TICKIT_STRING(7)

💖 TICKIT_STRING 💖

okay bestie so this is page 7 of the Miscellaneous Information Manual, and it's all about TickitString — the reference-counted string buffer situation. yes it's giving ✨pointer energy✨ but I promise it's not scary. let's go 🫶

🌸 NAME 🌸

TickitString — a reference-counted string buffer. that's it, that's the whole vibe 💅

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

#include <tickit.h>

typedef struct TickitString;

so you pull in <tickit.h> and then boom, you've got an opaque typedef struct TickitString; to play with. the internals are Not Your Business (affectionate) 🙈

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so a TickitString instance is holding two things for you at once:

1. a NUL-terminated character buffer — aka literally just a plain C string, no cap
2. a reference count

and the whole point? it lets string buffers get efficiently shared between everyone who wants them, while their usage is being tracked the entire time 👀, and then it gets reclaimed the moment nobody needs it anymore. it's giving main character energy with a responsible exit strategy, fr fr.

💅 FUNCTIONS 💅

you make a brand new TickitString instance by calling tickit_string_new(3). iconic. once it's constructed:

• read its buffer with tickit_string_get(3) 📖
• query its length with tickit_string_len(3) 📏

⚠️ and here's the important part, bestie: the buffer should be considered immutable. it cannot be modified. no editing, no touching, no "just a little change". it's locked in. periodt. 🔒

🌈 reference counting, the whole point 🌈

a string instance keeps a reference count around so it's way easier for applications to share these buffers and manage their lifetimes without chaos. here's the tea:

• a new string starts with a count of one (1️⃣, baby)
• you adjust that count using tickit_string_ref(3) and tickit_string_unref(3)
• and when the count hits zero, the instance gets destroyed 💀

so like… every ref is a friendship bracelet and every unref is taking one off. when the last one comes off, the whole thing vanishes. it's giving poetic actually 😭

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

• tickit(7)

okay that's the whole page!! go forth and reference-count responsibly 🧚✨

signing off from the Miscellaneous Information Manual, section 7, page TICKIT_STRING(7) — mwah 💋