Modifiable buffer descriptors are useful for holding strings or data and providing safe ways to access and modify that data.
For text data, it is usual to construct a TBuf<TInt> type and allow the appropriate variant, either a TBuf8<TInt> or a TBuf16<TInt> to be selected at build time.
For binary data, an explicit TBuf8<TInt> is used.
It is rare to use an explicit TBuf16<TInt>.
Although, the following notes refer to the build independent types; they are equally valid for the explicit 8 bit and 16 bit types.
A modifiable buffer descriptor can be constructed in a number of ways:
as an empty buffer descriptor.
as an empty buffer descriptor but giving it a length.
by copying data from any other type of descriptor.
by copying data from another modifiable buffer descriptor of the same size.
The following code fragment constructs a TBuf<16> object. The buffer descriptor is uninitialised, i.e. it contains no data. The assignment operator or the Copy() function can be used to put data into the buffer descriptor after construction:
_LIT(KText,"Hello World!"); ... TBuf<16> buf1; // length of buf1 is 0 ... buf1 = KText; // data assigned
The source descriptor is a literal which is converted to descriptor type.
The following code fragment constructs a TBuf<16> object and sets it length to 12. No data is assigned into the descriptor.
... TBuf<16> buf1(12); // length of buf1 is 12 ...
The following code fragment constructs a TBuf<16> object, initialised with the 12 characters making up the English language phrase "Hello World!".
_LIT(KText,"Hello World!"); ... TBuf<16> buf1(KText);
The following code fragment constructs a TBuf<16> object from another TBuf<16> object. This is, in effect, copy construction.
_LIT(KText,"Hello World!"); ... TBuf<16> buf1(KText); TBuf<16> buf2(buf1); // buf2 constructed from the data in buf1
In both of these cases, the resulting length of the descriptor is 12.
A non-modifiable buffer descriptor can also be constructed from 'C' style zero terminated string. However, this is rarely necessary but may make it easier to port legacy 'C' code.
Data within a modifiable buffer descriptor can be completely replaced through the assignment operator or by using the Copy() function.
_LIT(KText,"Hello World!"); _LIT(KNewText,"New text"); _LIT(KReplaced,"Replaced"); ... TBuf<16> buf1(KText); TBuf<16> buf2; ... buf2 = buf1; // buf2 now contains "Hello World!" ... buf2 = KNewText; // buf2 now contains "New text". // the literal is converted to a descriptor // type. buf2.Copy(KReplaced); // buf2 content replaced using Copy()
Once a modifiable buffer descriptor has been constructed, the functions in the base classes, TDesC and TDes, are available to be access and change the data.
_LIT(KText,"Hello World!"); ... TBufC<16> buf1(KText); ... buf1.Length();
and
_LIT(KText,"Hello World!"); ... TBufC<16> buf1(KText); // length is 12 ... buf1.Delete(6,6); // length is now 6, leaving "Hello" in // the buffer
The following code fragment raises a panic because of an attempt to assign too much data. The maximum length of the buffer descriptor is 16 but the length of the data to be copied is 31:
_LIT(KText,"Hello World! The sun is shining"); ... TBufC<16> buf1(KText);
The following code fragment raises a panic because of an attempt to delete data outside the boundary defined by the descriptor:
_LIT(KText,"Hello World!"); ... TBufC<16> buf1(KText); buf1.Delete(99,1);