# utext.h File Reference

C API: Abstract Unicode Text API. More...

`#include "unicode/utypes.h"`

Go to the source code of this file.

## Data Structures
struct | UTextFuncs
| (public) Function dispatch table for UText. More...
struct | UText
| UText struct. More...
## Defines
#define | UTEXT_NEXT32(ut)
| inline version of utext_next32(), for performance-critical situations.
#define | UTEXT_PREVIOUS32(ut)
| inline version of utext_previous32(), for performance-critical situations.
#define | UTEXT_GETNATIVEINDEX(ut)
| inline version of utext_getNativeIndex(), for performance-critical situations.
#define | UTEXT_SETNATIVEINDEX(ut, ix)
| inline version of utext_setNativeIndex(), for performance-critical situations.
#define | UTEXT_INITIALIZER
| initializer to be used with local (stack) instances of a UText struct.
## Typedefs
typedef struct UText | UText
| C typedef for struct UText.
typedef UText * | UTextClone (UText *dest, const UText *src, UBool deep, UErrorCode *status)
| Function type declaration for UText.clone().
typedef int64_t | UTextNativeLength (UText *ut)
| Function type declaration for UText.nativeLength().
typedef UBool | UTextAccess (UText *ut, int64_t nativeIndex, UBool forward)
| Function type declaration for UText.access().
typedef int32_t | UTextExtract (UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, UChar *dest, int32_t destCapacity, UErrorCode *status)
| Function type declaration for UText.extract().
typedef int32_t | UTextReplace (UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, const UChar *replacementText, int32_t replacmentLength, UErrorCode *status)
| Function type declaration for UText.replace().
typedef void | UTextCopy (UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, int64_t nativeDest, UBool move, UErrorCode *status)
| Function type declaration for UText.copy().
typedef int64_t | UTextMapOffsetToNative (const UText *ut)
| Function type declaration for UText.mapOffsetToNative().
typedef int32_t | UTextMapNativeIndexToUTF16 (const UText *ut, int64_t nativeIndex)
| Function type declaration for UText.mapIndexToUTF16().
typedef void | UTextClose (UText *ut)
| Function type declaration for UText.utextClose().
typedef struct UTextFuncs | UTextFuncs
| Function dispatch table for UText.
## Enumerations
enum | { UTEXT_PROVIDER_LENGTH_IS_EXPENSIVE = 1, UTEXT_PROVIDER_STABLE_CHUNKS = 2, UTEXT_PROVIDER_WRITABLE = 3, UTEXT_PROVIDER_HAS_META_DATA = 4, UTEXT_PROVIDER_OWNS_TEXT = 5 }
| UText provider properties (bit field indexes). More...
enum | { UTEXT_MAGIC = 0x345ad82c }
## Functions
UText * | utext_close (UText *ut)
| Close function for UText instances.
UText * | utext_openUTF8 (UText *ut, const char *s, int64_t length, UErrorCode *status)
| Open a read-only UText implementation for UTF-8 strings.
UText * | utext_openUChars (UText *ut, const UChar *s, int64_t length, UErrorCode *status)
| Open a read-only UText for UChar * string.
UText * | utext_clone (UText *dest, const UText *src, UBool deep, UBool readOnly, UErrorCode *status)
| Clone a UText.
UBool | utext_equals (const UText *a, const UText *b)
| Compare two UText objects for equality.
int64_t | utext_nativeLength (UText *ut)
| Get the length of the text.
UBool | utext_isLengthExpensive (const UText *ut)
| Return TRUE if calculating the length of the text could be expensive.
UChar32 | utext_char32At (UText *ut, int64_t nativeIndex)
| Returns the code point at the requested index, or U_SENTINEL (-1) if it is out of bounds.
UChar32 | utext_current32 (UText *ut)
| Get the code point at the current iteration position, or U_SENTINEL (-1) if the iteration has reached the end of the input text.
UChar32 | utext_next32 (UText *ut)
| Get the code point at the current iteration position of the UText, and advance the position to the first index following the character.
UChar32 | utext_previous32 (UText *ut)
| Move the iterator position to the character (code point) whose index precedes the current position, and return that character.
UChar32 | utext_next32From (UText *ut, int64_t nativeIndex)
| Set the iteration index and return the code point at that index.
UChar32 | utext_previous32From (UText *ut, int64_t nativeIndex)
| Set the iteration index, and return the code point preceding the one specified by the initial index.
int64_t | utext_getNativeIndex (const UText *ut)
| Get the current iterator position, which can range from 0 to the length of the text.
void | utext_setNativeIndex (UText *ut, int64_t nativeIndex)
| Set the current iteration position to the nearest code point boundary at or preceding the specified index.
UBool | utext_moveIndex32 (UText *ut, int32_t delta)
| Move the iterator postion by delta code points.
int64_t | utext_getPreviousNativeIndex (UText *ut)
| Get the native index of the character preceeding the current position.
int32_t | utext_extract (UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, UChar *dest, int32_t destCapacity, UErrorCode *status)
| Extract text from a UText into a UChar buffer.
UBool | utext_isWritable (const UText *ut)
| Return TRUE if the text can be written (modified) with utext_replace() or utext_copy().
UBool | utext_hasMetaData (const UText *ut)
| Test whether there is meta data associated with the text.
int32_t | utext_replace (UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, const UChar *replacementText, int32_t replacementLength, UErrorCode *status)
| Replace a range of the original text with a replacement text.
void | utext_copy (UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, int64_t destIndex, UBool move, UErrorCode *status)
| Copy or move a substring from one position to another within the text, while retaining any metadata associated with the text.
void | utext_freeze (UText *ut)
UText * | utext_setup (UText *ut, int32_t extraSpace, UErrorCode *status)
| Common function for use by Text Provider implementations to allocate and/or initialize a new UText struct.

