24 Strings library [strings]

24.4 String view classes [string.view]

1
#

The class template basic_­string_­view describes an object that can refer to a constant contiguous sequence of char-like objects with the first element of the sequence at position zero. In the rest of this section, the type of the char-like objects held in a basic_­string_­view object is designated by charT.

2
#

[ Note: The library provides implicit conversions from const charT* and std​::​basic_­string<charT, ...> to std​::​basic_­string_­view<charT, ...> so that user code can accept just std​::​basic_­string_­view<charT> as a non-templated parameter wherever a sequence of characters is expected. User-defined types should define their own implicit conversions to std​::​basic_­string_­view in order to interoperate with these functions.  — end note ]

3
#

The complexity of basic_­string_­view member functions is O(1) unless otherwise specified.

24.4.1 Header <string_­view> synopsis [string.view.synop]

namespace std {
  // [string.view.template], class template basic_­string_­view
  template<class charT, class traits = char_traits<charT>>
  class basic_string_view;

  // [string.view.comparison], non-member comparison functions
  template<class charT, class traits>
    constexpr bool operator==(basic_string_view<charT, traits> x,
                              basic_string_view<charT, traits> y) noexcept;
  template<class charT, class traits>
    constexpr bool operator!=(basic_string_view<charT, traits> x,
                              basic_string_view<charT, traits> y) noexcept;
  template<class charT, class traits>
    constexpr bool operator< (basic_string_view<charT, traits> x,
                              basic_string_view<charT, traits> y) noexcept;
  template<class charT, class traits>
    constexpr bool operator> (basic_string_view<charT, traits> x,
                              basic_string_view<charT, traits> y) noexcept;
  template<class charT, class traits>
    constexpr bool operator<=(basic_string_view<charT, traits> x,
                              basic_string_view<charT, traits> y) noexcept;
  template<class charT, class traits>
    constexpr bool operator>=(basic_string_view<charT, traits> x,
                              basic_string_view<charT, traits> y) noexcept;
  // see [string.view.comparison], sufficient additional overloads of comparison functions

  // [string.view.io], inserters and extractors
  template<class charT, class traits>
    basic_ostream<charT, traits>&
      operator<<(basic_ostream<charT, traits>& os,
                 basic_string_view<charT, traits> str);

  // basic_­string_­view typedef names
  using string_view    = basic_string_view<char>;
  using u16string_view = basic_string_view<char16_t>;
  using u32string_view = basic_string_view<char32_t>;
  using wstring_view   = basic_string_view<wchar_t>;

  // [string.view.hash], hash support
  template<class T> struct hash;
  template<> struct hash<string_view>;
  template<> struct hash<u16string_view>;
  template<> struct hash<u32string_view>;
  template<> struct hash<wstring_view>;

  inline namespace literals {
  inline namespace string_view_literals {
    // [string.view.literals], suffix for basic_­string_­view literals
    constexpr string_view    operator""sv(const char* str, size_t len) noexcept;
    constexpr u16string_view operator""sv(const char16_t* str, size_t len) noexcept;
    constexpr u32string_view operator""sv(const char32_t* str, size_t len) noexcept;
    constexpr wstring_view   operator""sv(const wchar_t* str, size_t len) noexcept;
  }
  }
}
1
#

The function templates defined in [utility.swap] and [iterator.range] are available when <string_­view> is included.

24.4.2 Class template basic_­string_­view [string.view.template]

template<class charT, class traits = char_traits<charT>>
class basic_string_view {
public:
  // types
  using traits_type            = traits;
  using value_type             = charT;
  using pointer                = value_type*;
  using const_pointer          = const value_type*;
  using reference              = value_type&;
  using const_reference        = const value_type&;
  using const_iterator         = implementation-defined; // see [string.view.iterators]
  using iterator               = const_iterator;228
  using const_reverse_iterator = reverse_iterator<const_iterator>;
  using reverse_iterator       = const_reverse_iterator;
  using size_type              = size_t;
  using difference_type        = ptrdiff_t;
  static constexpr size_type npos = size_type(-1);

  // [string.view.cons], construction and assignment
  constexpr basic_string_view() noexcept;
  constexpr basic_string_view(const basic_string_view&) noexcept = default;
  constexpr basic_string_view& operator=(const basic_string_view&) noexcept = default;
  constexpr basic_string_view(const charT* str);
  constexpr basic_string_view(const charT* str, size_type len);

