From: Mattia Barbon <mbarbon@cpan.org>
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 19:44:57 +0000 (+0000)
Subject:   Create a new wxStringBase class, providing a STL-like API, using
X-Git-Url: https://git.saurik.com/wxWidgets.git/commitdiff_plain/e87b78335291c67025c5a763c2acfb22343f9908?ds=inline

  Create a new wxStringBase class, providing a STL-like API, using
the current wxString implementation.
  Derive wxString from one of wxStringBase, std::string, std::wstring
depending on wxUSE_STL/wxUSE_UNICODE settings. wxString provides
full compatibility with the old wxString in both wxUSE_STL=0 and
wxUSE_STL=1 modes (except for [Un]getWriteBuffer).
  Add some configure checks for std::string features.
  Add tests for STL API in console sample.


git-svn-id: https://svn.wxwidgets.org/svn/wx/wxWidgets/trunk@22280 c3d73ce0-8a6f-49c7-b76d-6d57e0e08775
---

diff --git a/configure b/configure
index d298acc382..f485e21030 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -17656,6 +17656,170 @@ _ACEOF
 fi
 
 
+if test "$wxUSE_STL" = "yes"; then
+    ac_ext=cc
+ac_cpp='$CXXCPP $CPPFLAGS'
+ac_compile='$CXX -c $CXXFLAGS $CPPFLAGS conftest.$ac_ext >&5'
+ac_link='$CXX -o conftest$ac_exeext $CXXFLAGS $CPPFLAGS $LDFLAGS conftest.$ac_ext $LIBS >&5'
+ac_compiler_gnu=$ac_cv_cxx_compiler_gnu
+
+
+        echo "$as_me:$LINENO: checking for basic STL functionality" >&5
+echo $ECHO_N "checking for basic STL functionality... $ECHO_C" >&6
+    cat >conftest.$ac_ext <<_ACEOF
+#line $LINENO "configure"
+/* confdefs.h.  */
+_ACEOF
+cat confdefs.h >>conftest.$ac_ext
+cat >>conftest.$ac_ext <<_ACEOF
+/* end confdefs.h.  */
+#include <string>
+                    #include <functional>
+                    #include <algorithm>
+                    #include <vector>
+                    #include <list>
+int
+main ()
+{
+std::vector<int> moo;
+                     std::list<int> foo;
+                     std::vector<int>::iterator it =
+                         std::find_if(moo.begin(), moo.end(),
+                                      std::bind2nd(std::less<int>(), 3));
+  ;
+  return 0;
+}
+_ACEOF
+rm -f conftest.$ac_objext
+if { (eval echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \"$ac_compile\"") >&5
+  (eval $ac_compile) 2>&5
+  ac_status=$?
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \$? = $ac_status" >&5
+  (exit $ac_status); } &&
+         { ac_try='test -s conftest.$ac_objext'
+  { (eval echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \"$ac_try\"") >&5
+  (eval $ac_try) 2>&5
+  ac_status=$?
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \$? = $ac_status" >&5
+  (exit $ac_status); }; }; then
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: yes" >&5
+echo "${ECHO_T}yes" >&6
+else
+  echo "$as_me: failed program was:" >&5
+sed 's/^/| /' conftest.$ac_ext >&5
+
+echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: no" >&5
+echo "${ECHO_T}no" >&6
+                     { { echo "$as_me:$LINENO: error: Basic STL functionality missing" >&5
+echo "$as_me: error: Basic STL functionality missing" >&2;}
+   { (exit 1); exit 1; }; }
+fi
+rm -f conftest.$ac_objext conftest.$ac_ext
+
+        echo "$as_me:$LINENO: checking for std::wstring in <string>" >&5
+echo $ECHO_N "checking for std::wstring in <string>... $ECHO_C" >&6
+    cat >conftest.$ac_ext <<_ACEOF
+#line $LINENO "configure"
+/* confdefs.h.  */
+_ACEOF
+cat confdefs.h >>conftest.$ac_ext
+cat >>conftest.$ac_ext <<_ACEOF
+/* end confdefs.h.  */
+#include <string>
+int
+main ()
+{
+std::wstring foo;
+  ;
+  return 0;
+}
+_ACEOF
+rm -f conftest.$ac_objext
+if { (eval echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \"$ac_compile\"") >&5
+  (eval $ac_compile) 2>&5
+  ac_status=$?
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \$? = $ac_status" >&5
+  (exit $ac_status); } &&
+         { ac_try='test -s conftest.$ac_objext'
+  { (eval echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \"$ac_try\"") >&5
+  (eval $ac_try) 2>&5
+  ac_status=$?
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \$? = $ac_status" >&5
+  (exit $ac_status); }; }; then
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: yes" >&5
+echo "${ECHO_T}yes" >&6
+                    cat >>confdefs.h <<\_ACEOF
+#define HAVE_STD_WSTRING 1
+_ACEOF
+
+else
+  echo "$as_me: failed program was:" >&5
+sed 's/^/| /' conftest.$ac_ext >&5
+
+echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: no" >&5
+echo "${ECHO_T}no" >&6
+fi
+rm -f conftest.$ac_objext conftest.$ac_ext
+
+        echo "$as_me:$LINENO: checking for compliant std::string::compare" >&5
+echo $ECHO_N "checking for compliant std::string::compare... $ECHO_C" >&6
+    cat >conftest.$ac_ext <<_ACEOF
+#line $LINENO "configure"
+/* confdefs.h.  */
+_ACEOF
+cat confdefs.h >>conftest.$ac_ext
+cat >>conftest.$ac_ext <<_ACEOF
+/* end confdefs.h.  */
+#include <string>
+int
+main ()
+{
+std::string foo, bar;
+                    foo.compare(bar);
+                    foo.compare(1, 1, bar);
+                    foo.compare(1, 1, bar, 1, 1);
+                    foo.compare("");
+                    foo.compare(1, 1, "");
+                    foo.compare(1, 1, "", 2);
+  ;
+  return 0;
+}
+_ACEOF
+rm -f conftest.$ac_objext
+if { (eval echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \"$ac_compile\"") >&5
+  (eval $ac_compile) 2>&5
+  ac_status=$?
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \$? = $ac_status" >&5
+  (exit $ac_status); } &&
+         { ac_try='test -s conftest.$ac_objext'
+  { (eval echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \"$ac_try\"") >&5
+  (eval $ac_try) 2>&5
+  ac_status=$?
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: \$? = $ac_status" >&5
+  (exit $ac_status); }; }; then
+  echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: yes" >&5
+echo "${ECHO_T}yes" >&6
+                    cat >>confdefs.h <<\_ACEOF
+#define HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE 1
+_ACEOF
+
+else
+  echo "$as_me: failed program was:" >&5
+sed 's/^/| /' conftest.$ac_ext >&5
+
+echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: no" >&5
+echo "${ECHO_T}no" >&6
+fi
+rm -f conftest.$ac_objext conftest.$ac_ext
+
+    ac_ext=c
+ac_cpp='$CPP $CPPFLAGS'
+ac_compile='$CC -c $CFLAGS $CPPFLAGS conftest.$ac_ext >&5'
+ac_link='$CC -o conftest$ac_exeext $CFLAGS $CPPFLAGS $LDFLAGS conftest.$ac_ext $LIBS >&5'
+ac_compiler_gnu=$ac_cv_c_compiler_gnu
+
+fi
+
 
 SEARCH_INCLUDE="\
     /usr/local/include        \
diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 49d0023399..cea535ab16 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -1612,6 +1612,51 @@ WX_CPP_EXPLICIT
 dnl check whether C++ compiler supports C++ casts
 AC_CXX_CONST_CAST
 
+dnl check various STL features
+if test "$wxUSE_STL" = "yes"; then
+    AC_LANG_PUSH(C++)
+
+    dnl check for basic STL functionality
+    AC_MSG_CHECKING([for basic STL functionality])
+    AC_TRY_COMPILE([#include <string>
+                    #include <functional>
+                    #include <algorithm>
+                    #include <vector>
+                    #include <list>],
+                    [std::vector<int> moo;
+                     std::list<int> foo;
+                     std::vector<int>::iterator it = 
+                         std::find_if(moo.begin(), moo.end(),
+                                      std::bind2nd(std::less<int>(), 3));],
+                    [AC_MSG_RESULT([yes])],
+                    [AC_MSG_RESULT([no])
+                     AC_MSG_ERROR([Basic STL functionality missing])])
+
+    dnl check if <string> declares std::wstring
+    AC_MSG_CHECKING([for std::wstring in <string>])
+    AC_TRY_COMPILE([#include <string>],
+                   [std::wstring foo;],
+                   [AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)
+                    AC_DEFINE(HAVE_STD_WSTRING)],
+                   [AC_MSG_RESULT(no)])
+
+    dnl check for compliant std::string::compare
+    AC_MSG_CHECKING([for compliant std::string::compare])
+    AC_TRY_COMPILE([#include <string>],
+                   [std::string foo, bar;
+                    foo.compare(bar);
+                    foo.compare(1, 1, bar);
+                    foo.compare(1, 1, bar, 1, 1);
+                    foo.compare("");
+                    foo.compare(1, 1, "");
+                    foo.compare(1, 1, "", 2);],
+                   [AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)
+                    AC_DEFINE(HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE)],
+                   [AC_MSG_RESULT(no)])
+
+    AC_LANG_POP
+fi
+
 dnl ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 dnl Define search path for includes and libraries: all headers and libs will be
 dnl looked for in all directories of this path
diff --git a/include/wx/defs.h b/include/wx/defs.h
index fc44b548ac..87282cf375 100644
--- a/include/wx/defs.h
+++ b/include/wx/defs.h
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ typedef int wxWindowID;
 // check for explicit keyword support
 #ifndef HAVE_EXPLICIT
     #if defined(__VISUALC__) && (__VISUALC__ >= 1100)
-        // VC++ 6.0 and 5.0 have explicit (what about the earlier versions?)
+        // VC++ 6.0 and 5.0 have explicit (what about earlier versions?)
         #define HAVE_EXPLICIT
     #elif ( defined(__MINGW32__) || defined(__CYGWIN32__) ) \
           && wxCHECK_GCC_VERSION(2, 95)
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ typedef int wxWindowID;
 // check for static/const/reinterpret_cast<>()
 #ifndef HAVE_STATIC_CAST
     #if defined(__VISUALC__) && (__VISUALC__ >= 1100)
-        // VC++ 6.0 and 5.0 have C++ casts (what about the earlier versions?)
+        // VC++ 6.0 and 5.0 have C++ casts (what about earlier versions?)
         #define HAVE_CXX_CASTS
     #elif ( defined(__MINGW32__) || defined(__CYGWIN32__) ) \
           && wxCHECK_GCC_VERSION(2, 95)
@@ -271,6 +271,30 @@ typedef int wxWindowID;
     #endif
 #endif // HAVE_CXX_CASTS
 
+#ifndef HAVE_STD_WSTRING
+    #if defined(__VISUALC__) && (__VISUALC__ >= 1100)
+        // VC++ 6.0 and 5.0 have std::wstring (what about earlier versions?)
+        #define HAVE_STD_WSTRING
+    #elif ( defined(__MINGW32__) || defined(__CYGWIN32__) ) \
+          && wxCHECK_GCC_VERSION(3, 1)
+        // GCC 3.1 has std::wstring; 3.0 never was in MinGW, 2.95 hasn't it
+        #define HAVE_STD_WSTRING
+    #endif
+#endif
+
+#ifndef HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE
+    #if defined(__VISUALC__) && (__VISUALC__ >= 1100)
+        // VC++ 6.0 and 5.0 have std::string::compare
+        // (what about earlier versions?)
+        #define HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE
+    #elif ( defined(__MINGW32__) || defined(__CYGWIN32__) ) \
+          && wxCHECK_GCC_VERSION(3, 1)
+        // GCC 3.1 has std::string::compare; 
+        // 3.0 never was in MinGW, 2.95 hasn't it
+        #define HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE
+    #endif
+#endif
+
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // portable calling conventions macros
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/include/wx/string.h b/include/wx/string.h
index a1840aa728..cddfe30b9a 100644
--- a/include/wx/string.h
+++ b/include/wx/string.h
@@ -22,13 +22,6 @@
     #pragma interface "string.h"
 #endif
 
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// conditinal compilation
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-// compile the std::string compatibility functions if defined
-#define   wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY
-
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // headers
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -79,7 +72,7 @@
 
 // implementation only
 #define   wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX(i) \
-    wxASSERT_MSG( (size_t)(i) <= Len(), _T("invalid index in wxString") )
+    wxASSERT_MSG( (size_t)(i) <= length(), _T("invalid index in wxString") )
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // constants
@@ -177,6 +170,33 @@ inline int Stricmp(const char *psz1, const char *psz2)
 class WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxString; // not yet defined
 inline const wxString& wxGetEmptyString() { return *(wxString *)&wxEmptyString; }
 
+#if wxUSE_STL
+
+#include "wx/beforestd.h"
+#include <string>
+#include "wx/afterstd.h"
+
+#if wxUSE_UNICODE
+    #if HAVE_STD_WSTRING
+        typedef std::wstring wxStringBase;
+    #else
+        typedef std::basic_string<wxChar> wxStringBase;
+    #endif
+#else
+    typedef std::string wxStringBase;
+#endif
+
+#if (defined(__GNUG__) && (__GNUG__ < 3)) || \
+    (defined(_MSC_VER) && (_MSC_VER <= 1100))
+    #define wxSTRING_BASE_HASNT_CLEAR
+#endif
+
+#else // if !wxUSE_STL
+
+#ifndef HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE
+    #define HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE
+#endif
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // string data prepended with some housekeeping info (used by wxString class),
 // is never used directly (but had to be put here to allow inlining)
@@ -218,39 +238,12 @@ struct WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxStringData
   bool  IsValid() const   { return (nRefs != 0); }
 };
 