## Detailed Description

C API: Abstract Unicode Text API.

The Text Access API provides a means to allow text that is stored in alternative formats to work with ICU services. ICU normally operates on text that is stored in UTF-16 format, in (UChar *) arrays for the C APIs or as type UnicodeString for C++ APIs.

ICU Text Access allows other formats, such as UTF-8 or non-contiguous UTF-16 strings, to be placed in a UText wrapper and then passed to ICU services.

There are three general classes of usage for UText:

Application Level Use. This is the simplest usage - applications would use one of the utext_open() functions on their input text, and pass the resulting UText to the desired ICU service.

Second is usage in ICU Services, such as break iteration, that will need to operate on input presented to them as a UText. These implementations will need to use the iteration and related UText functions to gain access to the actual text.

The third class of UText users are "text providers." These are the UText implementations for the various text storage formats. An application or system with a unique text storage format can implement a set of UText provider functions for that format, which will then allow ICU services to operate on that format.

Iterating over text

Here is sample code for a forward iteration over the contents of a UText

        UChar32  c;
        UText    *ut = whatever();

        for (c=utext_next32From(ut, 0); c>=0; c=utext_next32(ut)) {
           // do whatever with the codepoint c here.
        }

And here is similar code to iterate in the reverse direction, from the end of the text towards the beginning.

        UChar32  c;
        UText    *ut = whatever();
        int      textLength = utext_nativeLength(ut);
        for (c=utext_previous32From(ut, textLength); c>=0; c=utext_previous32(ut)) {
           // do whatever with the codepoint c here.
        }

Characters and Indexing

Indexing into text by UText functions is nearly always in terms of the native indexing of the underlying text storage. The storage format could be UTF-8 or UTF-32, for example. When coding to the UText access API, no assumptions can be made regarding the size of characters, or how far an index may move when iterating between characters.

All indices supplied to UText functions are pinned to the length of the text. An out-of-bounds index is not considered to be an error, but is adjusted to be in the range 0 <= index <= length of input text.

When an index position is returned from a UText function, it will be a native index to the underlying text. In the case of multi-unit characters, it will always refer to the first position of the character, never to the interior. This is essentially the same thing as saying that a returned index will always point to a boundary between characters.

When a native index is supplied to a UText function, all indices that refer to any part of a multi-unit character representation are considered to be equivalent. In the case of multi-unit characters, an incoming index will be logically normalized to refer to the start of the character.

It is possible to test whether a native index is on a code point boundary by doing a utext_setNativeIndex() followed by a utext_getNativeIndex(). If the index is returned unchanged, it was on a code point boundary. If an adjusted index is returned, the original index referred to the interior of a character.

Conventions for calling UText functions

Most UText access functions have as their first parameter a (UText *) pointer, which specifies the UText to be used. Unless otherwise noted, the pointer must refer to a valid, open UText. Attempting to use a closed UText or passing a NULL pointer is a programming error and will produce undefined results or NULL pointer exceptions.

The UText_Open family of functions can either open an existing (closed) UText, or heap allocate a new UText. Here is sample code for creating a stack-allocated UText.

        char     *s = whatever();  // A utf-8 string
        U_ErrorCode status = U_ZERO_ERROR;
        UText    ut = UTEXT_INITIALIZER;
        utext_openUTF8(ut, s, -1, &status);
        if (U_FAILURE(status)) {
            // error handling
        } else {
            // work with the UText
        }

Any existing UText passed to an open function _must_ have been initialized, either by the UTEXT_INITIALIZER, or by having been originally heap-allocated by an open function. Passing NULL will cause the open function to heap-allocate and fully initialize a new UText.

Definition in file utext.h.

## Define Documentation

#define UTEXT_GETNATIVEINDEX | ( | ut |  | ) |

Value:

    ((ut)->chunkOffset <= (ut)->nativeIndexingLimit?   \
            (ut)->chunkNativeStart+(ut)->chunkOffset :     \
            (ut)->pFuncs->mapOffsetToNative(ut))

inline version of utext_getNativeIndex(), for performance-critical situations.