  // [string.view.iterators], iterator support
  constexpr const_iterator begin() const noexcept;
  constexpr const_iterator end() const noexcept;
  constexpr const_iterator cbegin() const noexcept;
  constexpr const_iterator cend() const noexcept;
  constexpr const_reverse_iterator rbegin() const noexcept;
  constexpr const_reverse_iterator rend() const noexcept;
  constexpr const_reverse_iterator crbegin() const noexcept;
  constexpr const_reverse_iterator crend() const noexcept;

  // [string.view.capacity], capacity
  constexpr size_type size() const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type length() const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type max_size() const noexcept;
  constexpr bool empty() const noexcept;

  // [string.view.access], element access
  constexpr const_reference operator[](size_type pos) const;
  constexpr const_reference at(size_type pos) const;
  constexpr const_reference front() const;
  constexpr const_reference back() const;
  constexpr const_pointer data() const noexcept;

  // [string.view.modifiers], modifiers
  constexpr void remove_prefix(size_type n);
  constexpr void remove_suffix(size_type n);
  constexpr void swap(basic_string_view& s) noexcept;

  // [string.view.ops], string operations
  size_type copy(charT* s, size_type n, size_type pos = 0) const;

  constexpr basic_string_view substr(size_type pos = 0, size_type n = npos) const;
  constexpr int compare(basic_string_view s) const noexcept;
  constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, basic_string_view s) const;
  constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, basic_string_view s,
                        size_type pos2, size_type n2) const;
  constexpr int compare(const charT* s) const;
  constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, const charT* s) const;
  constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, const charT* s,
                        size_type n2) const;
  constexpr size_type find(basic_string_view s, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find(charT c, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find(const charT* s, size_type pos, size_type n) const;
  constexpr size_type find(const charT* s, size_type pos = 0) const;
  constexpr size_type rfind(basic_string_view s, size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type rfind(charT c, size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type rfind(const charT* s, size_type pos, size_type n) const;
  constexpr size_type rfind(const charT* s, size_type pos = npos) const;
  constexpr size_type find_first_of(basic_string_view s, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find_first_of(charT c, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find_first_of(const charT* s, size_type pos, size_type n) const;
  constexpr size_type find_first_of(const charT* s, size_type pos = 0) const;
  constexpr size_type find_last_of(basic_string_view s, size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find_last_of(charT c, size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find_last_of(const charT* s, size_type pos, size_type n) const;
  constexpr size_type find_last_of(const charT* s, size_type pos = npos) const;
  constexpr size_type find_first_not_of(basic_string_view s, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find_first_not_of(charT c, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find_first_not_of(const charT* s, size_type pos,
                                        size_type n) const;
  constexpr size_type find_first_not_of(const charT* s, size_type pos = 0) const;
  constexpr size_type find_last_not_of(basic_string_view s,
                                       size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find_last_not_of(charT c, size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;
  constexpr size_type find_last_not_of(const charT* s, size_type pos,
                                       size_type n) const;
  constexpr size_type find_last_not_of(const charT* s, size_type pos = npos) const;

private:
  const_pointer data_; // exposition only
  size_type size_;     // exposition only
};
1
#

In every specialization basic_­string_­view<charT, traits>, the type traits shall satisfy the character traits requirements ([char.traits]), and the type traits​::​char_­type shall name the same type as charT.

228)

Because basic_­string_­view refers to a constant sequence, iterator and const_­iterator are the same type.

24.4.2.1 Construction and assignment [string.view.cons]

constexpr basic_string_view() noexcept;

1
#

Effects: Constructs an empty basic_­string_­view.

2
#

Postconditions: size_­ == 0 and data_­ == nullptr.

constexpr basic_string_view(const charT* str);

3
#

Requires: [str, str + traits​::​length(str)) is a valid range.

4
#

Effects: Constructs a basic_­string_­view, with the postconditions in Table 64.

Table 64 — basic_­string_­view(const charT*) effects
ElementValue
data_­ str
size_­ traits​::​length(str)
5
#

Complexity: O(traits::length(str)).

constexpr basic_string_view(const charT* str, size_type len);

6
#

Requires: [str, str + len) is a valid range.

7
#

Effects: Constructs a basic_­string_­view, with the postconditions in Table 65.