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// This is (yet another one) String class for C++ programmers. It doesn't use
-// any of "advanced" C++ features (i.e. templates, exceptions, namespaces...)
-// thus you should be able to compile it with practicaly any C++ compiler.
-// This class uses copy-on-write technique, i.e. identical strings share the
-// same memory as long as neither of them is changed.
-//
-// This class aims to be as compatible as possible with the new standard
-// std::string class, but adds some additional functions and should be at
-// least as efficient than the standard implementation.
-//
-// Performance note: it's more efficient to write functions which take "const
-// String&" arguments than "const char *" if you assign the argument to
-// another string.
-//
-// It was compiled and tested under Win32, Linux (libc 5 & 6), Solaris 5.5.
-//
-// To do:
-//  - ressource support (string tables in ressources)
-//  - more wide character (UNICODE) support
-//  - regular expressions support
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-class WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxString
+class WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxStringBase
 {
 #if !wxUSE_STL
 friend class WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxArrayString;
 #endif
-
-  // NB: special care was taken in arranging the member functions in such order
-  //     that all inline functions can be effectively inlined, verify that all
-  //     performace critical functions are still inlined if you change order!
-private:
+protected:
   // points to data preceded by wxStringData structure with ref count info
   wxChar *m_pchData;
 
@@ -262,7 +255,7 @@ private:
     // ctors, use Reinit() otherwise)
   void Init() { m_pchData = (wxChar *)wxEmptyString; }
     // initializaes the string with (a part of) C-string
-  void InitWith(const wxChar *psz, size_t nPos = 0, size_t nLen = wxSTRING_MAXLEN);
+  void InitWith(const wxChar *psz, size_t nPos = 0, size_t nLen = npos);
     // as Init, but also frees old data
   void Reinit() { GetStringData()->Unlock(); Init(); }
 
@@ -275,39 +268,42 @@ private:
   bool AssignCopy(size_t, const wxChar *);
 
   // append a (sub)string
-  bool ConcatSelf(size_t nLen, const wxChar *src);
+  bool ConcatSelf(size_t nLen, const wxChar *src, size_t nMaxLen);
+  bool ConcatSelf(size_t nLen, const wxChar *src)
+    { return ConcatSelf(nLen, src, nLen); }
 
   // functions called before writing to the string: they copy it if there
   // are other references to our data (should be the only owner when writing)
   bool CopyBeforeWrite();
   bool AllocBeforeWrite(size_t);
 
-  // if we hadn't made these operators private, it would be possible to
-  // compile "wxString s; s = 17;" without any warnings as 17 is implicitly
-  // converted to char in C and we do have operator=(char)
-  //
-  // NB: we don't need other versions (short/long and unsigned) as attempt
-  //     to assign another numeric type to wxString will now result in
-  //     ambiguity between operator=(char) and operator=(int)
-  wxString& operator=(int);
+    // compatibility with wxString
+  bool Alloc(size_t nLen);
+public:
+  // standard types
+  typedef wxChar value_type;
+  typedef wxChar char_type;
+  typedef size_t size_type;
+  typedef value_type& reference;
+  typedef const value_type& const_reference;
+  typedef value_type* pointer;
+  typedef const value_type* const_pointer;
+  typedef value_type *iterator;
+  typedef const value_type *const_iterator;
 
-  // these methods are not implemented - there is _no_ conversion from int to
-  // string, you're doing something wrong if the compiler wants to call it!
-  //
-  // try `s << i' or `s.Printf("%d", i)' instead
-  wxString(int);
+  // an 'invalid' value for string index
+  static const size_t npos;
 
-public:
   // constructors and destructor
     // ctor for an empty string
-  wxString() : m_pchData(NULL) { Init(); }
+  wxStringBase() { Init(); }
     // copy ctor
-  wxString(const wxString& stringSrc) : m_pchData(NULL)
+  wxStringBase(const wxStringBase& stringSrc)
   {
     wxASSERT_MSG( stringSrc.GetStringData()->IsValid(),
                   _T("did you forget to call UngetWriteBuf()?") );
 
-    if ( stringSrc.IsEmpty() ) {
+    if ( stringSrc.empty() ) {
       // nothing to do for an empty string
       Init();
     }
@@ -317,49 +313,380 @@ public:
     }
   }
     // string containing nRepeat copies of ch
-  wxString(wxChar ch, size_t nRepeat = 1);
+  wxStringBase(size_type nRepeat, wxChar ch);
     // ctor takes first nLength characters from C string
-    // (default value of wxSTRING_MAXLEN means take all the string)
-  wxString(const wxChar *psz, size_t nLength = wxSTRING_MAXLEN)
-      : m_pchData(NULL)
+    // (default value of npos means take all the string)
+  wxStringBase(const wxChar *psz)
+      { InitWith(psz, 0, npos); }
+  wxStringBase(const wxChar *psz, size_t nLength)
       { InitWith(psz, 0, nLength); }
-  wxString(const wxChar *psz, wxMBConv& WXUNUSED(conv), size_t nLength = wxSTRING_MAXLEN)
-      : m_pchData(NULL)
+  wxStringBase(const wxChar *psz, wxMBConv& WXUNUSED(conv), size_t nLength = npos)
       { InitWith(psz, 0, nLength); }
+    // take nLen chars starting at nPos
+  wxStringBase(const wxStringBase& str, size_t nPos, size_t nLen)
+  {
+    wxASSERT_MSG( str.GetStringData()->IsValid(),
+                  _T("did you forget to call UngetWriteBuf()?") );
+    Init();
+    size_t strLen = str.length() - nPos; nLen = strLen < nLen ? strLen : nLen;
+    InitWith(str.c_str(), nPos, nLen);
+  }
+    // take all characters from pStart to pEnd
+  wxStringBase(const void *pStart, const void *pEnd);
+
+    // dtor is not virtual, this class must not be inherited from!
+  ~wxStringBase() { GetStringData()->Unlock(); }
+
+  // overloaded assignment
+    // from another wxString
+  wxStringBase& operator=(const wxStringBase& stringSrc);
+    // from a character
+  wxStringBase& operator=(wxChar ch);
+    // from a C string
+  wxStringBase& operator=(const wxChar *psz);
+
+    // return the length of the string
+  size_type size() const { return GetStringData()->nDataLength; }
+    // return the length of the string
+  size_type length() const { return size(); }
+    // return the maximum size of the string
+  size_type max_size() const { return wxSTRING_MAXLEN; }
+    // resize the string, filling the space with c if c != 0
+  void resize(size_t nSize, wxChar ch = wxT('\0'));
+    // delete the contents of the string
+  void clear() { erase(0, npos); }
+    // returns true if the string is empty
+  bool empty() const { return size() == 0; }
+    // inform string about planned change in size
+  void reserve(size_t sz) { Alloc(sz); }
+  size_type capacity() const { return GetStringData()->nAllocLength; }
+
+  // lib.string.access
+    // return the character at position n
+  value_type at(size_type n) const
+    { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); return m_pchData[n]; }
+  value_type operator[](size_type n) const { return at(n); }
+    // returns the writable character at position n
+  reference at(size_type n)
+    { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData[n]; }
+  reference operator[](size_type n)
+    { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData[n]; }
+
+  // lib.string.modifiers
+    // append elements str[pos], ..., str[pos+n]
+  wxStringBase& append(const wxStringBase& str, size_t pos, size_t n)
+  {
+    wxASSERT(pos <= str.length());
+    ConcatSelf(n, str.c_str() + pos, str.length() - pos);
+    return *this;
+  }
+    // append a string
+  wxStringBase& append(const wxStringBase& str)
+    { ConcatSelf(str.length(), str.c_str()); return *this; }
+    // append first n (or all if n == npos) characters of sz
+  wxStringBase& append(const wxChar *sz)
+    { ConcatSelf(wxStrlen(sz), sz); return *this; }
+  wxStringBase& append(const wxChar *sz, size_t n)
+    { ConcatSelf(n, sz); return *this; }
+    // append n copies of ch
+  wxStringBase& append(size_t n, wxChar ch);
+    // append from first to last
+  wxStringBase& append(const_iterator first, const_iterator last)
+    { ConcatSelf(last - first, first); return *this; }
+
+    // same as `this_string = str'
+  wxStringBase& assign(const wxStringBase& str)
+    { return *this = str; }
+    // same as ` = str[pos..pos + n]
+  wxStringBase& assign(const wxStringBase& str, size_t pos, size_t n)
+    { clear(); return append(str, pos, n); }
+    // same as `= first n (or all if n == npos) characters of sz'
+  wxStringBase& assign(const wxChar *sz)
+    { clear(); return append(sz, wxStrlen(sz)); }
+  wxStringBase& assign(const wxChar *sz, size_t n)
+    { clear(); return append(sz, n); }
+    // same as `= n copies of ch'
+  wxStringBase& assign(size_t n, wxChar ch)
+    { clear(); return append(n, ch); }
+    // assign from first to last
+  wxStringBase& assign(const_iterator first, const_iterator last)
+    { clear(); return append(first, last); }
+
+    // first valid index position
+  const_iterator begin() const { return m_pchData; }
+    // position one after the last valid one
+  const_iterator end() const { return m_pchData + length(); }
+
+  // first valid index position
+  iterator begin() { CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData; }
+  // position one after the last valid one
+  iterator end() { CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData + length(); }
+
+    // insert another string
+  wxStringBase& insert(size_t nPos, const wxStringBase& str)
+  {
+    wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+    return insert(nPos, str.c_str(), str.length());
+  }
+    // insert n chars of str starting at nStart (in str)
+  wxStringBase& insert(size_t nPos, const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart, size_t n)
+  {
+    wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+    wxASSERT( nStart < str.length() );
+    size_t strLen = str.length() - nStart;
+    n = strLen < n ? strLen : n;
+    return insert(nPos, str.c_str() + nStart, n);
+  }
+    // insert first n (or all if n == npos) characters of sz
+  wxStringBase& insert(size_t nPos, const wxChar *sz, size_t n = npos);
+    // insert n copies of ch
+  wxStringBase& insert(size_t nPos, size_t n, wxChar ch)
+    { return insert(nPos, wxStringBase(n, ch)); }
+  iterator insert(iterator it, wxChar ch)
+    { size_t idx = it - begin(); insert(idx, 1, ch); return begin() + idx; } 
+  void insert(iterator it, const_iterator first, const_iterator last)
+    { insert(it - begin(), first, last - first); }
+  void insert(iterator it, size_type n, wxChar ch)
+    { insert(it - begin(), n, ch); }
+
+    // delete characters from nStart to nStart + nLen
+  wxStringBase& erase(size_type pos = 0, size_type n = npos);
+  iterator erase(iterator first, iterator last)
+  {
+    size_t idx = first - begin();
+    erase(idx, last - first);
+    return begin() + idx;
+  }
+  iterator erase(iterator first);
+
+  // explicit conversion to C string (use this with printf()!)
+  const wxChar* c_str() const { return m_pchData; }
+  const wxChar* data() const { return m_pchData; }
+
+    // replaces the substring of length nLen starting at nStart
+  wxStringBase& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxChar* sz);
+    // replaces the substring of length nLen starting at nStart
+  wxStringBase& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxStringBase& str)
+    { return replace(nStart, nLen, str.c_str()); }
+    // replaces the substring with nCount copies of ch
+  wxStringBase& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, size_t nCount, wxChar ch);
+    // replaces a substring with another substring
+  wxStringBase& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                        const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2);
+    // replaces the substring with first nCount chars of sz
+  wxStringBase& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                        const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount);
+  wxStringBase& replace(iterator first, iterator last, const_pointer s)
+    { return replace(first - begin(), last - first, s); }
+  wxStringBase& replace(iterator first, iterator last, const_pointer s,
+                        size_type n)
+    { return replace(first - begin(), last - first, s, n); }
+  wxStringBase& replace(iterator first, iterator last, const wxStringBase& s)
+    { return replace(first - begin(), last - first, s); }
+  wxStringBase& replace(iterator first, iterator last, size_type n, wxChar c)
+    { return replace(first - begin(), last - first, n, c); }
+  wxStringBase& replace(iterator first, iterator last,
+                        const_iterator first1, const_iterator last1)
+    { return replace(first - begin(), last - first, first1, last1 - first1); }
+
+    // swap two strings
+  void swap(wxStringBase& str);
+
+    // All find() functions take the nStart argument which specifies the
+    // position to start the search on, the default value is 0. All functions
+    // return npos if there were no match.
+
+    // find a substring
+  size_t find(const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart = 0) const;
+
+  // VC++ 1.5 can't cope with this syntax.
+#if !defined(__VISUALC__) || defined(__WIN32__)
+    // find first n characters of sz
+  size_t find(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = 0, size_t n = npos) const;
+#endif // VC++ 1.5
+
+  // Gives a duplicate symbol (presumably a case-insensitivity problem)
+#if !defined(__BORLANDC__)
+    // find the first occurence of character ch after nStart
+  size_t find(wxChar ch, size_t nStart = 0) const;
+#endif
+    // rfind() family is exactly like find() but works right to left
+
+    // as find, but from the end
+  size_t rfind(const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart = npos) const;
+
+  // VC++ 1.5 can't cope with this syntax.
+    // as find, but from the end
+  size_t rfind(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = npos,
+               size_t n = npos) const;
+    // as find, but from the end
+  size_t rfind(wxChar ch, size_t nStart = npos) const;
+
+    // find first/last occurence of any character in the set
+
+    // as strpbrk() but starts at nStart, returns npos if not found
+  size_t find_first_of(const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart = 0) const
+    { return find_first_of(str.c_str(), nStart); }
+    // same as above
+  size_t find_first_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = 0) const;
+    // same as find(char, size_t)
+  size_t find_first_of(wxChar c, size_t nStart = 0) const
+    { return find(c, nStart); }
+    // find the last (starting from nStart) char from str in this string
+  size_t find_last_of (const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart = npos) const
+    { return find_last_of(str.c_str(), nStart); }
+    // same as above
+  size_t find_last_of (const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = npos) const;
+    // same as above
+  size_t find_last_of(wxChar c, size_t nStart = npos) const
+    { return rfind(c, nStart); }
+
+    // find first/last occurence of any character not in the set
+
+    // as strspn() (starting from nStart), returns npos on failure
+  size_t find_first_not_of(const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart = 0) const
+    { return find_first_not_of(str.c_str(), nStart); }
+    // same as above
+  size_t find_first_not_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = 0) const;
+    // same as above
+  size_t find_first_not_of(wxChar ch, size_t nStart = 0) const;
+    //  as strcspn()
+  size_t find_last_not_of(const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart = npos) const
+    { return find_first_not_of(str.c_str(), nStart); }
+    // same as above
+  size_t find_last_not_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = npos) const;
+    // same as above
+  size_t find_last_not_of(wxChar ch, size_t nStart = npos) const;
+
+    // All compare functions return -1, 0 or 1 if the [sub]string is less,
+    // equal or greater than the compare() argument.
+
+    // just like strcmp()
+  int compare(const wxStringBase& str) const
+    { return wxStrcmp(c_str(), str.c_str()); }
+    // comparison with a substring
+  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxStringBase& str) const;
+    // comparison of 2 substrings
+  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+              const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2) const;
+    // just like strcmp()
+  int compare(const wxChar* sz) const
+    { return wxStrcmp(c_str(), sz); }
+    // substring comparison with first nCount characters of sz
+  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+              const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount = npos) const;
+
+  size_type copy(wxChar* s, size_type n, size_type pos = 0);
+
+  // substring extraction
+  wxStringBase substr(size_t nStart = 0, size_t nLen = npos) const;
+
+      // string += string
+  wxStringBase& operator+=(const wxStringBase& s) { return append(s); }
+      // string += C string
+  wxStringBase& operator+=(const wxChar *psz) { return append(psz); }
+      // string += char
+  wxStringBase& operator+=(wxChar ch) { return append(1, ch); }
+};
+
+#endif // !wxUSE_STL
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// This is (yet another one) String class for C++ programmers. It doesn't use
+// any of "advanced" C++ features (i.e. templates, exceptions, namespaces...)
+// thus you should be able to compile it with practicaly any C++ compiler.
+// This class uses copy-on-write technique, i.e. identical strings share the
+// same memory as long as neither of them is changed.
+//
+// This class aims to be as compatible as possible with the new standard
+// std::string class, but adds some additional functions and should be at
+// least as efficient than the standard implementation.
+//
+// Performance note: it's more efficient to write functions which take "const
+// String&" arguments than "const char *" if you assign the argument to
+// another string.
+//
+// It was compiled and tested under Win32, Linux (libc 5 & 6), Solaris 5.5.
+//
+// To do:
+//  - ressource support (string tables in ressources)
+//  - more wide character (UNICODE) support
+//  - regular expressions support
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxString : public wxStringBase
+{
+#if !wxUSE_STL
+friend class WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxArrayString;
+#endif
+
+  // NB: special care was taken in arranging the member functions in such order
+  //     that all inline functions can be effectively inlined, verify that all
+  //     performace critical functions are still inlined if you change order!
+private:
+  // if we hadn't made these operators private, it would be possible to
+  // compile "wxString s; s = 17;" without any warnings as 17 is implicitly
+  // converted to char in C and we do have operator=(char)
+  //
+  // NB: we don't need other versions (short/long and unsigned) as attempt
+  //     to assign another numeric type to wxString will now result in
+  //     ambiguity between operator=(char) and operator=(int)
+  wxString& operator=(int);
+
+  // these methods are not implemented - there is _no_ conversion from int to
+  // string, you're doing something wrong if the compiler wants to call it!
+  //
+  // try `s << i' or `s.Printf("%d", i)' instead
+  wxString(int);
+
+public:
+  // constructors and destructor
+    // ctor for an empty string
+  wxString() : wxStringBase() { }
+    // copy ctor
+  wxString(const wxStringBase& stringSrc) : wxStringBase(stringSrc) { }
+  wxString(const wxString& stringSrc) : wxStringBase(stringSrc) { }
+    // string containing nRepeat copies of ch
+  wxString(wxChar ch, size_t nRepeat = 1)
+      : wxStringBase(nRepeat, ch) { }
+  wxString(size_t nRepeat, wxChar ch)
+      : wxStringBase(nRepeat, ch) { }
+    // ctor takes first nLength characters from C string
+    // (default value of npos means take all the string)
+  wxString(const wxChar *psz)
+      : wxStringBase(psz ? psz : wxT("")) { }
+  wxString(const wxChar *psz, size_t nLength)
+      : wxStringBase(psz, nLength) { }
+  wxString(const wxChar *psz, wxMBConv& WXUNUSED(conv), size_t nLength = npos)
+      : wxStringBase(psz, nLength == npos ? wxStrlen(psz) : nLength) { }
 
