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===== String =====

When creating applications, you always need to manipulate strings. Eina
provides a very useful API for manipulating C strings:

=== Table of Contents ===

    * [[#The_most_common_string_manipulation_is_the_"split"|The most common string manipulation is the "split"]]
    * [[#To_change_the_string_to_lowercase_or_uppercase|To change the string to lowercase or uppercase]]
    * [[#If_you_need_to_"join"_2_strings_of_known_length|If you need to "join" 2 strings of known length]]
    * [[#To_check_whether_a_string_starts_or_ends_with_another_string|To check whether a string starts or ends with another string]]

=== Related Info ===

  * [[https://build.enlightenment.org/job/nightly_efl_gcc_x86_64/lastSuccessfulBuild/artifact/doc/html/group__Eina__String__Group.html|String Tools API]]
  * [[https://build.enlightenment.org/job/nightly_efl_gcc_x86_64/lastSuccessfulBuild/artifact/doc/html/tutorial_eina_string.html|Example]]

=== The most common string manipulation is the "split" ===

If you have a string, such as
"Rasterman:Bluebugs:Tasn:Illogict:billiob:Puppet_Master", and you want to
print it in an easily readable format, you can use the ''eina_str_split()''
function to split the string using a delimiter. The first parameter is the
string to split, the second determines where to split the string, and the
final parameter is the maximum number of strings to split the string into. If
you set a number less than 1, it splits the string as many times as possible.

The function returns a newly-allocated ''NULL''-terminated array of strings,
or NULL, if it fails to allocate the array. Always remember to free the memory
allocated by the ''eina_str_split()'' function.

<code c>
char *nicks = "Rasterman:Bluebugs:Tasn:Illogict:billiob:Puppet_Master";
char **result_arr;
int i;

// Splitting the string with ':' delimiter
result_arr = eina_str_split(names, ":", 0);
// Printing the result
for (i = 0; result_arr[i]; i++)
   printf("Nick : %s\n", result_arr[i]);
// Remember to free memory
free(arr[0]);
free(arr);
</code>

=== To change the string to lowercase or uppercase ===

Use the ''eina_str_tolower()'' and ''eina_str_toupper()'' functions. They
change the case for all characters of the given string. These functions modify
the original strings.

<code c>
char *str;
// Initialize the string
str = malloc(sizeof(char) * 4);
strcpy(str, "bsd");
// Change the string to uppercase
eina_str_toupper((char **)&str);
printf("%s\n", str);
// Change the string to lowercase
eina_str_tolower(&str);
printf("%s\n", str);
// Free the allocated memory
free(str);
</code>

=== If you need to "join" 2 strings of known length ===

Use the ''eina_str_join()'' function. The fist parameter is the buffer to
store the result, the second is the size of the buffer, the third is the
separator between the 2 strings, and the 2 final parameters are the stings to
be joined.

<code c>
char *part1 = "Elementary powered by";
char *part2 = "Enlightenment Foundation Libraries";
char *res;
size_t size;
// Calculate the string size + 1 for the delimiter
size = strlen(part1) + strlen(part2) + 1
// Allocate memory for the result
res = malloc(sizeof(char) * size);
// Join the strings
eina_str_join(res, size, ' ', part1, part2);
printf("%s\n", res);
// Free the allocated memory
free(res):
</code>

=== To check whether a string starts or ends with another string ===
use the
''eina_str_has_prefix()'' or ''eina_str_has_suffix()'' function. You can also
check whether a string has a particular extension with the
''eina_str_has_extension()'' function.

These functions return ''EINA_TRUE'' if the given string contains the
specified prefix, suffix, or extension, and ''EINA_FALSE'' if it does not.

<code c>
char *names = "Carsten;Cedric;Tom;Chidambar;Boris;Philippe"
if (eina_str_has_prefix(names, "Carsten"))
   printf("String starts with 'Carsten'")
if (eina_str_has_suffix(names, "Philippe"))
   printf("String ends with 'Philippe'")
if (eina_str_has_extension(names, "philippe"))
   printf("String has extension 'philippe'")
else
   printf("String does not have extension "philippe)
</code>

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