Table 65 — basic_­string_­view(const charT*, size_­type) effects
ElementValue
data_­ str
size_­ len

24.4.2.2 Iterator support [string.view.iterators]

using const_iterator = implementation-defined;

1
#

A type that meets the requirements of a constant random access iterator ([random.access.iterators]) and of a contiguous iterator ([iterator.requirements.general]) whose value_­type is the template parameter charT.

2
#

For a basic_­string_­view str, any operation that invalidates a pointer in the range [str.data(), str.data() + str.size()) invalidates pointers, iterators, and references returned from str's methods.

3
#

All requirements on container iterators ([container.requirements]) apply to basic_­string_­view​::​const_­iterator as well.

constexpr const_iterator begin() const noexcept; constexpr const_iterator cbegin() const noexcept;

4
#

Returns: An iterator such that

  • (4.1)

    if !empty(), &*begin() == data_­,

  • (4.2)

    otherwise, an unspecified value such that [begin(), end()) is a valid range.

constexpr const_iterator end() const noexcept; constexpr const_iterator cend() const noexcept;

5
#

Returns: begin() + size().

constexpr const_reverse_iterator rbegin() const noexcept; constexpr const_reverse_iterator crbegin() const noexcept;

6
#

Returns: const_­reverse_­iterator(end()).

constexpr const_reverse_iterator rend() const noexcept; constexpr const_reverse_iterator crend() const noexcept;

7
#

Returns: const_­reverse_­iterator(begin()).

24.4.2.3 Capacity [string.view.capacity]

constexpr size_type size() const noexcept;

1
#

Returns: size_­.

constexpr size_type length() const noexcept;

2
#

Returns: size_­.

constexpr size_type max_size() const noexcept;

3
#

Returns: The largest possible number of char-like objects that can be referred to by a basic_­string_­view.

constexpr bool empty() const noexcept;

4
#

Returns: size_­ == 0.

24.4.2.4 Element access [string.view.access]

constexpr const_reference operator[](size_type pos) const;

1
#

Requires: pos < size().

2
#

Returns: data_­[pos].

3
#

Throws: Nothing.

4
#

[ Note: Unlike basic_­string​::​operator[], basic_­string_­view​::​operator[](size()) has undefined behavior instead of returning charT().  — end note ]

constexpr const_reference at(size_type pos) const;

5
#

Throws: out_­of_­range if pos >= size().

6
#

Returns: data_­[pos].

constexpr const_reference front() const;

7
#

Requires: !empty().

8
#

Returns: data_­[0].

9
#

Throws: Nothing.

constexpr const_reference back() const;

10
#

Requires: !empty().

11
#

Returns: data_­[size() - 1].

12
#

Throws: Nothing.

constexpr const_pointer data() const noexcept;

13
#

Returns: data_­.

14
#

[ Note: Unlike basic_­string​::​data() and string literals, data() may return a pointer to a buffer that is not null-terminated. Therefore it is typically a mistake to pass data() to a function that takes just a const charT* and expects a null-terminated string.  — end note ]

24.4.2.5 Modifiers [string.view.modifiers]

constexpr void remove_prefix(size_type n);

1
#

Requires: n <= size().

2
#

Effects: Equivalent to: data_­ += n; size_­ -= n;

constexpr void remove_suffix(size_type n);

3
#

Requires: n <= size().

4
#

Effects: Equivalent to: size_­ -= n;

constexpr void swap(basic_string_view& s) noexcept;

5
#

Effects: Exchanges the values of *this and s.

24.4.2.6 String operations [string.view.ops]

size_type copy(charT* s, size_type n, size_type pos = 0) const;

1
#

Let rlen be the smaller of n and size() - pos.

2
#

Throws: out_­of_­range if pos > size().

3
#

Requires: [s, s + rlen) is a valid range.

4
#

Effects: Equivalent to traits​::​copy(s, data() + pos, rlen).

5
#

Returns: rlen.

6
#

Complexity: O(rlen).

constexpr basic_string_view substr(size_type pos = 0, size_type n = npos) const;

7
#

Let rlen be the smaller of n and size() - pos.

8
#

Throws: out_­of_­range if pos > size().

9
#

Effects: Determines rlen, the effective length of the string to reference.

10
#

Returns: basic_­string_­view(data() + pos, rlen).

constexpr int compare(basic_string_view str) const noexcept;

11
#

Let rlen be the smaller of size() and str.size().

12
#

Effects: Determines rlen, the effective length of the strings to compare. The function then compares the two strings by calling traits​::​compare(data(), str.data(), rlen).

13
#

Complexity: O(rlen).