 #if wxUSE_UNICODE
     // from multibyte string
     // (NB: nLength is right now number of Unicode characters, not
     //  characters in psz! So try not to use it yet!)
-  wxString(const char *psz, wxMBConv& conv, size_t nLength = wxSTRING_MAXLEN);
+  wxString(const char *psz, wxMBConv& conv, size_t nLength = npos);
     // from wxWCharBuffer (i.e. return from wxGetString)
-  wxString(const wxWCharBuffer& psz)
-    { InitWith(psz, 0, wxSTRING_MAXLEN); }
+  wxString(const wxWCharBuffer& psz) : wxStringBase(psz.data()) { }
 #else // ANSI
     // from C string (for compilers using unsigned char)
-  wxString(const unsigned char* psz, size_t nLength = wxSTRING_MAXLEN)
-      : m_pchData(NULL)
-      { InitWith((const char*)psz, 0, nLength); }
+  wxString(const unsigned char* psz, size_t nLength = npos)
+      : wxStringBase((const char*)psz, nLength) { }
 
 #if wxUSE_WCHAR_T
     // from wide (Unicode) string
-  wxString(const wchar_t *pwz, wxMBConv& conv = wxConvLibc, size_t nLength = wxSTRING_MAXLEN);
+  wxString(const wchar_t *pwz, wxMBConv& conv = wxConvLibc, size_t nLength = npos);
 #endif // !wxUSE_WCHAR_T
 
     // from wxCharBuffer
   wxString(const wxCharBuffer& psz)
-      : m_pchData(NULL)
-      { InitWith(psz, 0, wxSTRING_MAXLEN); }
+      : wxStringBase(psz, npos) { }
 #endif // Unicode/ANSI
 
-    // dtor is not virtual, this class must not be inherited from!
- ~wxString() { GetStringData()->Unlock(); }
-
   // generic attributes & operations
     // as standard strlen()
-  size_t Len() const { return GetStringData()->nDataLength; }
+  size_t Len() const { return length(); }
     // string contains any characters?
-  bool IsEmpty() const { return Len() == 0; }
+  bool IsEmpty() const { return empty(); }
     // empty string is "FALSE", so !str will return TRUE
   bool operator!() const { return IsEmpty(); }
     // truncate the string to given length
@@ -374,12 +701,8 @@ public:
     // empty the string and free memory
   void Clear()
   {
-    if ( !GetStringData()->IsEmpty() )
-      Reinit();
-
-    wxASSERT_MSG( !GetStringData()->nDataLength &&
-                  !GetStringData()->nAllocLength,
-                  _T("string should be empty after Clear()") );
+    wxString tmp(wxEmptyString);
+    swap(tmp);
   }
 
   // contents test
@@ -393,28 +716,27 @@ public:
   // data access (all indexes are 0 based)
     // read access
     wxChar  GetChar(size_t n) const
-      { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n );  return m_pchData[n]; }
+      { return operator[](n); }
     // read/write access
     wxChar& GetWritableChar(size_t n)
-      { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData[n]; }
+      { return operator[](n); }
     // write access
     void  SetChar(size_t n, wxChar ch)
-      { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); CopyBeforeWrite(); m_pchData[n] = ch; }
+      { operator[](n) = ch; }
 
     // get last character
     wxChar  Last() const
       {
           wxASSERT_MSG( !IsEmpty(), _T("wxString: index out of bounds") );
 
-          return m_pchData[Len() - 1];
+          return operator[](length() - 1);
       }
 
     // get writable last character
     wxChar& Last()
       {
           wxASSERT_MSG( !IsEmpty(), _T("wxString: index out of bounds") );
-          CopyBeforeWrite();
-          return m_pchData[Len()-1];
+          return operator[](length() - 1);
       }
 
     /*
@@ -439,37 +761,30 @@ public:
         taking size_t...
      */
 
-    // operator version of GetChar
-    wxChar  operator[](size_t n) const
-      { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); return m_pchData[n]; }
-
     // operator version of GetChar
     wxChar  operator[](int n) const
-      { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); return m_pchData[n]; }
-
-    // operator version of GetWriteableChar
-    wxChar& operator[](size_t n)
-      { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData[n]; }
-
+      { return wxStringBase::operator[](n); }
+    wxChar& operator[](size_type n)
+      { return wxStringBase::operator[](n); }
+    wxChar operator[](size_type n) const
+      { return wxStringBase::operator[](n); }
 #ifndef wxSIZE_T_IS_UINT
     // operator version of GetChar
     wxChar operator[](unsigned int n) const
-      { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); return m_pchData[n]; }
+      { return operator[](n); }
 
     // operator version of GetWriteableChar
     wxChar& operator[](unsigned int n)
-      { wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX( n ); CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData[n]; }
+      { return operator[](n); }
 #endif // size_t != unsigned int
 
     // implicit conversion to C string
-    operator const wxChar*() const { return m_pchData; }
+    operator const wxChar*() const { return c_str(); }
 
-    // explicit conversion to C string (use this with printf()!)
-    const wxChar* c_str()   const { return m_pchData; }
     // identical to c_str(), for wxWin 1.6x compatibility
-    const wxChar* wx_str()  const { return m_pchData; }
+    const wxChar* wx_str()  const { return c_str(); }
     // identical to c_str(), for MFC compatibility
-    const wxChar* GetData() const { return m_pchData; }
+    const wxChar* GetData() const { return c_str(); }
 
     // conversion to/from plain (i.e. 7 bit) ASCII: this is useful for
     // converting numbers or strings which are certain not to contain special
@@ -498,47 +813,50 @@ public:
     // directly or have to use intermediate buffer for translation.
 #if wxUSE_UNICODE
     const wxCharBuffer mb_str(wxMBConv& conv = wxConvLibc) const
-        { return conv.cWC2MB(m_pchData); }
+        { return conv.cWC2MB(c_str()); }
 
     const wxWX2MBbuf mbc_str() const { return mb_str(*wxConvCurrent); }
 
-    const wxChar* wc_str() const { return m_pchData; }
+    const wxChar* wc_str() const { return c_str(); }
 
     // for compatibility with !wxUSE_UNICODE version
-    const wxChar* wc_str(wxMBConv& WXUNUSED(conv)) const { return m_pchData; }
+    const wxChar* wc_str(wxMBConv& WXUNUSED(conv)) const { return c_str(); }
 
 #if wxMBFILES
     const wxCharBuffer fn_str() const { return mb_str(wxConvFile); }
 #else // !wxMBFILES
-    const wxChar* fn_str() const { return m_pchData; }
+    const wxChar* fn_str() const { return c_str(); }
 #endif // wxMBFILES/!wxMBFILES
 #else // ANSI
-    const wxChar* mb_str() const { return m_pchData; }
+    const wxChar* mb_str() const { return c_str(); }
 
     // for compatibility with wxUSE_UNICODE version
-    const wxChar* mb_str(wxMBConv& WXUNUSED(conv)) const { return m_pchData; }
+    const wxChar* mb_str(wxMBConv& WXUNUSED(conv)) const { return c_str(); }
 
     const wxWX2MBbuf mbc_str() const { return mb_str(); }
 
 #if wxUSE_WCHAR_T
     const wxWCharBuffer wc_str(wxMBConv& conv) const
-        { return conv.cMB2WC(m_pchData); }
+        { return conv.cMB2WC(c_str()); }
 #endif // wxUSE_WCHAR_T
 
-    const wxChar* fn_str() const { return m_pchData; }
+    const wxChar* fn_str() const { return c_str(); }
 #endif // Unicode/ANSI
 
   // overloaded assignment
     // from another wxString
-  wxString& operator=(const wxString& stringSrc);
+  wxString& operator=(const wxStringBase& stringSrc)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::operator=(stringSrc); }
     // from a character
-  wxString& operator=(wxChar ch);
+  wxString& operator=(wxChar ch)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::operator=(ch); }
     // from a C string
-  wxString& operator=(const wxChar *psz);
+  wxString& operator=(const wxChar *psz)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::operator=(psz); }
 #if wxUSE_UNICODE
     // from wxWCharBuffer
   wxString& operator=(const wxWCharBuffer& psz)
-  { (void) operator=((const wchar_t *)psz); return *this; }
+    { (void) operator=((const wchar_t *)psz); return *this; }
 #else // ANSI
     // from another kind of C string
   wxString& operator=(const unsigned char* psz);
@@ -548,7 +866,7 @@ public:
 #endif
     // from wxCharBuffer
   wxString& operator=(const wxCharBuffer& psz)
-  { (void) operator=((const char *)psz); return *this; }
+    { (void) operator=((const char *)psz); return *this; }
 #endif // Unicode/ANSI
 
   // string concatenation
@@ -561,24 +879,19 @@ public:
       // string += string
   wxString& operator<<(const wxString& s)
   {
+#if !wxUSE_STL
     wxASSERT_MSG( s.GetStringData()->IsValid(),
                   _T("did you forget to call UngetWriteBuf()?") );
+#endif
 
-    ConcatSelf(s.Len(), s);
+    append(s);
     return *this;
   }
       // string += C string
   wxString& operator<<(const wxChar *psz)
-    { ConcatSelf(wxStrlen(psz), psz); return *this; }
+    { append(psz); return *this; }
       // string += char
-  wxString& operator<<(wxChar ch) { ConcatSelf(1, &ch); return *this; }
-
-      // string += string
-  void operator+=(const wxString& s) { (void)operator<<(s); }
-      // string += C string
-  void operator+=(const wxChar *psz) { (void)operator<<(psz); }
-      // string += char
-  void operator+=(wxChar ch) { (void)operator<<(ch); }
+  wxString& operator<<(wxChar ch) { append(1, ch); return *this; }
 
       // string += buffer (i.e. from wxGetString)
 #if wxUSE_UNICODE
@@ -600,16 +913,16 @@ public:
         if ( IsEmpty() )
             *this = s;
         else
-            ConcatSelf(s.Length(), s.c_str());
+            append(s);
         return *this;
     }
   wxString& Append(const wxChar* psz)
-    { ConcatSelf(wxStrlen(psz), psz); return *this; }
+    { append(psz); return *this; }
     // append count copies of given character
   wxString& Append(wxChar ch, size_t count = 1u)
-    { wxString str(ch, count); return *this << str; }
+    { append(count, ch); return *this; }
   wxString& Append(const wxChar* psz, size_t nLen)
-    { ConcatSelf(nLen, psz); return *this; }
+    { append(psz, nLen); return *this; }
 
