The STRCHAR type

Str Library uses extensively a new datatype called STRCHAR.  It is an abstraction for a character data type that may be either Unicode or ANSI, depending on the build mode of the library.

The table below summarizes the various character and string types in standard C++ (typical for Linux applications), Windows and Str Library.  Please note that you can use the equivalent types interchangeably, without typecasting.  For example, if you are writing a Windows application and have a LPCTSTR value, you can pass it directly where Str expects const STRCHAR* without typecasting.

Standard C++		Windows specific		Str Library type		Description
char		CHAR		STRACHAR		Character (always ANSI)
wchar_t		WCHAR		STRWCHAR		Character (always Unicode)
tchar		TCHAR		STRCHAR		Character
char*		LPSTR		STRACHAR*		Modifiable ANSI string
const char*		LPCSTR		const STRACHAR*		Const ANSI string
wchar_t*		LPWSTR		STRWCHAR*		Modifiable Unicode string
const wchar_t*		LPCWSTR		const STRWCHAR*		Const Unicode string
tchar*		LPTSTR		STRCHAR*		Modifiable string
const tchar*		LPCTSTR		const STRCHAR*		Const string

Most code and operations in Str Library deal with the Str class which represents a string; however, the library also implements the helper Char class which represents a single character. (Note: for Borland C++ Builder users, this class is called StrChar)

See also: ANSI / Unicode mode, Char class, Unicode