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(libc.info)String and Array Utilities

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String and Array Utilities
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   Operations on strings (or arrays of characters) are an important
part of many programs.  The GNU C library provides an extensive set of
string utility functions, including functions for copying,
concatenating, comparing, and searching strings.  Many of these
functions can also operate on arbitrary regions of storage; for
example, the `memcpy' function can be used to copy the contents of any
kind of array.

   It's fairly common for beginning C programmers to "reinvent the
wheel" by duplicating this functionality in their own code, but it pays
to become familiar with the library functions and to make use of them,
since this offers benefits in maintenance, efficiency, and portability.

   For instance, you could easily compare one string to another in two
lines of C code, but if you use the built-in `strcmp' function, you're
less likely to make a mistake.  And, since these library functions are
typically highly optimized, your program may run faster too.

Representation of Strings

Introduction to basic concepts.

String/Array Conventions

Whether to use a string function or an

arbitrary array function.

String Length

Determining the length of a string.

Copying and Concatenation

Functions to copy the contents of strings

and arrays.

String/Array Comparison

Functions for byte-wise and character-wise

comparison.

Collation Functions

Functions for collating strings.

Search Functions

Searching for a specific element or substring.

Finding Tokens in a String

Splitting a string into tokens by looking

for delimiters.

strfry

Function for flash-cooking a string.

Trivial Encryption

Obscuring data.

Encode Binary Data

Encoding and Decoding of Binary Data.

Argz and Envz Vectors

Null-separated string vectors.