     // prepend a string, return the string itself
   wxString& Prepend(const wxString& str)
@@ -659,14 +972,14 @@ public:
     // comparison with a signle character: returns TRUE if equal
   bool IsSameAs(wxChar c, bool compareWithCase = TRUE) const
     {
-      return (Len() == 1) && (compareWithCase ? GetChar(0u) == c
+      return (length() == 1) && (compareWithCase ? GetChar(0u) == c
                               : wxToupper(GetChar(0u)) == wxToupper(c));
     }
 
   // simple sub-string extraction
       // return substring starting at nFirst of length nCount (or till the end
       // if nCount = default value)
-  wxString Mid(size_t nFirst, size_t nCount = wxSTRING_MAXLEN) const;
+  wxString Mid(size_t nFirst, size_t nCount = npos) const;
 
       // operator version of Mid()
   wxString  operator()(size_t start, size_t len) const
@@ -756,16 +1069,18 @@ public:
   // raw access to string memory
     // ensure that string has space for at least nLen characters
     // only works if the data of this string is not shared
-  bool Alloc(size_t nLen);
+  bool Alloc(size_t nLen) { reserve(nLen); /*return capacity() >= nLen;*/ return true; }
     // minimize the string's memory
     // only works if the data of this string is not shared
   bool Shrink();
+#if !wxUSE_STL
     // get writable buffer of at least nLen bytes. Unget() *must* be called
     // a.s.a.p. to put string back in a reasonable state!
   wxChar *GetWriteBuf(size_t nLen);
     // call this immediately after GetWriteBuf() has been used
   void UngetWriteBuf();
   void UngetWriteBuf(size_t nLen);
+#endif
 
   // wxWindows version 1 compatibility functions
 
@@ -786,7 +1101,7 @@ public:
     { return cmp == exact ? Cmp(psz) : CmpNoCase(psz); }
 
     // use Len
-  size_t Length() const { return Len(); }
+  size_t Length() const { return length(); }
     // Count the number of characters
   int Freq(wxChar ch) const;
     // use MakeLower
@@ -801,9 +1116,10 @@ public:
   size_t Index(wxChar ch)         const { return Find(ch);  }
     // use Truncate
   wxString& Remove(size_t pos) { return Truncate(pos); }
-  wxString& RemoveLast(size_t n = 1) { return Truncate(Len() - n); }
+  wxString& RemoveLast(size_t n = 1) { return Truncate(length() - n); }
 
-  wxString& Remove(size_t nStart, size_t nLen) { return erase( nStart, nLen ); }
+  wxString& Remove(size_t nStart, size_t nLen)
+      { return (wxString&)erase( nStart, nLen ); }
 
     // use Find()
   int First( const wxChar ch ) const { return Find(ch); }
@@ -815,211 +1131,144 @@ public:
     // use IsEmpty()
   bool IsNull() const { return IsEmpty(); }
 
-#ifdef  wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY
   // std::string compatibility functions
 
-  // standard types
-  typedef wxChar value_type;
-  typedef size_t size_type;
-  typedef value_type *iterator;
-  typedef const value_type *const_iterator;
-
-  // an 'invalid' value for string index
-  static const size_t npos;
-
-  // constructors
     // take nLen chars starting at nPos
   wxString(const wxString& str, size_t nPos, size_t nLen)
-      : m_pchData(NULL)
-  {
-    wxASSERT_MSG( str.GetStringData()->IsValid(),
-                  _T("did you forget to call UngetWriteBuf()?") );
-
-    InitWith(str.c_str(), nPos, nLen == npos ? 0 : nLen);
-  }
+      : wxStringBase(str, nPos, nLen) { }
     // take all characters from pStart to pEnd
-  wxString(const void *pStart, const void *pEnd);
-
-  // lib.string.capacity
-    // return the length of the string
-  size_t size() const { return Len(); }
-    // return the length of the string
-  size_t length() const { return Len(); }
-    // return the maximum size of the string
-  size_t max_size() const { return wxSTRING_MAXLEN; }
-    // resize the string, filling the space with c if c != 0
-  void resize(size_t nSize, wxChar ch = wxT('\0'));
-    // delete the contents of the string
-  void clear() { Empty(); }
-    // returns true if the string is empty
-  bool empty() const { return IsEmpty(); }
-    // inform string about planned change in size
-  void reserve(size_t sz) { Alloc(sz); }
-
-  // lib.string.access
-    // return the character at position n
-  wxChar at(size_t n) const { return GetChar(n); }
-    // returns the writable character at position n
-  wxChar& at(size_t n) { return GetWritableChar(n); }
-
-    // first valid index position
-  const_iterator begin() const { return wx_str(); }
-    // position one after the last valid one
-  const_iterator end() const { return wx_str() + length(); }
-
-  // first valid index position
-  iterator begin() { CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData; }
-  // position one after the last valid one
-  iterator end() { CopyBeforeWrite(); return m_pchData + length(); }
+  wxString(const void *pStart, const void *pEnd)
+      : wxStringBase((const char*)pStart, (const char*)pEnd) { }
+#if wxUSE_STL
+  wxString(const_iterator first, const_iterator last)
+      : wxStringBase(first, last) { }
+#endif
 
   // lib.string.modifiers
-    // append a string
-  wxString& append(const wxString& str)
-    { *this += str; return *this; }
     // append elements str[pos], ..., str[pos+n]
   wxString& append(const wxString& str, size_t pos, size_t n)
-    { ConcatSelf(n, str.c_str() + pos); return *this; }
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::append(str, pos, n); }
+    // append a string
+  wxString& append(const wxString& str)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::append(str); }
     // append first n (or all if n == npos) characters of sz
-  wxString& append(const wxChar *sz, size_t n = npos)
-    { ConcatSelf(n == npos ? wxStrlen(sz) : n, sz); return *this; }
-
+  wxString& append(const wxChar *sz)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::append(sz); }
+  wxString& append(const wxChar *sz, size_t n)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::append(sz, n); }
     // append n copies of ch
-  wxString& append(size_t n, wxChar ch) { return Pad(n, ch); }
+  wxString& append(size_t n, wxChar ch)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::append(n, ch); }
+    // append from first to last
+  wxString& append(const_iterator first, const_iterator last)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::append(first, last); }
 
     // same as `this_string = str'
   wxString& assign(const wxString& str)
-    { return *this = str; }
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::assign(str); }
     // same as ` = str[pos..pos + n]
   wxString& assign(const wxString& str, size_t pos, size_t n)
-    { Empty(); return Append(str.c_str() + pos, n); }
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::assign(str, pos, n); }
     // same as `= first n (or all if n == npos) characters of sz'
-  wxString& assign(const wxChar *sz, size_t n = npos)
-    { Empty(); return Append(sz, n == npos ? wxStrlen(sz) : n); }
+  wxString& assign(const wxChar *sz)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::assign(sz); }
+  wxString& assign(const wxChar *sz, size_t n)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::assign(sz, n); }
     // same as `= n copies of ch'
   wxString& assign(size_t n, wxChar ch)
-    { Empty(); return Append(ch, n); }
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::assign(n, ch); }
+    // assign from first to last
+  wxString& assign(const_iterator first, const_iterator last)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::assign(first, last); }
+
+    // string comparison
+#ifndef HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE
+  int compare(const wxStringBase& str) const;
+    // comparison with a substring
+  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxStringBase& str) const;
+    // comparison of 2 substrings
+  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+              const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2) const;
+    // just like strcmp()
+  int compare(const wxChar* sz) const;
+    // substring comparison with first nCount characters of sz
+  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+              const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount = npos) const;
+#endif // !defined HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE
 
     // insert another string
-  wxString& insert(size_t nPos, const wxString& str);
+  wxString& insert(size_t nPos, const wxString& str)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::insert(nPos, str); }
     // insert n chars of str starting at nStart (in str)
   wxString& insert(size_t nPos, const wxString& str, size_t nStart, size_t n)
-    { return insert(nPos, wxString((const wxChar *)str + nStart, n)); }
-
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::insert(nPos, str, nStart, n); }
     // insert first n (or all if n == npos) characters of sz
-  wxString& insert(size_t nPos, const wxChar *sz, size_t n = npos)
-    { return insert(nPos, wxString(sz, n)); }
+  wxString& insert(size_t nPos, const wxChar *sz)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::insert(nPos, sz); }
+  wxString& insert(size_t nPos, const wxChar *sz, size_t n)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::insert(nPos, sz, n); }
     // insert n copies of ch
   wxString& insert(size_t nPos, size_t n, wxChar ch)
-    { return insert(nPos, wxString(ch, n)); }
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::insert(nPos, n, ch); }
+  iterator insert(iterator it, wxChar ch)
+    { return wxStringBase::insert(it, ch); } 
+  void insert(iterator it, const_iterator first, const_iterator last)
+    { wxStringBase::insert(it, first, last); }
+  void insert(iterator it, size_type n, wxChar ch)
+    { wxStringBase::insert(it, n, ch); }
 
     // delete characters from nStart to nStart + nLen
-  wxString& erase(size_t nStart = 0, size_t nLen = npos);
+  wxString& erase(size_type pos = 0, size_type n = npos)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::erase(pos, n); }
+  iterator erase(iterator first, iterator last)
+    { return wxStringBase::erase(first, last); }
+  iterator erase(iterator first)
+    { return wxStringBase::erase(first); }
+
+#ifdef wxSTRING_BASE_HASNT_CLEAR
+  void clear() { erase(); }
+#endif
 
     // replaces the substring of length nLen starting at nStart
-  wxString& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxChar* sz);
+  wxString& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxChar* sz)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(nStart, nLen, sz); }
+    // replaces the substring of length nLen starting at nStart
+  wxString& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxString& str)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(nStart, nLen, str); }
     // replaces the substring with nCount copies of ch
-  wxString& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, size_t nCount, wxChar ch);
+  wxString& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, size_t nCount, wxChar ch)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(nStart, nLen, nCount, ch); }
     // replaces a substring with another substring
   wxString& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
-                    const wxString& str, size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2);
-    // replaces the substring with first nCount chars of sz
+                    const wxString& str, size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(nStart, nLen, str,
+                                              nStart2, nLen2); }
+     // replaces the substring with first nCount chars of sz
   wxString& replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
-                    const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount);
-
-    // swap two strings
-  void swap(wxString& str);
+                    const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(nStart, nLen, sz, nCount); }
+  wxString& replace(iterator first, iterator last, const_pointer s)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(first, last, s); }
+  wxString& replace(iterator first, iterator last, const_pointer s,
+                    size_type n)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(first, last, s, n); }
+  wxString& replace(iterator first, iterator last, const wxString& s)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(first, last, s); }
+  wxString& replace(iterator first, iterator last, size_type n, wxChar c)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(first, last, n, c); }
+  wxString& replace(iterator first, iterator last,
+                    const_iterator first1, const_iterator last1)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::replace(first, last, first1, last1); }
 
-    // All find() functions take the nStart argument which specifies the
-    // position to start the search on, the default value is 0. All functions
-    // return npos if there were no match.
-
-    // find a substring
-  size_t find(const wxString& str, size_t nStart = 0) const;
-
-  // VC++ 1.5 can't cope with this syntax.
-#if !defined(__VISUALC__) || defined(__WIN32__)
-    // find first n characters of sz
-  size_t find(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = 0, size_t n = npos) const;
-#endif // VC++ 1.5
-
-  // Gives a duplicate symbol (presumably a case-insensitivity problem)
-#if !defined(__BORLANDC__)
-    // find the first occurence of character ch after nStart
-  size_t find(wxChar ch, size_t nStart = 0) const;
-#endif
-    // rfind() family is exactly like find() but works right to left
-
-    // as find, but from the end
-  size_t rfind(const wxString& str, size_t nStart = npos) const;
-
-  // VC++ 1.5 can't cope with this syntax.
-#if !defined(__VISUALC__) || defined(__WIN32__)
-    // as find, but from the end
-  size_t rfind(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = npos,
-          size_t n = npos) const;
-    // as find, but from the end
-  size_t rfind(wxChar ch, size_t nStart = npos) const;
-#endif // VC++ 1.5
-
-    // find first/last occurence of any character in the set
-
-    // as strpbrk() but starts at nStart, returns npos if not found
-  size_t find_first_of(const wxString& str, size_t nStart = 0) const
-    { return find_first_of(str.c_str(), nStart); }
-    // same as above
-  size_t find_first_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = 0) const;
-    // same as find(char, size_t)
-  size_t find_first_of(wxChar c, size_t nStart = 0) const
-    { return find(c, nStart); }
-    // find the last (starting from nStart) char from str in this string
-  size_t find_last_of (const wxString& str, size_t nStart = npos) const
-    { return find_last_of(str.c_str(), nStart); }
-    // same as above
-  size_t find_last_of (const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = npos) const;
-    // same as above
-  size_t find_last_of(wxChar c, size_t nStart = npos) const
-    { return rfind(c, nStart); }
-
-    // find first/last occurence of any character not in the set
-
-    // as strspn() (starting from nStart), returns npos on failure
-  size_t find_first_not_of(const wxString& str, size_t nStart = 0) const
-    { return find_first_not_of(str.c_str(), nStart); }
-    // same as above
-  size_t find_first_not_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = 0) const;
-    // same as above
-  size_t find_first_not_of(wxChar ch, size_t nStart = 0) const;
-    //  as strcspn()
-  size_t find_last_not_of(const wxString& str, size_t nStart = npos) const
-    { return find_first_not_of(str.c_str(), nStart); }
-    // same as above
-  size_t find_last_not_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart = npos) const;
-    // same as above
-  size_t find_last_not_of(wxChar ch, size_t nStart = npos) const;
-
-    // All compare functions return -1, 0 or 1 if the [sub]string is less,
-    // equal or greater than the compare() argument.
-
-    // just like strcmp()
-  int compare(const wxString& str) const { return Cmp(str); }
-    // comparison with a substring
-  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxString& str) const
-    { return Mid(nStart, nLen).Cmp(str); }
-    // comparison of 2 substrings
-  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
-              const wxString& str, size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2) const
-    { return Mid(nStart, nLen).Cmp(str.Mid(nStart2, nLen2)); }
-    // just like strcmp()
-  int compare(const wxChar* sz) const { return Cmp(sz); }
-    // substring comparison with first nCount characters of sz
-  int compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
-              const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount = npos) const
-    { return Mid(nStart, nLen).Cmp(wxString(sz, nCount)); }
-
-  // substring extraction
-  wxString substr(size_t nStart = 0, size_t nLen = npos) const
-    { return Mid(nStart, nLen); }
-#endif // wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY
+      // string += string
+  wxString& operator+=(const wxString& s)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::operator+=(s); }
+      // string += C string
+  wxString& operator+=(const wxChar *psz)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::operator+=(psz); }
+      // string += char
+  wxString& operator+=(wxChar ch)
+    { return (wxString&)wxStringBase::operator+=(ch); }
 };
 