Get the current iterator position, which can range from 0 to the length of the text. The position is a native index into the input text, in whatever format it may have (possibly UTF-8 for example), and may not always be the same as the corresponding UChar (UTF-16) index. The returned position will always be aligned to a code point boundary.

Stable:
  ICU 3.6

Definition at line 715 of file utext.h.

#define UTEXT_INITIALIZER

Value:

    {                                        \
                      UTEXT_MAGIC,          /* magic                */ \
                      0,                    /* flags                */ \
                      0,                    /* providerProps        */ \
                      sizeof(UText),        /* sizeOfStruct         */ \
                      0,                    /* chunkNativeLimit     */ \
                      0,                    /* extraSize            */ \
                      0,                    /* nativeIndexingLimit  */ \
                      0,                    /* chunkNativeStart     */ \
                      0,                    /* chunkOffset          */ \
                      0,                    /* chunkLength          */ \
                      NULL,                 /* chunkContents        */ \
                      NULL,                 /* pFuncs               */ \
                      NULL,                 /* pExtra               */ \
                      NULL,                 /* context              */ \
                      NULL, NULL, NULL,     /* p, q, r              */ \
                      NULL,                 /* privP                */ \
                      0, 0, 0,              /* a, b, c              */ \
                      0, 0, 0               /* privA,B,C,           */ \
                      }

initializer to be used with local (stack) instances of a UText struct.

UText structs must be initialized before passing them to one of the utext_open functions.

Stable:
  ICU 3.6

Definition at line 1536 of file utext.h.

#define UTEXT_NEXT32 | ( | ut |  | ) |

Value:

    ((ut)->chunkOffset < (ut)->chunkLength && ((ut)->chunkContents)[(ut)->chunkOffset]<0xd800 ? \
        ((ut)->chunkContents)[((ut)->chunkOffset)++] : utext_next32(ut))

inline version of utext_next32(), for performance-critical situations.

Get the code point at the current iteration position of the UText, and advance the position to the first index following the character. This is a post-increment operation. Returns U_SENTINEL (-1) if the position is at the end of the text.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 684 of file utext.h.

#define UTEXT_PREVIOUS32 | ( | ut |  | ) |

Value:

    ((ut)->chunkOffset > 0 && \
         (ut)->chunkContents[(ut)->chunkOffset-1] < 0xd800 ? \
              (ut)->chunkContents[--((ut)->chunkOffset)]  :  utext_previous32(ut))

inline version of utext_previous32(), for performance-critical situations.

Move the iterator position to the character (code point) whose index precedes the current position, and return that character. This is a pre-decrement operation. Returns U_SENTINEL (-1) if the position is at the start of the text.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 698 of file utext.h.

#define UTEXT_SETNATIVEINDEX | ( | ut,
|  | ix |  | ) |

Value:

    { int64_t __offset = (ix) - (ut)->chunkNativeStart; \
          if (__offset>=0 && __offset<=(int64_t)(ut)->nativeIndexingLimit) { \
              (ut)->chunkOffset=(int32_t)__offset; \
          } else { \
              utext_setNativeIndex((ut), (ix)); } }

inline version of utext_setNativeIndex(), for performance-critical situations.

Set the current iteration position to the nearest code point boundary at or preceding the specified index. The index is in the native units of the original input text. If the index is out of range, it will be pinned to be within the range of the input text.

Stable:
  ICU 3.8

Definition at line 731 of file utext.h.

## Typedef Documentation

typedef struct UText UText

C typedef for struct UText.

Stable:
  ICU 3.6

Definition at line 149 of file utext.h.

typedef UBool UTextAccess(UText *ut, int64_t nativeIndex, UBool forward)

Function type declaration for UText.access().

Get the description of the text chunk containing the text at a requested native index. The UText's iteration position will be left at the requested index. If the index is out of bounds, the iteration position will be left at the start or end of the string, as appropriate.

Chunks must begin and end on code point boundaries. A single code point comprised of multiple storage units must never span a chunk boundary.

Parameters:

  | ut | the UText being accessed.
  | nativeIndex | Requested index of the text to be accessed.
  | forward | If TRUE, then the returned chunk must contain text starting from the index, so that start<=index<limit. If FALSE, then the returned chunk must contain text before the index, so that start<index<=limit.

Returns:
  True if the requested index could be accessed. The chunk will contain the requested text. False value if a chunk cannot be accessed (the requested index is out of bounds).

See also:
  UText

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 1003 of file utext.h.

typedef UText* UTextClone(UText *dest, const UText *src, UBool deep, UErrorCode *status)

Function type declaration for UText.clone().

clone a UText. Much like opening a UText where the source text is itself another UText.

A deep clone will copy both the UText data structures and the underlying text. The original and cloned UText will operate completely independently; modifications made to the text in one will not effect the other. Text providers are not required to support deep clones. The user of clone() must check the status return and be prepared to handle failures.

