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C string views pair a pointer with an explicit length

eliasebner.com 17 min read Editor score 6/10

The library separates borrowed string views from owned strings, representing each as a data pointer and length instead of relying only on NUL termination. This is a compact approach to making C string handling more explicit about ownership and bounds.

What

- C string views pair a pointer with an explicit length; the excerpt also defines an owned-string form.

How

- Finding a NUL-terminated string's length takes O(n), while reading a separately stored length takes O(1).

Why it matters

- Explicit lengths can avoid repeated scans when C systems code needs to determine string sizes.

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