 // define wxArrayString, for compatibility
@@ -1037,7 +1286,7 @@ class WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxStringBuffer
 {
 public:
     wxStringBuffer(wxString& str, size_t lenWanted = 1024)
-        : m_str(str), m_buf(lenWanted), m_len(lenWanted)
+        : m_str(str), m_buf(lenWanted)
         { }
 
     ~wxStringBuffer() { m_str.assign(m_buf.data(), wxStrlen(m_buf.data())); }
@@ -1051,7 +1300,6 @@ private:
 #else
     wxCharBuffer m_buf;
 #endif
-    size_t m_len;
 
     DECLARE_NO_COPY_CLASS(wxStringBuffer)
 };
@@ -1136,6 +1384,47 @@ private:
 // wxString comparison functions: operator versions are always case sensitive
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+#if wxUSE_STL
+
+inline bool operator==(const wxString& s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) == 0; }
+inline bool operator==(const wxString& s1, const wxChar  * s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) == 0; }
+inline bool operator==(const wxChar  * s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s2.compare(s1) == 0; }
+inline bool operator!=(const wxString& s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) != 0; }
+inline bool operator!=(const wxString& s1, const wxChar  * s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) != 0; }
+inline bool operator!=(const wxChar  * s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s2.compare(s1) != 0; }
+inline bool operator< (const wxString& s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) <  0; }
+inline bool operator< (const wxString& s1, const wxChar  * s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) <  0; }
+inline bool operator< (const wxChar  * s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s2.compare(s1) >  0; }
+inline bool operator> (const wxString& s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) >  0; }
+inline bool operator> (const wxString& s1, const wxChar  * s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) >  0; }
+inline bool operator> (const wxChar  * s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s2.compare(s1) <  0; }
+inline bool operator<=(const wxString& s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) <= 0; }
+inline bool operator<=(const wxString& s1, const wxChar  * s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) <= 0; }
+inline bool operator<=(const wxChar  * s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s2.compare(s1) >= 0; }
+inline bool operator>=(const wxString& s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) >= 0; }
+inline bool operator>=(const wxString& s1, const wxChar  * s2)
+    { return s1.compare(s2) >= 0; }
+inline bool operator>=(const wxChar  * s1, const wxString& s2)
+    { return s2.compare(s1) <= 0; }
+
+#else // if !wxUSE_STL
+
 inline bool operator==(const wxString& s1, const wxString& s2)
     { return (s1.Len() == s2.Len()) && (s1.Cmp(s2) == 0); }
 inline bool operator==(const wxString& s1, const wxChar  * s2)
@@ -1173,6 +1462,8 @@ inline bool operator>=(const wxString& s1, const wxChar  * s2)
 inline bool operator>=(const wxChar  * s1, const wxString& s2)
     { return s2.Cmp(s1) <= 0; }
 
+#endif // !wxUSE_STL
+
 // comparison with char
 inline bool operator==(wxChar c, const wxString& s) { return s.IsSameAs(c); }
 inline bool operator==(const wxString& s, wxChar c) { return s.IsSameAs(c); }
@@ -1199,11 +1490,16 @@ inline bool operator!=(const wxCharBuffer& s1, const wxString& s2)
     { return (s2.Cmp((const char *)s1) != 0); }
 #endif // wxUSE_UNICODE/!wxUSE_UNICODE
 
+#if !wxUSE_STL
+
 wxString WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE operator+(const wxString& string1,  const wxString& string2);
 wxString WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE operator+(const wxString& string, wxChar ch);
 wxString WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE operator+(wxChar ch, const wxString& string);
 wxString WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE operator+(const wxString& string, const wxChar *psz);
 wxString WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE operator+(const wxChar *psz, const wxString& string);
+
+#endif // !wxUSE_STL
+
 #if wxUSE_UNICODE
 inline wxString operator+(const wxString& string, const wxWCharBuffer& buf)
     { return string + (const wchar_t *)buf; }
@@ -1223,7 +1519,7 @@ inline wxString operator+(const wxCharBuffer& buf, const wxString& string)
 // don't pollute the library user's name space
 #undef wxASSERT_VALID_INDEX
 
-#if defined(wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY) && wxUSE_STD_IOSTREAM
+#if wxUSE_STD_IOSTREAM
 
 #include "wx/iosfwrap.h"
 
diff --git a/samples/console/console.cpp b/samples/console/console.cpp
index 9eef76e9c2..6c365c276a 100644
--- a/samples/console/console.cpp
+++ b/samples/console/console.cpp
@@ -96,10 +96,7 @@
     #undef TEST_ALL
     static const bool TEST_ALL = true;
 #else
-    #define TEST_ARRAYS
-    #define TEST_HASH
-    #define TEST_LIST
-    #define TEST_SCOPEGUARD
+    #define TEST_HASHMAP
 
     static const bool TEST_ALL = false;
 #endif
@@ -6071,14 +6068,14 @@ static void TestString()
 
     for (int i = 0; i < 1000000; ++i)
     {
-        a = "Hello";
-        b = " world";
-        c = "! How'ya doin'?";
+        a = _T("Hello");
+        b = _T(" world");
+        c = _T("! How'ya doin'?");
         a += b;
         a += c;
-        c = "Hello world! What's up?";
+        c = _T("Hello world! What's up?");
         if (c != a)
-            c = "Doh!";
+            c = _T("Doh!");
     }
 
     wxPrintf(_T("TestString elapsed time: %ld\n"), sw.Time());
@@ -6109,7 +6106,7 @@ static void TestPChar()
 
 static void TestStringSub()
 {
-    wxString s("Hello, world!");
+    wxString s(_T("Hello, world!"));
 
     wxPuts(_T("*** Testing wxString substring extraction ***"));
 
@@ -6406,6 +6403,180 @@ static void TestStringMatch()
     wxPuts(_T(""));
 }
 
+// Sigh, I want Test::Simple, Test::More and Test::Harness...
+void ok(int line, bool ok, const wxString& msg = wxEmptyString)
+{
+    if( !ok )
+        wxPuts(_T("NOT OK: (") + wxString::Format(_T("%d"), line) +
+               _T(") ") + msg);
+}
+
+void is(int line, const wxString& got, const wxString& expected,
+        const wxString& msg = wxEmptyString)
+{
+    bool isOk = got == expected;
+    ok(line, isOk, msg);
+    if( !isOk )
+    {
+        wxPuts(_T("Got: ") + got);
+        wxPuts(_T("Expected: ") + expected);
+    }
+}
+
+void is(int line, const wxChar& got, const wxChar& expected,
+        const wxString& msg = wxEmptyString)
+{
+    bool isOk = got == expected;
+    ok(line, isOk, msg);
+    if( !isOk )
+    {
+        wxPuts("Got: " + got);
+        wxPuts("Expected: " + expected);
+    }
+}
+
+void TestStdString()
+{
+    wxPuts(_T("*** Testing std::string operations ***\n"));
+
+    // test ctors
+    wxString s1(_T("abcdefgh")),
+             s2(_T("abcdefghijklm"), 8),
+             s3(_T("abcdefghijklm")),
+             s4(8, _T('a'));
+    wxString s5(s1),
+             s6(s3, 0, 8),
+             s7(s3.begin(), s3.begin() + 8);
+    wxString s8(s1, 4, 8), s9, s10, s11;
+
+    is( __LINE__, s1, _T("abcdefgh") );
+    is( __LINE__, s2, s1 );
+    is( __LINE__, s4, _T("aaaaaaaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s5, _T("abcdefgh") );
+    is( __LINE__, s6, s1 );
+    is( __LINE__, s7, s1 );
+    is( __LINE__, s8, _T("efgh") );
+
+    // test append
+    s1 = s2 = s3 = s4 = s5 = s6 = s7 = s8 = _T("abc");
+    s1.append(_T("def"));
+    s2.append(_T("defgh"), 3);
+    s3.append(wxString(_T("abcdef")), 3, 6);
+    s4.append(s1);
+    s5.append(3, _T('a'));
+    s6.append(s1.begin() + 3, s1.end());
+
+    is( __LINE__, s1, _T("abcdef") );
+    is( __LINE__, s2, _T("abcdef") );
+    is( __LINE__, s3, _T("abcdef") );
+    is( __LINE__, s4, _T("abcabcdef") );
+    is( __LINE__, s5, _T("abcaaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s6, _T("abcdef") );
+
+    // test assign
+    s1 = s2 = s3 = s4 = s5 = s6 = s7 = s8 = _T("abc");
+    s1.assign(_T("def"));
+    s2.assign(_T("defgh"), 3);
+    s3.assign(wxString(_T("abcdef")), 3, 6);
+    s4.assign(s1);
+    s5.assign(3, _T('a'));
+    s6.assign(s1.begin() + 1, s1.end());
+
+    is( __LINE__, s1, _T("def") );
+    is( __LINE__, s2, _T("def") );
+    is( __LINE__, s3, _T("def") );
+    is( __LINE__, s4, _T("def") );
+    is( __LINE__, s5, _T("aaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s6, _T("ef") );
+
+    // test compare
+    s1 = _T("abcdefgh");
+    s2 = _T("abcdefgh");
+    s3 = _T("abc");
+    s4 = _T("abcdefghi");
+    s5 = _T("aaa");
+    s6 = _T("zzz");
+    s7 = _T("zabcdefg");
+
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(s2) == 0 );
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(s3) > 0 );
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(s4) < 0 );
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(s5) > 0 );
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(s6) < 0 );
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(1, 12, s1) > 0);
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(_T("abcdefgh")) == 0);
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(1, 7, _T("bcdefgh")) == 0);
+    ok( __LINE__, s1.compare(1, 7, _T("bcdefgh"), 7) == 0);
+
+    // test erase
+    s1.erase(1, 1);
+    s2.erase(4, 12);
+    wxString::iterator it = s3.erase(s3.begin() + 1);
+    wxString::iterator it2 = s4.erase(s4.begin() + 4, s4.begin() + 6);
+    wxString::iterator it3 = s7.erase(s7.begin() + 4, s7.begin() + 8);
+
+    is( __LINE__, s1, _T("acdefgh") );
+    is( __LINE__, s2, _T("abcd") );
+    is( __LINE__, s3, _T("ac") );
+    is( __LINE__, s4, _T("abcdghi") );
+    is( __LINE__, s7, _T("zabc") );
+    is( __LINE__, *it, _T('c') );
+    is( __LINE__, *it2, _T('g') );
+    ok( __LINE__, it3 == s7.end() );
+
+    // test insert
+    s1 = s2 = s3 = s4 = s5 = s6 = s7 = s8 = _T("aaaa");
+    s9 = s10 = _T("cdefg");
+
+    s1.insert(1, _T("cc") );
+    s2.insert(2, _T("cdef"), 3);
+    s3.insert(2, s10);
+    s4.insert(2, s10, 3, 7);
+    s5.insert(1, 2, _T('c'));
+    it = s6.insert(s6.begin() + 3, _T('X'));
+    s7.insert(s7.begin(), s9.begin(), s9.end() - 1);
+    s8.insert(s8.begin(), 2, _T('c'));
+
+    is( __LINE__, s1, _T("accaaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s2, _T("aacdeaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s3, _T("aacdefgaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s4, _T("aafgaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s5, _T("accaaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s6, _T("aaaXa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s7, _T("cdefaaaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s8, _T("ccaaaa") );
+
+    s1 = s2 = s3 = _T("aaaa");
+    s1.insert(0, _T("ccc"), 2);
+    s2.insert(4, _T("ccc"), 2);
+
+    is( __LINE__, s1, _T("ccaaaa") );
+    is( __LINE__, s2, _T("aaaacc") );
+
+    // test replace
+    s1 = s2 = s3 = s4 = s5 = s6 = s7 = s8 = _T("QWERTYUIOP");
+    s9 = s10 = _T("werty");
+
+    s1.replace(3, 4, _T("rtyu"));
+    s1.replace(8, 7, _T("opopop"));
+    s2.replace(10, 12, _T("WWWW"));
+    s3.replace(1, 5, s9);
+    s4.replace(1, 4, s9, 0, 4);
+    s5.replace(1, 2, s9, 1, 12);
+    s6.replace(0, 123, s9, 0, 123);
+    s7.replace(2, 7, s9);
+
+    is( __LINE__, s1, _T("QWErtyuIopopop") );
+    is( __LINE__, s2, _T("QWERTYUIOPWWWW") );
+    is( __LINE__, s3, _T("QwertyUIOP") );
+    is( __LINE__, s4, _T("QwertYUIOP") );
+    is( __LINE__, s5, _T("QertyRTYUIOP") );
+    is( __LINE__, s6, s9);
+    is( __LINE__, s7, _T("QWwertyP") );
+
+    wxPuts(_T("*** Testing std::string operations finished ***\n"));
+}
+
 #endif // TEST_STRINGS
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -6416,16 +6587,6 @@ static void TestStringMatch()
     #include "wx/snglinst.h"
 #endif // TEST_SNGLINST
 
-static int MyStringCompare(wxString* s1, wxString* s2)
-{
-    return wxStrcmp(s1->c_str(), s2->c_str());
-}
-
-static int MyStringReverseCompare(wxString* s1, wxString* s2)
-{
-    return -wxStrcmp(s1->c_str(), s2->c_str());
-}
-
 int main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
     wxApp::CheckBuildOptions(wxBuildOptions());
@@ -6552,6 +6713,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     {
         TestStringMatch();
     }
+
+    TestStdString();
 #endif // TEST_STRINGS
 
 #ifdef TEST_ARRAYS
@@ -6597,11 +6760,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 #endif
 
         wxPuts(_T("*** After sorting a1"));
-        a1.Sort(&MyStringCompare);
+        a1.Sort(wxStringCompareAscending);
         PrintArray(_T("a1"), a1);
 
         wxPuts(_T("*** After sorting a1 in reverse order"));
-        a1.Sort(&MyStringReverseCompare);
+        a1.Sort(wxStringCompareDescending);
         PrintArray(_T("a1"), a1);
 
