[gmpi] Re: string encoding in teh API (UTFs)

  • From: thockin@xxxxxxxxxx
  • To: gmpi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 10:19:14 -0800

On Thu, Dec 15, 2005 at 06:54:13AM +1300, Jeff McClintock wrote:
> > - It causes a source-code portability mess (how do you declare a 
> string   literal?  "foo" or L"foo"?).
> 
> _T("foo")
> 
> _T (for text) is a macro that expands to either  L"foo"  or  "foo" 
> depending on your requirement.
> 
>   TCHAR *name = _T("my plugin");
> 
> ..compiles for either system.

Except there IS NO STANDARD TYPE that guarantees UTF-16, and wchar_t can
vary between compilers.

You're still ignoring all the other issues.

> thockin@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> >On Wed, Dec 14, 2005 at 09:38:12PM +1300, Jeff McClintock wrote:
> >
> >>I understand as a Linux programmer you prefer UTF-8.
> >>
> >>I'm just saying, for me, wide-chars are easier.  Fixed-size ones. I 
> >>guess that would be UCS-16 on Windows.
> >
> >
> >16 bit fixed characters *can't* represent all of Unicode.  If we're going
> >to support unicode, shouldn't we support Unicode?
> >
> >
> >> Mostly it seems a waste for both plugin and host to use 16-bit, but 
> >>to double-convert each string to UTF-8 and back as it crosses the GMPI 
> >>API.
> >
> >
> >Even if that's the case, how much string mangling do you really expect to
> >be doing?
> >
> >
> >>I already support Windows-98 ( ASCII ) and Windows-XP from the same 
> >>source code, by using the macro TCHAR to represent either "char" or 
> >>"wchar_t".
> >
> >
> >So you have two build and two environments?
> >
> >
> >> I'm not sure why you're against this, considering on Linux you will 
> >>only ever use TCHAR=char and will therefore not be affected by it.
> >
> >
> >Hey, I would like to localize, too.  Linux can't just be char.  We're all
> >going to be affected by the decision.
> >
> >I'm not necessarily against anything.  But you haven't addressed any of
> >the shortcomings of a 16-bit encoding.  Hey, I would like to localize,
> >
> >- It's still variable length, and if you don't handle that your code is
> >  broken.
> >
> >- It's not ASCII compatible, which FORCES all hosts to handle it
> >  explicitly.
> >
> >- It's got byte-ordering problems if it ever goes cross-system.
> >
> >- It causes a source-code portability mess (how do you declare a string
> >  literal?  "foo" or L"foo"?).
> >
> >It seems to me that UTF-16 has all the problems of UTF-8 and more, with
> >none of the advantages.  The *only* thing it has going for it is Windows
> >and Mac.  That shouldn't be ignored, but neither should the accompanying
> >drawbacks.
> >
> >To be intellectually honest:
> >     http://www.unicode.org/notes/tn12/
> >     http://www.linux.com/howtos/Unicode-HOWTO-1.shtml
> >     http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg20/docs/n830-utf-16-c.txt
> >
> >I'm doing some reading now on how I would use UTF-16 in a classic C
> >environment.  How do I declare string literals, sprintf, etc.
> >
> >Tim
> >
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> 
> 
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-- 
Tim Hockin
thockin@xxxxxxxxxx
Soon anyone who's not on the World Wide Web will qualify for a government 
subsidy for the home-pageless.

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