A shallow clone replicates only the UText data structures; it does not make a copy of the underlying text. Shallow clones can be used as an efficient way to have multiple iterators active in a single text string that is not being modified.

A shallow clone operation must not fail except for truly exceptional conditions such as memory allocation failures.

A UText and its clone may be safely concurrently accessed by separate threads. This is true for both shallow and deep clones. It is the responsibility of the Text Provider to ensure that this thread safety constraint is met.

Parameters:

  | dest | A UText struct to be filled in with the result of the clone operation, or NULL if the clone function should heap-allocate a new UText struct.
  | src | The UText to be cloned.
  | deep | TRUE to request a deep clone, FALSE for a shallow clone.
  | status | Errors are returned here. For deep clones, U_UNSUPPORTED_ERROR should be returned if the text provider is unable to clone the original text.

Returns:
  The newly created clone, or NULL if the clone operation failed.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 963 of file utext.h.

typedef void UTextClose(UText *ut)

Function type declaration for UText.utextClose().

A Text Provider close function is only required for provider types that make allocations in their open function (or other functions) that must be cleaned when the UText is closed.

The allocation of the UText struct itself and any "extra" storage associated with the UText is handled by the common UText implementation and does not require provider specific cleanup in a close function.

Most UText provider implementations do not need to implement this function.

Parameters:

  | ut | A UText object to be closed.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 1161 of file utext.h.

typedef void UTextCopy(UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, int64_t nativeDest, UBool move, UErrorCode *status)

Function type declaration for UText.copy().

Copy or move a substring from one position to another within the text, while retaining any metadata associated with the text. This function is used to duplicate or reorder substrings. The destination index must not overlap the source range.

The text to be copied or moved is inserted at destIndex; it does not replace or overwrite any existing text.

This function need only be implemented for UText types that support writing.

When using this function, there should be only a single UText opened onto the underlying native text string. The function is responsible for updating the text chunk within the UText to reflect the updated iteration position, taking into account any changes to the underlying string's structure caused by the replace operation.

Parameters:

  | ut | The UText representing the text to be operated on.
  | nativeStart | The index of the start of the region to be copied or moved
  | nativeLimit | The index of the character following the region to be replaced.
  | nativeDest | The destination index to which the source substring is copied or moved.
  | move | If TRUE, then the substring is moved, not copied/duplicated.
  | status | receives any error status. Possible errors include U_NO_WRITE_PERMISSION

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 1102 of file utext.h.

typedef int32_t UTextExtract(UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, UChar *dest, int32_t destCapacity, UErrorCode *status)

Function type declaration for UText.extract().

Extract text from a UText into a UChar buffer. The range of text to be extracted is specified in the native indices of the UText provider. These may not necessarily be UTF-16 indices.

The size (number of 16 bit UChars) in the data to be extracted is returned. The full amount is returned, even when the specified buffer size is smaller.

The extracted string will (if you are a user) / must (if you are a text provider) be NUL-terminated if there is sufficient space in the destination buffer.

Parameters:

  | ut | the UText from which to extract data.
  | nativeStart | the native index of the first characer to extract.
  | nativeLimit | the native string index of the position following the last character to extract.
  | dest | the UChar (UTF-16) buffer into which the extracted text is placed
  | destCapacity | The size, in UChars, of the destination buffer. May be zero for precomputing the required size.
  | status | receives any error status. If U_BUFFER_OVERFLOW_ERROR: Returns number of UChars for preflighting.

Returns:
  Number of UChars in the data. Does not include a trailing NUL.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 1033 of file utext.h.

typedef struct UTextFuncs UTextFuncs

Function dispatch table for UText.

See also:
  UTextFuncs

Definition at line 1294 of file utext.h.

typedef int32_t UTextMapNativeIndexToUTF16(const UText *ut, int64_t nativeIndex)

Function type declaration for UText.mapIndexToUTF16().

Map from a native index to a UChar offset within a text chunk. Behavior is undefined if the native index does not fall within the current chunk.

This function is required only for text providers that do not use native UTF-16 indexes.

Parameters:

  | ut | The UText containing the text chunk.
  | nativeIndex | Absolute (native) text index, chunk->start<=index<=chunk->limit.

Returns:
  Chunk-relative UTF-16 offset corresponding to the specified native index.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 1140 of file utext.h.

typedef int64_t UTextMapOffsetToNative(const UText *ut)

Function type declaration for UText.mapOffsetToNative().

Map from the current UChar offset within the current text chunk to the corresponding native index in the original source text.

This is required only for text providers that do not use native UTF-16 indexes.

Parameters:

  | ut | the UText.

Returns:
  Absolute (native) index corresponding to chunkOffset in the current chunk. The returned native index should always be to a code point boundary.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 1122 of file utext.h.

typedef int64_t UTextNativeLength(UText *ut)

Function type declaration for UText.nativeLength().

