This is autosprintf.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.6 from
autosprintf.texi.

INFO-DIR-SECTION C++ libraries
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* autosprintf: (autosprintf).   Support for printf format strings in C++.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file provides documentation for GNU `autosprintf' library.

   Copyright (C) 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by the Foundation.


File: autosprintf.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Introduction,  Prev: (dir),  Up: (dir)

GNU autosprintf
***************

This manual documents the GNU autosprintf class, version 1.0.

* Menu:

* Introduction::                Introduction
* Class autosprintf::           The `autosprintf' class
* Using autosprintf::           Using `autosprintf' in own programs


File: autosprintf.info,  Node: Introduction,  Next: Class autosprintf,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

Introduction
************

This package makes the C formatted output routines (`fprintf' et al.)
usable in C++ programs, for use with the `<string>' strings and the
`<iostream>' streams.

   It allows to write code like

     cerr << autosprintf ("syntax error in %s:%d: %s", filename, line, errstring);

instead of

     cerr << "syntax error in " << filename << ":" << line << ": " << errstring;

   The benefits of the autosprintf syntax are:

   * It reuses the standard POSIX printf facility. Easy migration from
     C to C++.

   * English sentences are kept together.

   * It makes internationalization possible. Internationalization
     requires format strings, because in some cases the translator
     needs to change the order of a sentence, and more generally it is
     easier for the translator to work with a single string for a
     sentence than with multiple string pieces.

   * It reduces the risk of programming errors due to forgotten state
     in the output stream (e.g. `cout << hex;' not followed by `cout <<
     dec;').


File: autosprintf.info,  Node: Class autosprintf,  Next: Using autosprintf,  Prev: Introduction,  Up: Top

The `autosprintf' class
***********************

An instance of class `autosprintf' just contains a string with the
formatted output result. Such an instance is usually allocated as an
automatic storage variable, i.e. on the stack, not with `new' on the
heap.

   The constructor `autosprintf (const char *format, ...)' takes a
format string and additional arguments, like the C function `printf'.

   Conversions to `char *' and `std::string' are defined that return
the encapsulated string.

   The destructor `~autosprintf ()' destroys the encapsulated string.

   An `operator <<' is provided that outputs the encapsulated string to
the given `ostream'.


File: autosprintf.info,  Node: Using autosprintf,  Prev: Class autosprintf,  Up: Top

Using `autosprintf' in own programs
***********************************

To use the `autosprintf' class in your programs, you need to add

     #include "autosprintf.h"
     using gnu::autosprintf;

to your source code.  The include file defines the class `autosprintf',
in a namespace called `gnu'. The `using' statement makes it possible to
use the class without the (otherwise natural) `gnu::' prefix.

   When linking your program, you need to link with `libasprintf',
because that's where the class is defined. In projects using GNU
`autoconf', this means adding `AC_LIB_LINKFLAGS([asprintf])' to
`configure.in' or `configure.ac', and using the @LIBASPRINTF@ Makefile
variable that it provides.



Tag Table:
Node: Top1011
Node: Introduction1371
Node: Class autosprintf2518
Node: Using autosprintf3286

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