14
#

Returns: The nonzero result if the result of the comparison is nonzero. Otherwise, returns a value as indicated in Table 66.

Table 66 — compare() results
ConditionReturn Value
size() < str.size() < 0
size() == str.size()  0
size() > str.size() > 0

constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, basic_string_view str) const;

15
#

Effects: Equivalent to: return substr(pos1, n1).compare(str);

constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, basic_string_view str, size_type pos2, size_type n2) const;

16
#

Effects: Equivalent to: return substr(pos1, n1).compare(str.substr(pos2, n2));

constexpr int compare(const charT* s) const;

17
#

Effects: Equivalent to: return compare(basic_­string_­view(s));

constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, const charT* s) const;

18
#

Effects: Equivalent to: return substr(pos1, n1).compare(basic_­string_­view(s));

constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, const charT* s, size_type n2) const;

19
#

Effects: Equivalent to: return substr(pos1, n1).compare(basic_­string_­view(s, n2));

24.4.2.7 Searching [string.view.find]

1
#

This section specifies the basic_­string_­view member functions named find, rfind, find_­first_­of, find_­last_­of, find_­first_­not_­of, and find_­last_­not_­of.

2
#

Member functions in this section have complexity O(size() * str.size()) at worst, although implementations are encouraged to do better.

3
#

Each member function of the form 

constexpr return-type F(const charT* s, size_type pos);

is equivalent to return F(basic_­string_­view(s), pos);

4
#

Each member function of the form 

constexpr return-type F(const charT* s, size_type pos, size_type n);

is equivalent to return F(basic_­string_­view(s, n), pos);

5
#

Each member function of the form 

constexpr return-type F(charT c, size_type pos);

is equivalent to return F(basic_­string_­view(&c, 1), pos);

constexpr size_type find(basic_string_view str, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;

6
#

Let xpos be the lowest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:

  • (6.1)

    pos <= xpos

  • (6.2)

    xpos + str.size() <= size()

  • (6.3)

    traits​::​eq(at(xpos + I), str.at(I)) for all elements I of the string referenced by str.

7
#

Effects: Determines xpos.

8
#

Returns: xpos if the function can determine such a value for xpos. Otherwise, returns npos.

constexpr size_type rfind(basic_string_view str, size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;

9
#

Let xpos be the highest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:

  • (9.1)

    xpos <= pos

  • (9.2)

    xpos + str.size() <= size()

  • (9.3)

    traits​::​eq(at(xpos + I), str.at(I)) for all elements I of the string referenced by str.

10
#

Effects: Determines xpos.

11
#

Returns: xpos if the function can determine such a value for xpos. Otherwise, returns npos.

constexpr size_type find_first_of(basic_string_view str, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;

12
#

Let xpos be the lowest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:

  • (12.1)

    pos <= xpos

  • (12.2)

    xpos < size()

  • (12.3)

    traits​::​eq(at(xpos), str.at(I)) for some element I of the string referenced by str.

13
#

Effects: Determines xpos.

14
#

Returns: xpos if the function can determine such a value for xpos. Otherwise, returns npos.

constexpr size_type find_last_of(basic_string_view str, size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;

15
#

Let xpos be the highest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:

  • (15.1)

    xpos <= pos

  • (15.2)

    xpos < size()

  • (15.3)

    traits​::​eq(at(xpos), str.at(I)) for some element I of the string referenced by str.

16
#

Effects: Determines xpos.

17
#

Returns: xpos if the function can determine such a value for xpos. Otherwise, returns npos.

constexpr size_type find_first_not_of(basic_string_view str, size_type pos = 0) const noexcept;

18
#

Let xpos be the lowest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:

  • (18.1)

    pos <= xpos

  • (18.2)

    xpos < size()

  • (18.3)

    traits​::​eq(at(xpos), str.at(I)) for no element I of the string referenced by str.

19
#

Effects: Determines xpos.

20
#

Returns: xpos if the function can determine such a value for xpos. Otherwise, returns npos.

constexpr size_type find_last_not_of(basic_string_view str, size_type pos = npos) const noexcept;

21
#

Let xpos be the highest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:

  • (21.1)

    xpos <= pos

  • (21.2)

    xpos < size()

  • (21.3)

    traits​::​eq(at(xpos), str.at(I)) for no element I of the string referenced by str.

22
#

Effects: Determines xpos.

23
#

Returns: xpos if the function can determine such a value for xpos. Otherwise, returns npos.

