24 Strings library [strings]

24.4 String view classes [string.view]

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
};
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.
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;
Effects: Constructs an empty basic_­string_­view.
Postconditions: size_­ == 0 and data_­ == nullptr.
constexpr basic_string_view(const charT* str);
Requires: [str, str + traits​::​length(str)) is a valid range.
Effects: Constructs a basic_­string_­view, with the postconditions in Table 59.
Table 59 — basic_­string_­view(const charT*) effects
Element
Value
data_­
str
size_­
traits​::​length(str)
Complexity: .
constexpr basic_string_view(const charT* str, size_type len);
Requires: [str, str + len) is a valid range.
Effects: Constructs a basic_­string_­view, with the postconditions in Table 60.
Table 60 — basic_­string_­view(const charT*, size_­type) effects
Element
Value
data_­
str
size_­
len

24.4.2.2 Iterator support [string.view.iterators]

using const_iterator = implementation-defined;
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.
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.
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;
Returns: An iterator such that
  • if !empty(), &*begin() == data_­,
  • otherwise, an unspecified value such that [begin(), end()) is a valid range.
constexpr const_iterator end() const noexcept; constexpr const_iterator cend() const noexcept;
Returns: begin() + size().
constexpr const_reverse_iterator rbegin() const noexcept; constexpr const_reverse_iterator crbegin() const noexcept;
Returns: const_­reverse_­iterator(end()).
constexpr const_reverse_iterator rend() const noexcept; constexpr const_reverse_iterator crend() const noexcept;
Returns: const_­reverse_­iterator(begin()).

24.4.2.3 Capacity [string.view.capacity]

constexpr size_type size() const noexcept;
Returns: size_­.
constexpr size_type length() const noexcept;
Returns: size_­.
constexpr size_type max_size() const noexcept;
Returns: The largest possible number of char-like objects that can be referred to by a basic_­string_­view.
constexpr bool empty() const noexcept;
Returns: size_­ == 0.

24.4.2.4 Element access [string.view.access]

constexpr const_reference operator[](size_type pos) const;
Requires: pos < size().
Returns: data_­[pos].
Throws: Nothing.
[ 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;
Throws: out_­of_­range if pos >= size().
Returns: data_­[pos].
constexpr const_reference front() const;
Requires: !empty().
Returns: data_­[0].
Throws: Nothing.
constexpr const_reference back() const;
Requires: !empty().
Returns: data_­[size() - 1].
Throws: Nothing.
constexpr const_pointer data() const noexcept;
Returns: data_­.
[ 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);
Requires: n <= size().
Effects: Equivalent to: data_­ += n; size_­ -= n;
constexpr void remove_suffix(size_type n);
Requires: n <= size().
Effects: Equivalent to: size_­ -= n;
constexpr void swap(basic_string_view& s) noexcept;
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;
Let rlen be the smaller of n and size() - pos.
Throws: out_­of_­range if pos > size().
Requires: [s, s + rlen) is a valid range.
Effects: Equivalent to traits​::​copy(s, data() + pos, rlen).
Returns: rlen.
Complexity: .
constexpr basic_string_view substr(size_type pos = 0, size_type n = npos) const;
Let rlen be the smaller of n and size() - pos.
Throws: out_­of_­range if pos > size().
Effects: Determines rlen, the effective length of the string to reference.
Returns: basic_­string_­view(data() + pos, rlen).
constexpr int compare(basic_string_view str) const noexcept;
Let rlen be the smaller of size() and str.size().
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).
Complexity: .
Returns: The nonzero result if the result of the comparison is nonzero.
Otherwise, returns a value as indicated in Table 61.
Table 61 — compare() results
Condition
Return 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;
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;
Effects: Equivalent to: return substr(pos1, n1).compare(str.substr(pos2, n2));
constexpr int compare(const charT* s) const;
Effects: Equivalent to: return compare(basic_­string_­view(s));
constexpr int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, const charT* s) const;
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;
Effects: Equivalent to: return substr(pos1, n1).compare(basic_­string_­view(s, n2));

24.4.2.7 Searching [string.view.find]

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.
Member functions in this section have complexity at worst, although implementations are encouraged to do better.
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);
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);
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;
Let xpos be the lowest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:
  • pos <= xpos
  • xpos + str.size() <= size()
  • traits​::​eq(at(xpos + I), str.at(I)) for all elements I of the string referenced by str.
Effects: Determines xpos.
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;
Let xpos be the highest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:
  • xpos <= pos
  • xpos + str.size() <= size()
  • traits​::​eq(at(xpos + I), str.at(I)) for all elements I of the string referenced by str.
Effects: Determines xpos.
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;
Let xpos be the lowest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:
  • pos <= xpos
  • xpos < size()
  • traits​::​eq(at(xpos), str.at(I)) for some element I of the string referenced by str.
Effects: Determines xpos.
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;
Let xpos be the highest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:
  • xpos <= pos
  • xpos < size()
  • traits​::​eq(at(xpos), str.at(I)) for some element I of the string referenced by str.
Effects: Determines xpos.
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;
Let xpos be the lowest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:
  • pos <= xpos
  • xpos < size()
  • traits​::​eq(at(xpos), str.at(I)) for no element I of the string referenced by str.
Effects: Determines xpos.
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;
Let xpos be the highest position, if possible, such that the following conditions hold:
  • xpos <= pos
  • xpos < size()
  • traits​::​eq(at(xpos), str.at(I)) for no element I of the string referenced by str.
Effects: Determines xpos.
Returns: xpos if the function can determine such a value for xpos.
Otherwise, returns npos.