Dealing with Autodecode

[Chris via Digitalmars-d]

On Wednesday, 1 June 2016 at 12:14:06 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu 
wrote:
> On 05/31/2016 08:46 PM, Walter Bright wrote:
>
> (Shouldn't those be by!dchar, by!wchar, by!char? byCodeUnit and 
> byCodePoint stay as they are.)
>
> 4. Rally behind RCStr as the preferred string type of the D 
> language. RCStr manages its own memory, is fast, and has the 
> right interface (i.e. offers several views for iteration 
> without an implicit one, doesn't throw on invalid code points, 
> etc).
>
> This is the key component. We get rid of GC-backed strings, 
> which is part of the crucial goal for D we need to achieve, and 
> reap the benefit of a better design as a perk. Breaking 
> existing code does not have the right benefit for the cost.
>
> Let's keep the eyes on the ball, folks. We want to rid D of the 
> GC. That's the prize.
>
>
> Andrei

How would the transition look like? How would it affect existing 
code, like e.g.  `countUntil`, `.length` etc.?