24.4.3 Non-member comparison functions [string.view.comparison]

1
#

Let S be basic_­string_­view<charT, traits>, and sv be an instance of S. Implementations shall provide sufficient additional overloads marked constexpr and noexcept so that an object t with an implicit conversion to S can be compared according to Table 67.

Table 67 — Additional basic_­string_­view comparison overloads
ExpressionEquivalent to
t == sv S(t) == sv
sv == t sv == S(t)
t != sv S(t) != sv
sv != t sv != S(t)
t < sv S(t) < sv
sv < t sv < S(t)
t > sv S(t) > sv
sv > t sv > S(t)
t <= sv S(t) <= sv
sv <= t sv <= S(t)
t >= sv S(t) >= sv
sv >= t sv >= S(t)

[ Example: A sample conforming implementation for operator== would be: 

template<class T> using __identity = decay_t<T>;
template<class charT, class traits>
  constexpr bool operator==(basic_string_view<charT, traits> lhs,
                            basic_string_view<charT, traits> rhs) noexcept {
    return lhs.compare(rhs) == 0;
  }
template<class charT, class traits>
  constexpr bool operator==(basic_string_view<charT, traits> lhs,
                            __identity<basic_string_view<charT, traits>> rhs) noexcept {
    return lhs.compare(rhs) == 0;
  }
template<class charT, class traits>
  constexpr bool operator==(__identity<basic_string_view<charT, traits>> lhs,
                            basic_string_view<charT, traits> rhs) noexcept {
    return lhs.compare(rhs) == 0;
  }

 — end example ]

template<class charT, class traits> constexpr bool operator==(basic_string_view<charT, traits> lhs, basic_string_view<charT, traits> rhs) noexcept;

2
#

Returns: lhs.compare(rhs) == 0.

template<class charT, class traits> constexpr bool operator!=(basic_string_view<charT, traits> lhs, basic_string_view<charT, traits> rhs) noexcept;

3
#

Returns: lhs.compare(rhs) != 0.

template<class charT, class traits> constexpr bool operator< (basic_string_view<charT, traits> lhs, basic_string_view<charT, traits> rhs) noexcept;

4
#

Returns: lhs.compare(rhs) < 0.

template<class charT, class traits> constexpr bool operator> (basic_string_view<charT, traits> lhs, basic_string_view<charT, traits> rhs) noexcept;

5
#

Returns: lhs.compare(rhs) > 0.

template<class charT, class traits> constexpr bool operator<=(basic_string_view<charT, traits> lhs, basic_string_view<charT, traits> rhs) noexcept;

6
#

Returns: lhs.compare(rhs) <= 0.

template<class charT, class traits> constexpr bool operator>=(basic_string_view<charT, traits> lhs, basic_string_view<charT, traits> rhs) noexcept;

7
#

Returns: lhs.compare(rhs) >= 0.

24.4.4 Inserters and extractors [string.view.io]

template<class charT, class traits> basic_ostream<charT, traits>& operator<<(basic_ostream<charT, traits>& os, basic_string_view<charT, traits> str);

1
#

Effects: Behaves as a formatted output function of os. Forms a character sequence seq, initially consisting of the elements defined by the range [str.begin(), str.end()). Determines padding for seq as described in [ostream.formatted.reqmts]. Then inserts seq as if by calling os.rdbuf()->sputn(​seq, n), where n is the larger of os.width() and str.size(); then calls os.​width(0).

2
#

Returns: os

24.4.5 Hash support [string.view.hash]

template<> struct hash<string_view>; template<> struct hash<u16string_view>; template<> struct hash<u32string_view>; template<> struct hash<wstring_view>;

1
#

The specialization is enabled ([unord.hash]). [ Note: The hash value of a string view object is equal to the hash value of the corresponding string object ([basic.string.hash]).  — end note ]

24.4.6 Suffix for basic_­string_­view literals [string.view.literals]

constexpr string_view operator""sv(const char* str, size_t len) noexcept;

1
#

Returns: string_­view{str, len}.

constexpr u16string_view operator""sv(const char16_t* str, size_t len) noexcept;

2
#

Returns: u16string_­view{str, len}.

constexpr u32string_view operator""sv(const char32_t* str, size_t len) noexcept;

3
#

Returns: u32string_­view{str, len}.

constexpr wstring_view operator""sv(const wchar_t* str, size_t len) noexcept;

4
#

Returns: wstring_­view{str, len}.