 #if !wxUSE_STL
diff --git a/setup.h.in b/setup.h.in
index 954490d8f7..208d0b27c0 100644
--- a/setup.h.in
+++ b/setup.h.in
@@ -157,6 +157,15 @@
  */
 #undef HAVE_CONST_CAST
 
+/*
+ * Define if your compiler has std::wstring
+ */
+#undef HAVE_STD_WSTRING
+/*
+ * Define if your compiler has compilant std::string::compare
+ */
+#undef HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE
+
 /*
  * use STL for containers and wxString
  */
diff --git a/src/common/string.cpp b/src/common/string.cpp
index c43bde8e7d..995433e317 100644
--- a/src/common/string.cpp
+++ b/src/common/string.cpp
@@ -61,14 +61,20 @@
 const unsigned int wxSTRING_MAXLEN = UINT_MAX - 100;
 #endif // Visual Age
 
-#ifdef  wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY
-  const size_t wxString::npos = wxSTRING_MAXLEN;
-#endif // wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY
+#if !wxUSE_STL
+  const size_t wxStringBase::npos = wxSTRING_MAXLEN;
+#endif
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // static data
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+#if wxUSE_STL
+
+extern const wxChar WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE *wxEmptyString = _T("");
+
+#else
+
 // for an empty string, GetStringData() will return this address: this
 // structure has the same layout as wxStringData and it's data() method will
 // return the empty string (dummy pointer)
@@ -81,11 +87,13 @@ static const struct
 // empty C style string: points to 'string data' byte of g_strEmpty
 extern const wxChar WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE *wxEmptyString = &g_strEmpty.dummy;
 
+#endif
+
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // global functions
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-#if defined(wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY) && wxUSE_STD_IOSTREAM
+#if wxUSE_STD_IOSTREAM
 
 // MS Visual C++ version 5.0 provides the new STL headers as well as the old
 // iostream ones.
@@ -129,7 +137,7 @@ wxSTD ostream& operator<<(wxSTD ostream& os, const wxString& str)
   return os;
 }
 
-#endif  //std::string compatibility
+#endif // wxUSE_STD_IOSTREAM
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // private classes
@@ -172,42 +180,19 @@ void wxStringData::Free()
 }
 #endif
 
+#if !wxUSE_STL
+
 // ===========================================================================
-// wxString class core
+// wxStringBase
 // ===========================================================================
 
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// construction
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-// constructs string of <nLength> copies of character <ch>
-wxString::wxString(wxChar ch, size_t nLength)
-{
-  Init();
-
-  if ( nLength > 0 ) {
-    if ( !AllocBuffer(nLength) ) {
-      wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::wxString") );
-      return;
-    }
-
-#if wxUSE_UNICODE
-    // memset only works on chars
-    for ( size_t n = 0; n < nLength; n++ )
-        m_pchData[n] = ch;
-#else
-    memset(m_pchData, ch, nLength);
-#endif
-  }
-}
-
 // takes nLength elements of psz starting at nPos
-void wxString::InitWith(const wxChar *psz, size_t nPos, size_t nLength)
+void wxStringBase::InitWith(const wxChar *psz, size_t nPos, size_t nLength)
 {
   Init();
 
   // if the length is not given, assume the string to be NUL terminated
-  if ( nLength == wxSTRING_MAXLEN ) {
+  if ( nLength == npos ) {
     wxASSERT_MSG( nPos <= wxStrlen(psz), _T("index out of bounds") );
 
     nLength = wxStrlen(psz + nPos);
@@ -218,119 +203,32 @@ void wxString::InitWith(const wxChar *psz, size_t nPos, size_t nLength)
   if ( nLength > 0 ) {
     // trailing '\0' is written in AllocBuffer()
     if ( !AllocBuffer(nLength) ) {
-      wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::InitWith") );
+      wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxStringBase::InitWith") );
       return;
     }
     memcpy(m_pchData, psz + nPos, nLength*sizeof(wxChar));
   }
 }
 
-#ifdef  wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY
-
 // poor man's iterators are "void *" pointers
-wxString::wxString(const void *pStart, const void *pEnd)
+wxStringBase::wxStringBase(const void *pStart, const void *pEnd)
 {
   InitWith((const wxChar *)pStart, 0,
            (const wxChar *)pEnd - (const wxChar *)pStart);
 }
 
-#endif  //std::string compatibility
-
-#if wxUSE_UNICODE
-
-// from multibyte string
-wxString::wxString(const char *psz, wxMBConv& conv, size_t nLength)
-{
-    // first get the size of the buffer we need
-    size_t nLen;
-    if ( psz )
-    {
-        // calculate the needed size ourselves or use the provided one
-        nLen = nLength == wxSTRING_MAXLEN ? conv.MB2WC(NULL, psz, 0) : nLength;
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        // nothing to convert
-        nLen = 0;
-    }
-
-    // anything to do?
-    if ( (nLen != 0) && (nLen != (size_t)-1) )
-    {
-        if ( !AllocBuffer(nLen) )
-        {
-            wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::wxString") );
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            // MB2WC wants the buffer size, not the string length hence +1
-            nLen = conv.MB2WC(m_pchData, psz, nLen + 1);
-
-            if ( nLen != (size_t)-1 )
-            {
-                // initialized ok, set the real length as nLength specified by
-                // the caller could be greater than the real string length
-                GetStringData()->nDataLength = nLen;
-                m_pchData[nLen] = 0;
-                return;
-            }
-            //else: the conversion failed -- leave the string empty (what else?)
-        }
-    }
-
-    Init();
-}
-
-#else // ANSI
-
-#if wxUSE_WCHAR_T
-// from wide string
-wxString::wxString(const wchar_t *pwz, wxMBConv& conv, size_t nLength)
+wxStringBase::wxStringBase(size_type n, wxChar ch)
 {
-    // first get the size of the buffer we need
-    size_t nLen;
-    if ( pwz )
-    {
-        // calculate the needed size ourselves or use the provided one
-        nLen = nLength == wxSTRING_MAXLEN ? conv.WC2MB(NULL, pwz, 0) : nLength;
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        // nothing to convert
-        nLen = 0;
-    }
-
-    // anything to do?
-    if ( (nLen != 0) && (nLen != (size_t)-1) )
-    {
-        if ( !AllocBuffer(nLen) )
-        {
-            wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::wxString") );
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            // WC2MB wants the buffer size, not the string length
-            if ( conv.WC2MB(m_pchData, pwz, nLen + 1) != (size_t)-1 )
-            {
-                // initialized ok
-                return;
-            }
-            //else: the conversion failed -- leave the string empty (what else?)
-        }
-    }
-
-    Init();
+  Init();
+  append(n, ch);
 }
-#endif // wxUSE_WCHAR_T
-
-#endif // Unicode/ANSI
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // memory allocation
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 // allocates memory needed to store a C string of length nLen
-bool wxString::AllocBuffer(size_t nLen)
+bool wxStringBase::AllocBuffer(size_t nLen)
 {
   // allocating 0 sized buffer doesn't make sense, all empty strings should
   // reuse g_strEmpty
@@ -362,7 +260,7 @@ bool wxString::AllocBuffer(size_t nLen)
 }
 
 // must be called before changing this string
-bool wxString::CopyBeforeWrite()
+bool wxStringBase::CopyBeforeWrite()
 {
   wxStringData* pData = GetStringData();
 
@@ -382,7 +280,7 @@ bool wxString::CopyBeforeWrite()
 }
 
 // must be called before replacing contents of this string
-bool wxString::AllocBeforeWrite(size_t nLen)
+bool wxStringBase::AllocBeforeWrite(size_t nLen)
 {
   wxASSERT( nLen != 0 );  // doesn't make any sense
 
@@ -426,8 +324,37 @@ bool wxString::AllocBeforeWrite(size_t nLen)
   return TRUE;
 }
 
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::append(size_t n, wxChar ch)
+{
+    size_type len = length();
+
+    if ( !CopyBeforeWrite() || !Alloc(len + n) ) {
+      wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxStringBase::append") );
+    }
+    GetStringData()->nDataLength = len + n;
+    m_pchData[len + n] = '\0';
+    for ( size_t i = 0; i < n; ++i )
+        m_pchData[len + i] = ch;
+    return *this;
+}
+
+void wxStringBase::resize(size_t nSize, wxChar ch)
+{
+    size_t len = length();
+
+    if ( nSize < len )
+    {
+        erase(begin() + nSize, end());
+    }
+    else if ( nSize > len )
+    {
+        append(nSize - len, ch);
+    }
+    //else: we have exactly the specified length, nothing to do
+}
+
 // allocate enough memory for nLen characters
-bool wxString::Alloc(size_t nLen)
+bool wxStringBase::Alloc(size_t nLen)
 {
   wxStringData *pData = GetStringData();
   if ( pData->nAllocLength <= nLen ) {
@@ -479,158 +406,337 @@ bool wxString::Alloc(size_t nLen)
   return TRUE;
 }
 
-// shrink to minimal size (releasing extra memory)
-bool wxString::Shrink()
+wxStringBase::iterator wxStringBase::erase(iterator it)
 {
-  wxStringData *pData = GetStringData();
+    size_type idx = it - begin();
+    erase(idx, 1);
+    return begin() + idx;
+}
 
-  size_t nLen = pData->nDataLength;
-  void *p = realloc(pData, sizeof(wxStringData) + (nLen + 1)*sizeof(wxChar));
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::erase(size_t nStart, size_t nLen)
+{
+  wxASSERT(nStart <= length());
+  size_t strLen = length() - nStart;
+  // delete nLen or up to the end of the string characters
+  nLen = strLen < nLen ? strLen : nLen;
+  wxString strTmp(c_str(), nStart);
+  strTmp.append(c_str() + nStart + nLen, length() - nStart - nLen);
 
-  if ( p == NULL) {
-      wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory reallocating wxString data") );
-      // keep previous data since reallocation failed
-      return FALSE;
-  }
+  swap(strTmp);
+  return *this;
+}
 
-  if ( p != pData )
-  {
-      // contrary to what one might believe, some realloc() implementation do
-      // move the memory block even when its size is reduced
-      pData = (wxStringData *)p;
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::insert(size_t nPos, const wxChar *sz, size_t n)
+{
+  wxASSERT( nPos <= length() );
 
-      m_pchData = pData->data();
+  if ( n == npos ) n = wxStrlen(sz);
+  if ( n == 0 ) return *this;
+
+  if ( !CopyBeforeWrite() || !Alloc(length() + n) ) {
+    wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxStringBase::insert") );
   }
 
-  pData->nAllocLength = nLen;
+  memmove(m_pchData + nPos + n, m_pchData + nPos,
+          (length() - nPos) * sizeof(wxChar));
+  memcpy(m_pchData + nPos, sz, n * sizeof(wxChar));
+  GetStringData()->nDataLength = length() + n;
+  m_pchData[length()] = '\0';
 
-  return TRUE;
+  return *this;
 }
 
-// get the pointer to writable buffer of (at least) nLen bytes
-wxChar *wxString::GetWriteBuf(size_t nLen)
+void wxStringBase::swap(wxStringBase& str)
 {
-  if ( !AllocBeforeWrite(nLen) ) {
-    // allocation failure handled by caller
-    return NULL;
-  }
-
-  wxASSERT( GetStringData()->nRefs == 1 );
-  GetStringData()->Validate(FALSE);
-
-  return m_pchData;
+    wxChar* tmp = str.m_pchData;
+    str.m_pchData = m_pchData;
+    m_pchData = tmp;
 }
 
-// put string back in a reasonable state after GetWriteBuf
-void wxString::UngetWriteBuf()
+size_t wxStringBase::find(const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart) const
 {
-  GetStringData()->nDataLength = wxStrlen(m_pchData);
-  GetStringData()->Validate(TRUE);
+  wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+  wxASSERT( nStart <= length() );
+
+  const wxChar *p = wxStrstr(c_str() + nStart, str.c_str());
+
+  return p == NULL ? npos : p - c_str();
 }
 
-void wxString::UngetWriteBuf(size_t nLen)
+size_t wxStringBase::find(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart, size_t n) const
 {
-  GetStringData()->nDataLength = nLen;
-  GetStringData()->Validate(TRUE);
+  return find(wxStringBase(sz, n), nStart);
 }
 
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// data access
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-// all functions are inline in string.h
+// Gives a duplicate symbol (presumably a case-insensitivity problem)
+#if !defined(__BORLANDC__)
+size_t wxStringBase::find(wxChar ch, size_t nStart) const
+{
+  wxASSERT( nStart <= length() );
 
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// assignment operators
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  const wxChar *p = wxStrchr(c_str() + nStart, ch);
 
-// helper function: does real copy
-bool wxString::AssignCopy(size_t nSrcLen, const wxChar *pszSrcData)
-{
-  if ( nSrcLen == 0 ) {
-    Reinit();
-  }
-  else {
-    if ( !AllocBeforeWrite(nSrcLen) ) {
-      // allocation failure handled by caller
-      return FALSE;
-    }
-    memcpy(m_pchData, pszSrcData, nSrcLen*sizeof(wxChar));
-    GetStringData()->nDataLength = nSrcLen;
-    m_pchData[nSrcLen] = wxT('\0');
-  }
-  return TRUE;
+  return p == NULL ? npos : p - c_str();
 }
+#endif
 
-// assigns one string to another
-wxString& wxString::operator=(const wxString& stringSrc)
+size_t wxStringBase::rfind(const wxStringBase& str, size_t nStart) const
 {
-  wxASSERT( stringSrc.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+  wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+  wxASSERT( nStart == npos || nStart <= length() );
 
-  // don't copy string over itself
-  if ( m_pchData != stringSrc.m_pchData ) {
-    if ( stringSrc.GetStringData()->IsEmpty() ) {
-      Reinit();
-    }
-    else {
-      // adjust references
-      GetStringData()->Unlock();
-      m_pchData = stringSrc.m_pchData;
-      GetStringData()->Lock();
-    }
+  // TODO could be made much quicker than that
+  const wxChar *p = c_str() + (nStart == npos ? length() : nStart);
+  while ( p >= c_str() + str.length() ) {
+    if ( wxStrncmp(p - str.length(), str.c_str(), str.length()) == 0 )
+      return p - str.length() - c_str();
+    p--;
   }
 
