Re: How to use __versa_string as std::string implementation?

[Niels Dekker - address until 2010-10-10 <niels_address_until_2010-10-10 at xs4all dot nl>]

[Oops, I shot myself in the foot by using a mail address that I'd rather 
keep spam free, in my previous message! I'm surprised the message was 
forwarded straight to the mailing list, because it wasn't the address I 
used when I subscribed.]

> > Do I understand correctly that the current GCC implementation of
> > std::string is non-conforming, because it does ref-counting +
> > copy-on-write?

Paolo Carlini wrote:
> If you mean by non-conforming "non-conforming to the not existing yet
> new C++ standard, so far known as C++0x", the answer is yes.

Thanks, that's what I meant indeed. (In fact I got the word "conforming" 
from gcc.gnu.org/gcc-4.1/changes.html which says that __versa_string 
provides "facilities conforming to the standard requirements for 
basic_string". But indeed, C++03 does allow COW implementations of 
std::string.)

> > If I understand well, the Versatile String, __versa_string from
> > <ext/vstring.h>  provides such an implementation, right?  Is there an
> > easy way to recompile existing user code that uses std::string, in
> > order to switch to a non-ref-counting implementation?

> Nothing special, no. And of course that code is just a starting point.
> Before advertising is a "conforming" (in the sense above) implementation
> has to be reviewed, some optimizations added, etc...

Okay, so basically __versa_string is a starting point for the 
std::string implementation of the future, right? Is there any target 
date or target GCC release version for this new implementation to be 
included as the new std::basic_string?

Thanks again,

  Niels
--
Niels Dekker
http://www.xs4all.nl/~nd/dekkerware
Scientific programmer at LKEB, Leiden University Medical Center