Parameters:

  | ut | the UText to get the length of.

Returns:
  the length, in the native units of the original text string.

See also:
  UText

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 975 of file utext.h.

typedef int32_t UTextReplace(UText *ut, int64_t nativeStart, int64_t nativeLimit, const UChar *replacementText, int32_t replacmentLength, UErrorCode *status)

Function type declaration for UText.replace().

Replace a range of the original text with a replacement text.

Leaves the current iteration position at the position following the newly inserted replacement text.

This function need only be implemented on UText types that support writing.

When using this function, there should be only a single UText opened onto the underlying native text string. The function is responsible for updating the text chunk within the UText to reflect the updated iteration position, taking into account any changes to the underlying string's structure caused by the replace operation.

Parameters:

  | ut | the UText representing the text to be operated on.
  | nativeStart | the index of the start of the region to be replaced
  | nativeLimit | the index of the character following the region to be replaced.
  | replacementText | pointer to the replacement text
  | replacmentLength | length of the replacement text in UChars, or -1 if the text is NUL terminated.
  | status | receives any error status. Possible errors include U_NO_WRITE_PERMISSION

Returns:
  The signed number of (native) storage units by which the length of the text expanded or contracted.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Definition at line 1068 of file utext.h.

## Enumeration Type Documentation

anonymous enum

UText provider properties (bit field indexes).

See also:
  UText

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

Enumerator:

  UTEXT_PROVIDER_LENGTH_IS_EXPENSIVE | It is potentially time consuming for the provider to determine the length of the text. Stable: ICU 3.4
  UTEXT_PROVIDER_STABLE_CHUNKS | Text chunks remain valid and usable until the text object is modified or deleted, not just until the next time the access() function is called (which is the default). Stable: ICU 3.4
  UTEXT_PROVIDER_WRITABLE | The provider supports modifying the text via the replace() and copy() functions. See also: Replaceable Stable: ICU 3.4
  UTEXT_PROVIDER_HAS_META_DATA | There is meta data associated with the text. See also: Replaceable::hasMetaData() Stable: ICU 3.4
  UTEXT_PROVIDER_OWNS_TEXT | Text provider owns the text storage. Generally occurs as the result of a deep clone of the UText. When closing the UText, the associated text must also be closed/deleted/freed/ whatever is appropriate. Stable: ICU 3.6

Definition at line 889 of file utext.h.

anonymous enum

Internal:
  Do not use. This API is for internal use only. Value used to help identify correctly initialized UText structs. Note: must be publicly visible so that UTEXT_INITIALIZER can access it.

Definition at line 1525 of file utext.h.

## Function Documentation

UChar32 utext_char32At | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int64_t | nativeIndex |
| ) |  |  |

Returns the code point at the requested index, or U_SENTINEL (-1) if it is out of bounds.

If the specified index points to the interior of a multi-unit character - one of the trail bytes of a UTF-8 sequence, for example - the complete code point will be returned.

The iteration position will be set to the start of the returned code point.

This function is roughly equivalent to the the sequence utext_setNativeIndex(index); utext_current32(); (There is a subtle difference if the index is out of bounds by being less than zero - utext_setNativeIndex(negative value) sets the index to zero, after which utext_current() will return the char at zero. utext_char32At(negative index), on the other hand, will return the U_SENTINEL value of -1.)

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed
  | nativeIndex | the native index of the character to be accessed. If the index points to other than the first unit of a multi-unit character, it will be adjusted to the start of the character.

Returns:
  the code point at the specified index.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UText* utext_clone | ( | UText * | dest,
|  | const UText * | src,
|  | UBool | deep,
|  | UBool | readOnly,
|  | UErrorCode * | status |
| ) |  |  |

Clone a UText.

This is much like opening a UText where the source text is itself another UText.

A deep clone will copy both the UText data structures and the underlying text. The original and cloned UText will operate completely independently; modifications made to the text in one will not affect the other. Text providers are not required to support deep clones. The user of clone() must check the status return and be prepared to handle failures.

The standard UText implementations for UTF8, UChar *, UnicodeString and Replaceable all support deep cloning.

The UText returned from a deep clone will be writable, assuming that the text provider is able to support writing, even if the source UText had been made non-writable by means of UText_freeze().

A shallow clone replicates only the UText data structures; it does not make a copy of the underlying text. Shallow clones can be used as an efficient way to have multiple iterators active in a single text string that is not being modified.

A shallow clone operation will not fail, barring truly exceptional conditions such as memory allocation failures.

Shallow UText clones should be avoided if the UText functions that modify the text are expected to be used, either on the original or the cloned UText. Any such modifications can cause unpredictable behavior. Read Only shallow clones provide some protection against errors of this type by disabling text modification via the cloned UText.

A shallow clone made with the readOnly parameter == FALSE will preserve the utext_isWritable() state of the source object. Note, however, that write operations must be avoided while more than one UText exists that refer to the same underlying text.