-  return *this;
+  return npos;
 }
 
-// assigns a single character
-wxString& wxString::operator=(wxChar ch)
+size_t wxStringBase::rfind(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart, size_t n) const
 {
-  if ( !AssignCopy(1, &ch) ) {
-    wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::operator=(wxChar)") );
-  }
-  return *this;
+    return rfind(wxStringBase(sz, n), nStart);
 }
 
-
-// assigns C string
-wxString& wxString::operator=(const wxChar *psz)
+size_t wxStringBase::rfind(wxChar ch, size_t nStart) const
 {
-  if ( !AssignCopy(wxStrlen(psz), psz) ) {
-    wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::operator=(const wxChar *)") );
-  }
-  return *this;
-}
+    if ( nStart == npos )
+    {
+        nStart = length();
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        wxASSERT( nStart <= length() );
+    }
 
-#if !wxUSE_UNICODE
+    const wxChar *p = wxStrrchr(c_str(), ch);
 
-// same as 'signed char' variant
-wxString& wxString::operator=(const unsigned char* psz)
-{
-  *this = (const char *)psz;
-  return *this;
+    if ( p == NULL )
+        return npos;
+
+    size_t result = p - c_str();
+    return ( result > nStart ) ? npos : result;
 }
 
-#if wxUSE_WCHAR_T
-wxString& wxString::operator=(const wchar_t *pwz)
+size_t wxStringBase::find_first_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart) const
 {
-  wxString str(pwz);
-  *this = str;
-  return *this;
+    const wxChar *start = c_str() + nStart;
+    const wxChar *firstOf = wxStrpbrk(start, sz);
+    if ( firstOf )
+        return firstOf - c_str();
+    else
+        return npos;
 }
-#endif
-
-#endif
-
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// string concatenation
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+size_t wxStringBase::find_last_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart) const
+{
+    if ( nStart == npos )
+    {
+        nStart = length();
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        wxASSERT( nStart <= length() );
+    }
+
+    for ( const wxChar *p = c_str() + length() - 1; p >= c_str(); p-- )
+    {
+        if ( wxStrchr(sz, *p) )
+            return p - c_str();
+    }
+
+    return npos;
+}
+
+size_t wxStringBase::find_first_not_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart) const
+{
+    if ( nStart == npos )
+    {
+        nStart = length();
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        wxASSERT( nStart <= length() );
+    }
+
+    size_t nAccept = wxStrspn(c_str() + nStart, sz);
+    if ( nAccept >= length() - nStart )
+        return npos;
+    else
+        return nAccept;
+}
+
+size_t wxStringBase::find_first_not_of(wxChar ch, size_t nStart) const
+{
+    wxASSERT( nStart <= length() );
+
+    for ( const wxChar *p = c_str() + nStart; *p; p++ )
+    {
+        if ( *p != ch )
+            return p - c_str();
+    }
+
+    return npos;
+}
+
+size_t wxStringBase::find_last_not_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart) const
+{
+    if ( nStart == npos )
+    {
+        nStart = length();
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        wxASSERT( nStart <= length() );
+    }
+
+    for ( const wxChar *p = c_str() + nStart - 1; p >= c_str(); p-- )
+    {
+        if ( !wxStrchr(sz, *p) )
+            return p - c_str();
+    }
+
+    return npos;
+}
+
+size_t wxStringBase::find_last_not_of(wxChar ch, size_t nStart) const
+{
+    if ( nStart == npos )
+    {
+        nStart = length();
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        wxASSERT( nStart <= length() );
+    }
+
+    for ( const wxChar *p = c_str() + nStart - 1; p >= c_str(); p-- )
+    {
+        if ( *p != ch )
+            return p - c_str();
+    }
+
+    return npos;
+}
+
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                                    const wxChar *sz)
+{
+  wxASSERT_MSG( nStart <= length(),
+                _T("index out of bounds in wxStringBase::replace") );
+  size_t strLen = length() - nStart;
+  nLen = strLen < nLen ? strLen : nLen;
+
+  wxStringBase strTmp;
+  strTmp.reserve(length()); // micro optimisation to avoid multiple mem allocs
+
+  if ( nStart != 0 )
+    strTmp.append(c_str(), nStart);
+  strTmp.append(sz);
+  strTmp.append(c_str() + nStart + nLen);
+
+  swap(strTmp);
+  return *this;
+}
+
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                                    size_t nCount, wxChar ch)
+{
+  return replace(nStart, nLen, wxStringBase(ch, nCount).c_str());
+}
+
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                                    const wxStringBase& str,
+                                    size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2)
+{
+  return replace(nStart, nLen, str.substr(nStart2, nLen2));
+}
+
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                                    const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount)
+{
+  return replace(nStart, nLen, wxStringBase(sz, nCount).c_str());
+}
+
+wxStringBase wxStringBase::substr(size_t nStart, size_t nLen) const
+{
+  if ( nLen == npos )
+    nLen = length() - nStart;
+  return wxStringBase(*this, nStart, nLen);
+}
+
+// assigns one string to another
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::operator=(const wxStringBase& stringSrc)
+{
+  wxASSERT( stringSrc.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+
+  // don't copy string over itself
+  if ( m_pchData != stringSrc.m_pchData ) {
+    if ( stringSrc.GetStringData()->IsEmpty() ) {
+      Reinit();
+    }
+    else {
+      // adjust references
+      GetStringData()->Unlock();
+      m_pchData = stringSrc.m_pchData;
+      GetStringData()->Lock();
+    }
+  }
+
+  return *this;
+}
+
+// assigns a single character
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::operator=(wxChar ch)
+{
+  if ( !AssignCopy(1, &ch) ) {
+    wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxStringBase::operator=(wxChar)") );
+  }
+  return *this;
+}
+
+// assigns C string
+wxStringBase& wxStringBase::operator=(const wxChar *psz)
+{
+  if ( !AssignCopy(wxStrlen(psz), psz) ) {
+    wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxStringBase::operator=(const wxChar *)") );
+  }
+  return *this;
+}
+
+// helper function: does real copy
+bool wxStringBase::AssignCopy(size_t nSrcLen, const wxChar *pszSrcData)
+{
+  if ( nSrcLen == 0 ) {
+    Reinit();
+  }
+  else {
+    if ( !AllocBeforeWrite(nSrcLen) ) {
+      // allocation failure handled by caller
+      return FALSE;
+    }
+    memcpy(m_pchData, pszSrcData, nSrcLen*sizeof(wxChar));
+    GetStringData()->nDataLength = nSrcLen;
+    m_pchData[nSrcLen] = wxT('\0');
+  }
+  return TRUE;
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// string concatenation
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 // add something to this string
-bool wxString::ConcatSelf(size_t nSrcLen, const wxChar *pszSrcData)
+bool wxStringBase::ConcatSelf(size_t nSrcLen, const wxChar *pszSrcData,
+                              size_t nMaxLen)
 {
   STATISTICS_ADD(SummandLength, nSrcLen);
 
+  nSrcLen = nSrcLen < nMaxLen ? nSrcLen : nMaxLen;
+
   // concatenating an empty string is a NOP
   if ( nSrcLen > 0 ) {
     wxStringData *pData = GetStringData();
@@ -653,8 +759,9 @@ bool wxString::ConcatSelf(size_t nSrcLen, const wxChar *pszSrcData)
     else if ( nNewLen > pData->nAllocLength ) {
       STATISTICS_ADD(ConcatHit, 0);
 
+      reserve(nNewLen);
       // we have to grow the buffer
-      if ( !Alloc(nNewLen) ) {
+      if ( capacity() < nNewLen ) {
           // allocation failure handled by caller
           return FALSE;
       }
@@ -671,12 +778,283 @@ bool wxString::ConcatSelf(size_t nSrcLen, const wxChar *pszSrcData)
     // fast concatenation - all is done in our buffer
     memcpy(m_pchData + nLen, pszSrcData, nSrcLen*sizeof(wxChar));
 
-    m_pchData[nNewLen] = wxT('\0');          // put terminating '\0'
-    GetStringData()->nDataLength = nNewLen; // and fix the length
-  }
-  //else: the string to append was empty
-  return TRUE;
+    m_pchData[nNewLen] = wxT('\0');          // put terminating '\0'
+    GetStringData()->nDataLength = nNewLen; // and fix the length
+  }
+  //else: the string to append was empty
+  return TRUE;
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// simple sub-string extraction
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// helper function: clone the data attached to this string
+bool wxStringBase::AllocCopy(wxString& dest, int nCopyLen, int nCopyIndex) const
+{
+  if ( nCopyLen == 0 ) {
+    dest.Init();
+  }
+  else {
+    if ( !dest.AllocBuffer(nCopyLen) ) {
+      // allocation failure handled by caller
+      return FALSE;
+    }
+    memcpy(dest.m_pchData, m_pchData + nCopyIndex, nCopyLen*sizeof(wxChar));
+  }
+  return TRUE;
+}
+
+#endif // !wxUSE_STL
+
+#if !wxUSE_STL || !defined(HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE)
+
+#if !wxUSE_STL
+    #define STRINGCLASS wxStringBase
+#else
+    #define STRINGCLASS wxString
+#endif
+
+static inline int wxDoCmp(const wxChar* s1, size_t l1,
+                          const wxChar* s2, size_t l2)
+{
+    if( l1 == l2 )
+        return wxStrncmp(s1, s2, l1);
+    else if( l1 < l2 )
+    {
+        int ret = wxStrncmp(s1, s2, l1);
+        return ret == 0 ? -1 : ret;
+    }
+    else if( l1 > l2 )
+    {
+        int ret = wxStrncmp(s1, s2, l2);
+        return ret == 0 ? +1 : ret;
+    }
+
+    wxFAIL;   // must never get there
+    return 0; // quiet compilers
+}
+
+#if wxUSE_STL
+
+int STRINGCLASS::compare(const wxStringBase& str) const
+{
+    return ::wxDoCmp(data(), length(), str.data(), str.length());
+}
+
+#endif
+
+int STRINGCLASS::compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                         const wxStringBase& str) const
+{
+    wxASSERT(nStart <= length());
+    size_type strLen = length() - nStart;
+    nLen = strLen < nLen ? strLen : nLen;
+    return ::wxDoCmp(data() + nStart, nLen, str.data(), str.length());
+}
+
+int STRINGCLASS::compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                         const wxStringBase& str,
+                         size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2) const
+{
+    wxASSERT(nStart <= length());
+    wxASSERT(nStart2 <= str.length());
+    size_type strLen  =     length() - nStart,
+              strLen2 = str.length() - nStart2;
+    nLen  = strLen  < nLen  ? strLen  : nLen;
+    nLen2 = strLen2 < nLen2 ? strLen2 : nLen2;
+    return ::wxDoCmp(data() + nStart, nLen, str.data() + nStart2, nLen2);
+}
+
+#if wxUSE_STL
+
+int STRINGCLASS::compare(const wxChar* sz) const
+{
+    size_t nLen = wxStrlen(sz);
+    return ::wxDoCmp(data(), length(), sz, nLen);
+}
+
+#endif
+
+int STRINGCLASS::compare(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
+                         const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount) const
+{
+    wxASSERT(nStart <= length());
+    size_type strLen = length() - nStart;
+    nLen = strLen < nLen ? strLen : nLen;
+    if( nCount == npos )
+        nCount = wxStrlen(sz);
+
+    return ::wxDoCmp(data() + nStart, nLen, sz, nCount);
+}
+
+#undef STRINGCLASS
+
+#endif // !wxUSE_STL || !defined(HAVE_STD_STRING_COMPARE)
+
+// ===========================================================================
+// wxString class core
+// ===========================================================================
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// construction
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#if wxUSE_UNICODE
+
+// from multibyte string
+wxString::wxString(const char *psz, wxMBConv& conv, size_t nLength)
+{
+    // first get the size of the buffer we need
+    size_t nLen;
+    if ( psz )
+    {
+        // calculate the needed size ourselves or use the provided one
+        nLen = nLength == npos ? conv.MB2WC(NULL, psz, 0) : nLength;
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        // nothing to convert
+        nLen = 0;
+    }
+
+    // anything to do?
+    if ( (nLen != 0) && (nLen != (size_t)-1) )
+    {
+        if ( !Alloc(nLen) )
+        {
+            wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::wxString") );
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            wxWCharBuffer buf(nLen + 1);
+            // MB2WC wants the buffer size, not the string length hence +1
+            nLen = conv.MB2WC(buf.data(), psz, nLen + 1);
+
+            if ( nLen != (size_t)-1 )
+            {
+                // initialized ok, set the real length as nLength specified by
+                // the caller could be greater than the real string length
+                assign(buf.data(), nLen);
+                return;
+            }
+            //else: the conversion failed -- leave the string empty (what else?)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#else // ANSI
+
+#if wxUSE_WCHAR_T
+// from wide string
+wxString::wxString(const wchar_t *pwz, wxMBConv& conv, size_t nLength)
+{
+    // first get the size of the buffer we need
+    size_t nLen;
+    if ( pwz )
+    {
+        // calculate the needed size ourselves or use the provided one
+        nLen = nLength == npos ? conv.WC2MB(NULL, pwz, 0) : nLength;
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        // nothing to convert
+        nLen = 0;
+    }
+
+    // anything to do?
+    if ( (nLen != 0) && (nLen != (size_t)-1) )
+    {
+        if ( !Alloc(nLen) )
+        {
+            wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::wxString") );
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            wxCharBuffer buf(nLen);
+            // WC2MB wants the buffer size, not the string length
+            if ( conv.WC2MB(buf.data(), pwz, nLen + 1) != (size_t)-1 )
+            {
+                // initialized ok
+                assign(buf.data(), nLen);
+                return;
+            }
+            //else: the conversion failed -- leave the string empty (what else?)
+        }
+    }
+
+    // leave empty
+}
+#endif // wxUSE_WCHAR_T
+
+#endif // Unicode/ANSI
+
+// shrink to minimal size (releasing extra memory)
+bool wxString::Shrink()
+{
+  wxString tmp(begin(), end());
+  swap(tmp);
+  return tmp.length() == length();
+}
+
+#if !wxUSE_STL
+// get the pointer to writable buffer of (at least) nLen bytes
+wxChar *wxString::GetWriteBuf(size_t nLen)
+{
+  if ( !AllocBeforeWrite(nLen) ) {
+    // allocation failure handled by caller
+    return NULL;
+  }
+
+  wxASSERT( GetStringData()->nRefs == 1 );
+  GetStringData()->Validate(FALSE);
+
+  return m_pchData;
+}
+
+// put string back in a reasonable state after GetWriteBuf
+void wxString::UngetWriteBuf()
+{
+  GetStringData()->nDataLength = wxStrlen(m_pchData);
+  GetStringData()->Validate(TRUE);
+}
+
+void wxString::UngetWriteBuf(size_t nLen)
+{
+  GetStringData()->nDataLength = nLen;
+  GetStringData()->Validate(TRUE);
+}
+#endif
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// data access
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// all functions are inline in string.h
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// assignment operators
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#if !wxUSE_UNICODE
+
+// same as 'signed char' variant
+wxString& wxString::operator=(const unsigned char* psz)
+{
+  *this = (const char *)psz;
+  return *this;
+}
+
+#if wxUSE_WCHAR_T
+wxString& wxString::operator=(const wchar_t *pwz)
+{
+  wxString str(pwz);
+  swap(str);
+  return *this;
 }
+#endif
+
+#endif
 
