| ActiveTcl User Guide |

## Tcl/Tk Documentation > TclLib > DString

### Tcl/Tk Applications | Tcl Commands | Tk Commands | Tcl Library | Tk Library

### NAME

Tcl_DStringInit, Tcl_DStringAppend, Tcl_DStringAppendElement, Tcl_DStringStartSublist, Tcl_DStringEndSublist, Tcl_DStringLength, Tcl_DStringValue, Tcl_DStringSetLength, Tcl_DStringTrunc, Tcl_DStringFree, Tcl_DStringResult, Tcl_DStringGetResult - manipulate dynamic strings

### SYNOPSIS

#include <tcl.h>
Tcl_DStringInit(dsPtr)
char *
Tcl_DStringAppend(dsPtr, bytes, length)
char *
Tcl_DStringAppendElement(dsPtr, element)
Tcl_DStringStartSublist(dsPtr)
Tcl_DStringEndSublist(dsPtr)
int
Tcl_DStringLength(dsPtr)
char *
Tcl_DStringValue(dsPtr)
Tcl_DStringSetLength(dsPtr, newLength)
Tcl_DStringTrunc(dsPtr, newLength)
Tcl_DStringFree(dsPtr)
Tcl_DStringResult(interp, dsPtr)
Tcl_DStringGetResult(interp, dsPtr)

### ARGUMENTS

Tcl_DString *dsPtr (in/out)
  Pointer to structure that is used to manage a dynamic string.
const char *bytes (in)
  Pointer to characters to append to dynamic string.
const char *element (in)
  Pointer to characters to append as list element to dynamic string.
int length (in)
  Number of bytes from bytes to add to dynamic string. If -1, add all characters up to null terminating character.
int newLength (in)
  New length for dynamic string, not including null terminating character.
Tcl_Interp *interp (in/out)
  Interpreter whose result is to be set from or moved to the dynamic string.

### DESCRIPTION

Dynamic strings provide a mechanism for building up arbitrarily long strings by gradually appending information. If the dynamic string is short then there will be no memory allocation overhead; as the string gets larger, additional space will be allocated as needed.

Tcl_DStringInit initializes a dynamic string to zero length. The Tcl_DString structure must have been allocated by the caller. No assumptions are made about the current state of the structure; anything already in it is discarded. If the structure has been used previously, Tcl_DStringFree should be called first to free up any memory allocated for the old string.

Tcl_DStringAppend adds new information to a dynamic string, allocating more memory for the string if needed. If length is less than zero then everything in bytes is appended to the dynamic string; otherwise length specifies the number of bytes to append. Tcl_DStringAppend returns a pointer to the characters of the new string. The string can also be retrieved from the string field of the Tcl_DString structure.

Tcl_DStringAppendElement is similar to Tcl_DStringAppend except that it does not take a length argument (it appends all of element) and it converts the string to a proper list element before appending. Tcl_DStringAppendElement adds a separator space before the new list element unless the new list element is the first in a list or sub-list (i.e. either the current string is empty, or it contains the single character “{”, or the last two characters of the current string are “ {”). Tcl_DStringAppendElement returns a pointer to the characters of the new string.

Tcl_DStringStartSublist and Tcl_DStringEndSublist can be used to create nested lists. To append a list element that is itself a sublist, first call Tcl_DStringStartSublist, then call Tcl_DStringAppendElement for each of the elements in the sublist, then call Tcl_DStringEndSublist to end the sublist. Tcl_DStringStartSublist appends a space character if needed, followed by an open brace; Tcl_DStringEndSublist appends a close brace. Lists can be nested to any depth.

Tcl_DStringLength is a macro that returns the current length of a dynamic string (not including the terminating null character). Tcl_DStringValue is a macro that returns a pointer to the current contents of a dynamic string.

Tcl_DStringSetLength changes the length of a dynamic string. If newLength is less than the string's current length, then the string is truncated. If newLength is greater than the string's current length, then the string will become longer and new space will be allocated for the string if needed. However, Tcl_DStringSetLength will not initialize the new space except to provide a terminating null character; it is up to the caller to fill in the new space. Tcl_DStringSetLength does not free up the string's storage space even if the string is truncated to zero length, so Tcl_DStringFree will still need to be called.

Tcl_DStringTrunc changes the length of a dynamic string. This procedure is now deprecated. Tcl_DStringSetLength should be used instead.

Tcl_DStringFree should be called when you are finished using the string. It frees up any memory that was allocated for the string and reinitializes the string's value to an empty string.

Tcl_DStringResult sets the result of interp to the value of the dynamic string given by dsPtr. It does this by moving a pointer from dsPtr to the interpreter's result. This saves the cost of allocating new memory and copying the string. Tcl_DStringResult also reinitializes the dynamic string to an empty string.

Tcl_DStringGetResult does the opposite of Tcl_DStringResult. It sets the value of dsPtr to the result of interp and it clears interp's result. If possible it does this by moving a pointer rather than by copying the string.

### KEYWORDS

append, dynamic string, free, result
Copyright © 1995-1997 Roger E. Critchlow Jr. Copyright © 1993 The Regents of the University of California. Copyright © 1994-1996 Sun Microsystems, Inc.