A UText and its clone may be safely concurrently accessed by separate threads. This is true for read access only with shallow clones, and for both read and write access with deep clones. It is the responsibility of the Text Provider to ensure that this thread safety constraint is met.

Parameters:

  | dest | A UText struct to be filled in with the result of the clone operation, or NULL if the clone function should heap-allocate a new UText struct. If non-NULL, must refer to an already existing UText, which will then be reset to become the clone.
  | src | The UText to be cloned.
  | deep | TRUE to request a deep clone, FALSE for a shallow clone.
  | readOnly | TRUE to request that the cloned UText have read only access to the underlying text.
  | status | Errors are returned here. For deep clones, U_UNSUPPORTED_ERROR will be returned if the text provider is unable to clone the original text.

Returns:
  The newly created clone, or NULL if the clone operation failed.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UText* utext_close | ( | UText * | ut | ) |

Close function for UText instances.

Cleans up, releases any resources being held by an open UText.

If the UText was originally allocated by one of the utext_open functions, the storage associated with the utext will also be freed. If the UText storage originated with the application, as it would with a local or static instance, the storage will not be deleted.

An open UText can be reset to refer to new string by using one of the utext_open() functions without first closing the UText.

Parameters:

  | ut | The UText to be closed.

Returns:
  NULL if the UText struct was deleted by the close. If the UText struct was originally provided by the caller to the open function, it is returned by this function, and may be safely used again in a subsequent utext_open.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

void utext_copy | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int64_t | nativeStart,
|  | int64_t | nativeLimit,
|  | int64_t | destIndex,
|  | UBool | move,
|  | UErrorCode * | status |
| ) |  |  |

Copy or move a substring from one position to another within the text, while retaining any metadata associated with the text.

This function is used to duplicate or reorder substrings. The destination index must not overlap the source range.

The text to be copied or moved is inserted at destIndex; it does not replace or overwrite any existing text.

The iteration position is left following the newly inserted text at the destination position.

This function is only available on UText types that support writing, that is, ones where utext_isWritable() returns TRUE.

When using this function, there should be only a single UText opened onto the underlying native text string. Behavior after a copy operation on a UText is undefined in any other additional UTexts that refer to the modified string.

Parameters:

  | ut | The UText representing the text to be operated on.
  | nativeStart | The native index of the start of the region to be copied or moved
  | nativeLimit | The native index of the character position following the region to be copied.
  | destIndex | The native destination index to which the source substring is copied or moved.
  | move | If TRUE, then the substring is moved, not copied/duplicated.
  | status | receives any error status. Possible errors include U_NO_WRITE_PERMISSION

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UChar32 utext_current32 | ( | UText * | ut | ) |

Get the code point at the current iteration position, or U_SENTINEL (-1) if the iteration has reached the end of the input text.

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.

Returns:
  the Unicode code point at the current iterator position.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UBool utext_equals | ( | const UText * | a,
|  | const UText * | b |
| ) |  |  |

Compare two UText objects for equality.

UTexts are equal if they are iterating over the same text, and have the same iteration position within the text. If either or both of the parameters are NULL, the comparison is FALSE.

Parameters:

  | a | The first of the two UTexts to compare.
  | b | The other UText to be compared.

Returns:
  TRUE if the two UTexts are equal.

Stable:
  ICU 3.6

int32_t utext_extract | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int64_t | nativeStart,
|  | int64_t | nativeLimit,
|  | UChar * | dest,
|  | int32_t | destCapacity,
|  | UErrorCode * | status |
| ) |  |  |

Extract text from a UText into a UChar buffer.

The range of text to be extracted is specified in the native indices of the UText provider. These may not necessarily be UTF-16 indices.

The size (number of 16 bit UChars) of the data to be extracted is returned. The full number of UChars is returned, even when the extracted text is truncated because the specified buffer size is too small.

The extracted string will (if you are a user) / must (if you are a text provider) be NUL-terminated if there is sufficient space in the destination buffer. This terminating NUL is not included in the returned length.

The iteration index is left at the position following the last extracted character.

Parameters:

  | ut | the UText from which to extract data.
  | nativeStart | the native index of the first character to extract.\ If the specified index is out of range, it will be pinned to to be within 0 <= index <= textLength
  | nativeLimit | the native string index of the position following the last character to extract. If the specified index is out of range, it will be pinned to to be within 0 <= index <= textLength. nativeLimit must be >= nativeStart.
  | dest | the UChar (UTF-16) buffer into which the extracted text is placed
  | destCapacity | The size, in UChars, of the destination buffer. May be zero for precomputing the required size.
  | status | receives any error status. U_BUFFER_OVERFLOW_ERROR: the extracted text was truncated because the buffer was too small. Returns number of UChars for preflighting.

