Unicode is a computing industry specification developed to consistently encode, represent, and manipulate text expressed in most of the world’s writing systems. It extends from basic Latin alphabets to intricate scripts like Chinese, Korean, and Indian languages.
In programming, understanding Unicode is essential due to the rapid digitalization of various worldly languages. In specific to C++, proper understanding and application of Unocode can ensure the software you develop will seamlessly handle texts of diverse languages.
Understanding Unicode in C++
At its very core, Unicode is just a set of ‘code pointsโ. Defined as integers from 0 to 1,114,111 (0x10FFFF in hexadecimal), they represent individual characters. In basic terms, each letter, number, punctuation mark, emoji, or symbol corresponds with a unique numerical ‘code pointโ. These code points are then encoded with a certain standard to represent them in physical storage such as UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32 etc.
// Declaration and printing a Unicode string in C++
std::wstring unicode_string = L”Helloไธญๆ!”;
std::wcout << unicode_string;
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Transforming Between Unicode Encodings
Different applications and systems might use different Unicode encodings making it essential to be proficient in transforming between various encodings.
[code lang=”C++”]
#include
#include
// Function to convert UTF-8 string to UTF-16
std::string narrow_string(“Helloไธญๆ!”);
std::wstring_convert
std::wstring wide_string = converter.from_bytes(narrow_string);
If you need to convert a UTF-16 string to UTF-8 in C++, you would simply reverse the function.
Functions and Libraries for Unicode Handling
C++ provides various libraries and functions to handle Unicode data.
1. ICU Library: International Components for Unicode (ICU) is a mature, strong and widely utilized library to handle Unicode and internationalization (i18n).
2. Boost library: A very popular C++ library, Boost also has some facilities to handle Unicode.
3. Standard Library: C++ standard library also provides some limited mechanism to handle Unicode encoding conversions using
Working with Unicode encompasses various digital scenarios including SEO. The proper usage allows seamless operation of the internationalized software. Unicode is no longer something that can be ignored by developers; with numerous global languages prevalent in the digital world, it is a necessity.
Note that, this is just a brief introduction. The full breadth of Unicode involves understanding more complex things such as Unicode Normalization, Grapheme Clusters etc. As it’s complex, continuous learning and practicing with code is the key to master Unicode.
