I want to understand what the recommended way is for string interoperability between swift and c++. Below are the 3 ways to achieve it. Approach 2 is not allowed at work due to restrictions with using std libraries.
Approach 1:
In C++:
char arr[] = "C++ String";
void * cppstring = arr;
std::cout<<"before:"<<(char*)cppstring<<std::endl; // C++ String
// calling swift function and passing the void buffer to it, so that swift can update the buffer content
Module1::SwiftClass:: ReceiveString (cppstring, length);
std::cout<<"after:"<<(char*)cppstring<<std::endl; // SwiftStr
In Swift:
func ReceiveString (pBuffer : UnsafeMutableRawPointer , pSize : UInt ) -> Void
{
// to convert cpp-str to swift-str:
let swiftStr = String (cString: pBuffer.assumingMemoryBound(to: Int8.self));
print("pBuffer content: \(bufferAsString)");
// to modify cpp-str without converting:
let swiftstr:String = "SwiftStr"
_ = swiftstr.withCString { (cString: UnsafePointer<Int8>) in
pBuffer.initializeMemory(as: Int8.self, from: cString, count: swiftstr.count+1)
}
}
Approach 2:
The ‘String’ type returned from a swift function is received as ‘swift::String’ type in cpp. This is implicitly casted to std::string type. The std::string has the method available to convert it to char *.
void
TWCppClass::StringConversion ()
{
// GetSwiftString() is a swift call that returns swift::String which can be received in std::string type
std::string stdstr = Module1::SwiftClass::GetSwiftString ();
char * cstr = stdstr.data ();
const char * conststr= stdstr.c_str ();
}
Approach 3:
The swift::String type that is obtained from a swift function can be received in char * by directly casting the address of the swift::String. We cannot directly receive a swift::String into a char *.
void
TWCppClass::StringConversion ()
{
// GetSwiftString() is a swift call that returns swift::String
swift::String swiftstr = Module1::SwiftClass::GetSwiftString ();
// obtaining the address of swift string and casting it into char *
char * cstr = (char*)&swiftstr;
}
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