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[Robert Fraser]

Chris R. Miller wrote:
> Benji Smith wrote:
>> Chris R. Miller wrote:
>>> Benji Smith wrote:
>>>> 4. String processing sucks. Writing code that works transparently 
>>>> with all three character types and correctly handles all unicode 
>>>> characters is basically impossible. Or at least it feels impossible. 
>>>> Trying to support both Phobos and Tango in the same 
>>>> string-processing routine is a definite no-go. In an ideal world, 
>>>> string-processing code shouldn't have to be littered with "static 
>>>> if" all over the place.
>>>
>>> How would this be "fixed?"  Hint: don't suggest making strings an 
>>> object.  We tried that a while back, and it was more or less shot down.
>>
>> Well, personally, I'd prefer it if strings were objects.
> 
> As well for me.  Worked just fine in Java, I don't see why it can't work 
> here.  Rather, knowing what I know about D and Java, I would tend to 
> think that a D implementation of a String as an object would be /more/ 
> powerful than the Java implementation.
> 
>> But I could accept strings as character arrays if they were actually 
>> characters arrays.
> 
> Amen.

http://www.dprogramming.com/mtext.php

Nearly as efficient as regular strings & same memory footprint as the 
type of the lagest character within (i.e. if it contains only ascii, 8 
bits/char. If it contains things representable in UTF-16, 16 bits a 
character. If it contains cuneoform, 32 bits per char).