Returns:
  Number of UChars in the data to be extracted. Does not include a trailing NUL.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

void utext_freeze | ( | UText * | ut | ) |

Freeze a UText. This prevents any modification to the underlying text itself by means of functions operating on this UText.

Once frozen, a UText can not be unfrozen. The intent is to ensure that a the text underlying a frozen UText wrapper cannot be modified via that UText.

Caution: freezing a UText will disable changes made via the specific frozen UText wrapper only; it will not have any effect on the ability to directly modify the text by bypassing the UText. Any such backdoor modifications are always an error while UText access is occuring because the underlying text can get out of sync with UText's buffering.

Parameters:

  | ut | The UText to be frozen.

See also:
  utext_isWritable()

Stable:
  ICU 3.6

int64_t utext_getNativeIndex | ( | const UText * | ut | ) |

Get the current iterator position, which can range from 0 to the length of the text.

The position is a native index into the input text, in whatever format it may have (possibly UTF-8 for example), and may not always be the same as the corresponding UChar (UTF-16) index. The returned position will always be aligned to a code point boundary.

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.

Returns:
  the current index position, in the native units of the text provider.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

int64_t utext_getPreviousNativeIndex | ( | UText * | ut | ) |

Get the native index of the character preceeding the current position.

If the iteration position is already at the start of the text, zero is returned. The value returned is the same as that obtained from the following sequence, but without the side effect of changing the iteration position.

        UText  *ut = whatever;
          ...
        utext_previous(ut)
        utext_getNativeIndex(ut);

This function is most useful during forwards iteration, where it will get the native index of the character most recently returned from utext_next().

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed

Returns:
  the native index of the character preceeding the current index position, or zero if the current position is at the start of the text.

Stable:
  ICU 3.6

UBool utext_hasMetaData | ( | const UText * | ut | ) |

Test whether there is meta data associated with the text.

See also:
  Replaceable::hasMetaData()

Parameters:

  | ut | The UText to be tested

Returns:
  TRUE if the underlying text includes meta data.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UBool utext_isLengthExpensive | ( | const UText * | ut | ) |

Return TRUE if calculating the length of the text could be expensive.

Finding the length of NUL terminated strings is considered to be expensive.

Note that the value of this function may change as the result of other operations on a UText. Once the length of a string has been discovered, it will no longer be expensive to report it.

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.

Returns:
  TRUE if determining the length of the text could be time consuming.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UBool utext_isWritable | ( | const UText * | ut | ) |

Return TRUE if the text can be written (modified) with utext_replace() or utext_copy().

For the text to be writable, the text provider must be of a type that supports writing and the UText must not be frozen.

Attempting to modify text when utext_isWriteable() is FALSE will fail - the text will not be modified, and an error will be returned from the function that attempted the modification.

Parameters:

  | ut | the UText to be tested.

Returns:
  TRUE if the text is modifiable.

See also:
  utext_freeze()

  utext_replace()

  utext_copy()

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UBool utext_moveIndex32 | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int32_t | delta |
| ) |  |  |

Move the iterator postion by delta code points.

The number of code points is a signed number; a negative delta will move the iterator backwards, towards the start of the text.

The index is moved by `delta` code points forward or backward, but no further backward than to 0 and no further forward than to utext_nativeLength(). The resulting index value will be in between 0 and length, inclusive.

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.
  | delta | the signed number of code points to move the iteration position.

Returns:
  TRUE if the position could be moved the requested number of positions while staying within the range [0 - text length].

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

int64_t utext_nativeLength | ( | UText * | ut | ) |

Get the length of the text.

Depending on the characteristics of the underlying text representation, this may be expensive.

See also:
  utext_isLengthExpensive()

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.

Returns:
  the length of the text, expressed in native units.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UChar32 utext_next32 | ( | UText * | ut | ) |

Get the code point at the current iteration position of the UText, and advance the position to the first index following the character.

If the position is at the end of the text (the index following the last character, which is also the length of the text), return U_SENTINEL (-1) and do not advance the index.

This is a post-increment operation.

An inline macro version of this function, UTEXT_NEXT32(), is available for performance critical use.

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.

Returns:
  the Unicode code point at the iteration position.

See also:
  UTEXT_NEXT32

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UChar32 utext_next32From | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int64_t | nativeIndex |
| ) |  |  |

Set the iteration index and return the code point at that index.

Leave the iteration index at the start of the following code point.

This function is the most efficient and convenient way to begin a forward iteration. The results are identical to the those from the sequence

        utext_setIndex();
        utext_next32();

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.
  | nativeIndex | Iteration index, in the native units of the text provider.

Returns:
  Code point which starts at or before index, or U_SENTINEL (-1) if it is out of bounds.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UText* utext_openUChars | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | const UChar * | s,
|  | int64_t | length,
|  | UErrorCode * | status |
| ) |  |  |

Open a read-only UText for UChar * string.

