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Inside Macintosh: Text /

Chapter 5 - Text Utilities / Text Utilities Reference

Routines / Defining and Specifying Strings

GetString

The GetString function loads a string from a string ('STR ') resource into memory. It returns a handle to the string with the specified resource ID, reading it from the resource file if necessary.

FUNCTION GetString (stringID: Integer): StringHandle;

stringID

The resource ID of the string ('STR ') resource containing the string.

DESCRIPTION

The GetString function returns a handle to a string with the specified resource ID. If GetString cannot read the resource, it returns NIL.

GetString calls the GetResource function of the Resource Manager to access the string. This means that if the specified resource is already in memory, GetString simply returns its handle.

Like the NewString function, GetString returns a handle whose size is based upon the actual length of the string.

Note

If your application uses a large number of strings, it is more efficient to store them in a string list ('STR#') resource than as individual resources in the resource file. You then use the GetIndString procedure to access each string in the list.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

GetString does not create a copy of the string.

GetString may move memory; your application should not call this function at interrupt time.

ASSEMBLY-LANGUAGE INFORMATION

The trap macro for the GetString function is

Trap macro
_GetString