Chapter 2. Strings and Text

Strings come in a number of different character sets. COM components often need to use multiple character sets and occasionally need to convert from one set to another. ATL provides a number of string conversion classes that convert from one character set to another, if necessary, and do nothing when they are not needed.

The CComBSTR class is a smart string class. This class properly allocates, copies, and frees a string according to the BSTR string semantics. CComBSTR instances can be used in most, but not all, of the places you would use a BSTR.

The CString class is a new addition to ATL, with roots in MFC. This class handles allocation, copying, formatting, and offers a host of advanced string-processing features. It can manage ANSI and Unicode data, and convert strings to and from BSTRs for use in processing Automation method parameters. With CString, you can even control and customize the way memory is managed for the class's string data.