The string to look into.
replacement	The replacement string.
start	The index in the current object of the first character to start the search for target. The default value is 0 which is the first character of the string.
end	The index in the current object of the last character to stop the search for target. The default value is -1 which is past the last character of the string.
targetStart	The index in target of the first character to search for. The default value is 0 which is the first character of the string.
targetEnd	The index in target of the last character to search for. The default value is -1 which is past the last character of the string.
replacementStart	The index in replacement of the first character to insert. The default value is 0 which is the first character of the string.
replacementEnd	The index in replacement of the last character to insert. The default value is -1 which is past the last character of the string.

Returns

The current object, potentially modified.

See also

remove(), replace().

Converts all of the characters in this IlString to upper case using the rules of the default locale.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Returns

The current object, converted to upper case.

See also

toUpper().

Converts all of the characters in this IlString to lowe ase using the rules of the default locale.

Warning

This operator may modify the internal representation of the string. This means that any pointer that was returned by getValue() or operator const char*() may become invalid.

Returns

The current object, converted to lower case.

See also

toLower().

Serializes the string to an output stream, surrounded by double quotes.

Every space and double quote characters are prefixed by a backslash.

Parameters

ostr	The output stream where the string is written.

See also

readQuoted(), operator<<(std::ostream&, const IlString&).