[review] new string type

[foobar]

Steven Schveighoffer Wrote:
[snipped]
> > 3. You have no access to the underlying array unless you're dealing with  
> > an
> > actual array of dchar.
> 
> I thought of adding some kind of access.  I wasn't sure the best way.
> 
> I was thinking of allowing direct access via opCast, because I think  
> casting might be a sufficient red flag to let you know you are crossing  
> into dangerous waters.
> 
> But it could just be as easy as making the array itself public.
> 

> -Steve

A string type should always maintain the invariant that it is a valid unicode string. Therefore I don't like having an unsafe opCast or providing direct access to the underlying array. I feel that there should be a read-only property for that. Algorithms that manipulate char[]'s should construct a new string instance which will validate the char[] it is being built from is a valid utf string.

This looks like a great start for a proper string type. There's still the issue of literals that would require compiler/language changes.

There's one other issue that should be considered at some stage: normalization and the fact that a single "character" can be constructed from several code points. (acutes and such)