Parameters:

  | ut | Pointer to a UText struct. If NULL, a new UText will be created. If non-NULL, must refer to an initialized UText struct, which will then be reset to reference the specified UChar string.
  | s | A UChar (UTF-16) string
  | length | The number of UChars in the input string, or -1 if the string is zero terminated.
  | status | Errors are returned here.

Returns:
  A pointer to the UText. If a pre-allocated UText was provided, it will always be used and returned.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UText* utext_openUTF8 | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | const char * | s,
|  | int64_t | length,
|  | UErrorCode * | status |
| ) |  |  |

Open a read-only UText implementation for UTF-8 strings.

Any invalid UTF-8 in the input will be handled in this way: a sequence of bytes that has the form of a truncated, but otherwise valid, UTF-8 sequence will be replaced by a single unicode replacement character, \uFFFD. Any other illegal bytes will each be replaced by a \uFFFD.

Parameters:

  | ut | Pointer to a UText struct. If NULL, a new UText will be created. If non-NULL, must refer to an initialized UText struct, which will then be reset to reference the specified UTF-8 string.
  | s | A UTF-8 string. Must not be NULL.
  | length | The length of the UTF-8 string in bytes, or -1 if the string is zero terminated.
  | status | Errors are returned here.

Returns:
  A pointer to the UText. If a pre-allocated UText was provided, it will always be used and returned.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UChar32 utext_previous32 | ( | UText * | ut | ) |

Move the iterator position to the character (code point) whose index precedes the current position, and return that character.

This is a pre-decrement operation.

If the initial position is at the start of the text (index of 0) return U_SENTINEL (-1), and leave the position unchanged.

An inline macro version of this function, UTEXT_PREVIOUS32(), is available for performance critical use.

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.

Returns:
  the previous UChar32 code point, or U_SENTINEL (-1) if the iteration has reached the start of the text.

See also:
  UTEXT_PREVIOUS32

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UChar32 utext_previous32From | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int64_t | nativeIndex |
| ) |  |  |

Set the iteration index, and return the code point preceding the one specified by the initial index.

Leave the iteration position at the start of the returned code point.

This function is the most efficient and convenient way to begin a backwards iteration.

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.
  | nativeIndex | Iteration index in the native units of the text provider.

Returns:
  Code point preceding the one at the initial index, or U_SENTINEL (-1) if it is out of bounds.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

int32_t utext_replace | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int64_t | nativeStart,
|  | int64_t | nativeLimit,
|  | const UChar * | replacementText,
|  | int32_t | replacementLength,
|  | UErrorCode * | status |
| ) |  |  |

Replace a range of the original text with a replacement text.

Leaves the current iteration position at the position following the newly inserted replacement text.

This function is only available on UText types that support writing, that is, ones where utext_isWritable() returns TRUE.

When using this function, there should be only a single UText opened onto the underlying native text string. Behavior after a replace operation on a UText is undefined for any other additional UTexts that refer to the modified string.

Parameters:

  | ut | the UText representing the text to be operated on.
  | nativeStart | the native index of the start of the region to be replaced
  | nativeLimit | the native index of the character following the region to be replaced.
  | replacementText | pointer to the replacement text
  | replacementLength | length of the replacement text, or -1 if the text is NUL terminated.
  | status | receives any error status. Possible errors include U_NO_WRITE_PERMISSION

Returns:
  The signed number of (native) storage units by which the length of the text expanded or contracted.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

void utext_setNativeIndex | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int64_t | nativeIndex |
| ) |  |  |

Set the current iteration position to the nearest code point boundary at or preceding the specified index.

The index is in the native units of the original input text. If the index is out of range, it will be pinned to be within the range of the input text.

It will usually be more efficient to begin an iteration using the functions utext_next32From() or utext_previous32From() rather than setIndex().

Moving the index position to an adjacent character is best done with utext_next32(), utext_previous32() or utext_moveIndex32(). Attempting to do direct arithmetic on the index position is complicated by the fact that the size (in native units) of a character depends on the underlying representation of the character (UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32, arbitrary codepage), and is not easily knowable.

Parameters:

  | ut | the text to be accessed.
  | nativeIndex | the native unit index of the new iteration position.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4

UText* utext_setup | ( | UText * | ut,
|  | int32_t | extraSpace,
|  | UErrorCode * | status |
| ) |  |  |

Common function for use by Text Provider implementations to allocate and/or initialize a new UText struct.

To be called in the implementation of utext_open() functions. If the supplied UText parameter is null, a new UText struct will be allocated on the heap. If the supplied UText is already open, the provider's close function will be called so that the struct can be reused by the open that is in progress.

Parameters:

  | ut | pointer to a UText struct to be re-used, or null if a new UText should be allocated.
  | extraSpace | The amount of additional space to be allocated as part of this UText, for use by types of providers that require additional storage.
  | status | Errors are returned here.

Returns:
  pointer to the UText, allocated if necessary, with extra space set up if requested.

Stable:
  ICU 3.4