 /*
  * concatenation functions come in 5 flavours:
@@ -687,8 +1065,10 @@ bool wxString::ConcatSelf(size_t nSrcLen, const wxChar *pszSrcData)
 
 wxString operator+(const wxString& str1, const wxString& str2)
 {
+#if !wxUSE_STL
   wxASSERT( str1.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
   wxASSERT( str2.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+#endif
 
   wxString s = str1;
   s += str2;
@@ -698,7 +1078,9 @@ wxString operator+(const wxString& str1, const wxString& str2)
 
 wxString operator+(const wxString& str, wxChar ch)
 {
+#if !wxUSE_STL
   wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+#endif
 
   wxString s = str;
   s += ch;
@@ -708,7 +1090,9 @@ wxString operator+(const wxString& str, wxChar ch)
 
 wxString operator+(wxChar ch, const wxString& str)
 {
+#if !wxUSE_STL
   wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+#endif
 
   wxString s = ch;
   s += str;
@@ -718,7 +1102,9 @@ wxString operator+(wxChar ch, const wxString& str)
 
 wxString operator+(const wxString& str, const wxChar *psz)
 {
+#if !wxUSE_STL
   wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+#endif
 
   wxString s;
   if ( !s.Alloc(wxStrlen(psz) + str.Len()) ) {
@@ -732,7 +1118,9 @@ wxString operator+(const wxString& str, const wxChar *psz)
 
 wxString operator+(const wxChar *psz, const wxString& str)
 {
+#if !wxUSE_STL
   wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
+#endif
 
   wxString s;
   if ( !s.Alloc(wxStrlen(psz) + str.Len()) ) {
@@ -807,34 +1195,13 @@ const wxCharBuffer wxString::ToAscii() const
 
 #endif // Unicode
 
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// simple sub-string extraction
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-// helper function: clone the data attached to this string
-bool wxString::AllocCopy(wxString& dest, int nCopyLen, int nCopyIndex) const
-{
-  if ( nCopyLen == 0 ) {
-    dest.Init();
-  }
-  else {
-    if ( !dest.AllocBuffer(nCopyLen) ) {
-      // allocation failure handled by caller
-      return FALSE;
-    }
-    memcpy(dest.m_pchData, m_pchData + nCopyIndex, nCopyLen*sizeof(wxChar));
-  }
-  return TRUE;
-}
-
 // extract string of length nCount starting at nFirst
 wxString wxString::Mid(size_t nFirst, size_t nCount) const
 {
-  wxStringData *pData = GetStringData();
-  size_t nLen = pData->nDataLength;
+  size_t nLen = length();
 
-  // default value of nCount is wxSTRING_MAXLEN and means "till the end"
-  if ( nCount == wxSTRING_MAXLEN )
+  // default value of nCount is npos and means "till the end"
+  if ( nCount == npos )
   {
     nCount = nLen - nFirst;
   }
@@ -851,15 +1218,15 @@ wxString wxString::Mid(size_t nFirst, size_t nCount) const
     nCount = 0;
   }
 
-  wxString dest;
-  if ( !AllocCopy(dest, nCount, nFirst) ) {
+  wxString dest(*this, nFirst, nCount);
+  if ( dest.length() != nCount ) {
       wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::Mid") );
   }
 
   return dest;
 }
 
-// check that the tring starts with prefix and return the rest of the string
+// check that the string starts with prefix and return the rest of the string
 // in the provided pointer if it is not NULL, otherwise return FALSE
 bool wxString::StartsWith(const wxChar *prefix, wxString *rest) const
 {
@@ -891,11 +1258,11 @@ bool wxString::StartsWith(const wxChar *prefix, wxString *rest) const
 // extract nCount last (rightmost) characters
 wxString wxString::Right(size_t nCount) const
 {
-  if ( nCount > (size_t)GetStringData()->nDataLength )
-    nCount = GetStringData()->nDataLength;
+  if ( nCount > length() )
+    nCount = length();
 
-  wxString dest;
-  if ( !AllocCopy(dest, nCount, GetStringData()->nDataLength - nCount) ) {
+  wxString dest(*this, length() - nCount, nCount);
+  if ( dest.length() != nCount ) {
     wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::Right") );
   }
   return dest;
@@ -918,11 +1285,11 @@ wxString wxString::AfterLast(wxChar ch) const
 // extract nCount first (leftmost) characters
 wxString wxString::Left(size_t nCount) const
 {
-  if ( nCount > (size_t)GetStringData()->nDataLength )
-    nCount = GetStringData()->nDataLength;
+  if ( nCount > length() )
+    nCount = length();
 
-  wxString dest;
-  if ( !AllocCopy(dest, nCount, 0) ) {
+  wxString dest(*this, 0, nCount);
+  if ( dest.length() != nCount ) {
     wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::Left") );
   }
   return dest;
@@ -932,11 +1299,9 @@ wxString wxString::Left(size_t nCount) const
 // (returns the whole string if ch not found)
 wxString wxString::BeforeFirst(wxChar ch) const
 {
-  wxString str;
-  for ( const wxChar *pc = m_pchData; *pc != wxT('\0') && *pc != ch; pc++ )
-    str += *pc;
-
-  return str;
+  int iPos = Find(ch);
+  if ( iPos == wxNOT_FOUND ) iPos = length();
+  return wxString(*this, 0, iPos);
 }
 
 /// get all characters before the last occurence of ch
@@ -976,7 +1341,7 @@ wxString::Replace(const wxChar *szOld, const wxChar *szNew, bool bReplaceAll)
   size_t uiOldLen = wxStrlen(szOld);
 
   wxString strTemp;
-  const wxChar *pCurrent = m_pchData;
+  const wxChar *pCurrent = c_str();
   const wxChar *pSubstr;
   while ( *pCurrent != wxT('\0') ) {
     pSubstr = wxStrstr(pCurrent, szOld);
@@ -990,7 +1355,9 @@ wxString::Replace(const wxChar *szOld, const wxChar *szNew, bool bReplaceAll)
     }
     else {
       // take chars before match
-      if ( !strTemp.ConcatSelf(pSubstr - pCurrent, pCurrent) ) {
+      size_type len = strTemp.length();
+      strTemp.append(pCurrent, pSubstr - pCurrent);
+      if ( strTemp.length() != (size_t)(len + pSubstr - pCurrent) ) {
         wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::Replace") );
         return 0;
       }
@@ -1008,7 +1375,7 @@ wxString::Replace(const wxChar *szOld, const wxChar *szNew, bool bReplaceAll)
   }
 
   // only done if there were replacements, otherwise would have returned above
-  *this = strTemp;
+  swap(strTemp);
 
   return uiCount;
 }
@@ -1059,26 +1426,16 @@ wxString wxString::Strip(stripType w) const
 
 wxString& wxString::MakeUpper()
 {
-  if ( !CopyBeforeWrite() ) {
-    wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::MakeUpper") );
-    return *this;
-  }
-
-  for ( wxChar *p = m_pchData; *p; p++ )
-    *p = (wxChar)wxToupper(*p);
+  for ( iterator it = begin(), en = end(); it != en; ++it )
+    *it = (wxChar)wxToupper(*it);
 
   return *this;
 }
 
 wxString& wxString::MakeLower()
 {
-  if ( !CopyBeforeWrite() ) {
-    wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::MakeLower") );
-    return *this;
-  }
-
-  for ( wxChar *p = m_pchData; *p; p++ )
-    *p = (wxChar)wxTolower(*p);
+  for ( iterator it = begin(), en = end(); it != en; ++it )
+    *it = (wxChar)wxTolower(*it);
 
   return *this;
 }
@@ -1106,34 +1463,26 @@ wxString& wxString::Trim(bool bFromRight)
        )
      )
   {
-    // ok, there is at least one space to trim
-    if ( !CopyBeforeWrite() ) {
-      wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::Trim") );
-      return *this;
-    }
-
     if ( bFromRight )
     {
       // find last non-space character
-      wxChar *psz = m_pchData + GetStringData()->nDataLength - 1;
-      while ( wxSafeIsspace(*psz) && (psz >= m_pchData) )
+      iterator psz = begin() + length() - 1;
+      while ( wxSafeIsspace(*psz) && (psz >= begin()) )
         psz--;
 
       // truncate at trailing space start
       *++psz = wxT('\0');
-      GetStringData()->nDataLength = psz - m_pchData;
+      erase(psz, end());
     }
     else
     {
       // find first non-space character
-      const wxChar *psz = m_pchData;
+      iterator psz = begin();
       while ( wxSafeIsspace(*psz) )
         psz++;
 
       // fix up data and length
-      int nDataLength = GetStringData()->nDataLength - (psz - (const wxChar*) m_pchData);
-      memmove(m_pchData, psz, (nDataLength + 1)*sizeof(wxChar));
-      GetStringData()->nDataLength = nDataLength;
+      erase(begin(), psz);
     }
   }
 
@@ -1150,7 +1499,7 @@ wxString& wxString::Pad(size_t nCount, wxChar chPad, bool bFromRight)
   else
   {
     s += *this;
-    *this = s;
+    swap(s);
   }
 
   return *this;
@@ -1160,13 +1509,7 @@ wxString& wxString::Pad(size_t nCount, wxChar chPad, bool bFromRight)
 wxString& wxString::Truncate(size_t uiLen)
 {
   if ( uiLen < Len() ) {
-    if ( !CopyBeforeWrite() ) {
-      wxFAIL_MSG( _T("out of memory in wxString::Truncate") );
-      return *this;
-    }
-
-    *(m_pchData + uiLen) = wxT('\0');
-    GetStringData()->nDataLength = uiLen;
+    erase(begin() + uiLen, end());
   }
   //else: nothing to do, string is already short enough
 
@@ -1180,17 +1523,17 @@ wxString& wxString::Truncate(size_t uiLen)
 // find a character
 int wxString::Find(wxChar ch, bool bFromEnd) const
 {
-  const wxChar *psz = bFromEnd ? wxStrrchr(m_pchData, ch) : wxStrchr(m_pchData, ch);
+  size_type idx = bFromEnd ? find_last_of(ch) : find_first_of(ch);
 
-  return (psz == NULL) ? wxNOT_FOUND : psz - (const wxChar*) m_pchData;
+  return (idx == npos) ? wxNOT_FOUND : (int)idx;
 }
 
 // find a sub-string (like strstr)
 int wxString::Find(const wxChar *pszSub) const
 {
-  const wxChar *psz = wxStrstr(m_pchData, pszSub);
+  size_type idx = find(pszSub);
 
-  return (psz == NULL) ? wxNOT_FOUND : psz - (const wxChar*) m_pchData;
+  return (idx == npos) ? wxNOT_FOUND : (int)idx;
 }
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -1279,22 +1622,27 @@ int wxString::Printf(const wxChar *pszFormat, ...)
 int wxString::PrintfV(const wxChar* pszFormat, va_list argptr)
 {
     int size = 1024;
+    int len;
+
     for ( ;; )
     {
-        wxChar *buf = GetWriteBuf(size + 1);
-        if ( !buf )
         {
-            // out of memory
-            return -1;
-        }
+            wxStringBuffer tmp(*this, size + 1);
+            wxChar* buf = tmp;
 
-        int len = wxVsnprintf(buf, size, pszFormat, argptr);
+            if ( !buf )
+            {
+                // out of memory
+                return -1;
+            }
 
-        // some implementations of vsnprintf() don't NUL terminate the string
-        // if there is not enough space for it so always do it manually
-        buf[size] = _T('\0');
+            len = wxVsnprintf(buf, size, pszFormat, argptr);
 
-        UngetWriteBuf();
+            // some implementations of vsnprintf() don't NUL terminate
+            // the string if there is not enough space for it so
+            // always do it manually
+            buf[size] = _T('\0');
+        }
 
         if ( len >= 0 )
         {
@@ -1483,278 +1831,6 @@ int wxString::sprintf(const wxChar *pszFormat, ...)
     return iLen;
   }
 
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// standard C++ library string functions
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-#ifdef  wxSTD_STRING_COMPATIBILITY
-
-void wxString::resize(size_t nSize, wxChar ch)
-{
-    size_t len = length();
-
-    if ( nSize < len )
-    {
-        Truncate(nSize);
-    }
-    else if ( nSize > len )
-    {
-        *this += wxString(ch, nSize - len);
-    }
-    //else: we have exactly the specified length, nothing to do
-}
-
-void wxString::swap(wxString& str)
-{
-    // this is slightly less efficient than fiddling with m_pchData directly,
-    // but it is still quite efficient as we don't copy the string here because
-    // ref count always stays positive
-    wxString tmp = str;
-    str = *this;
-    *this = tmp;
-}
-
-wxString& wxString::insert(size_t nPos, const wxString& str)
-{
-  wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
-  wxASSERT( nPos <= Len() );
-
-  if ( !str.IsEmpty() ) {
-    wxString strTmp;
-    wxChar *pc = strTmp.GetWriteBuf(Len() + str.Len());
-    wxStrncpy(pc, c_str(), nPos);
-    wxStrcpy(pc + nPos, str);
-    wxStrcpy(pc + nPos + str.Len(), c_str() + nPos);
-    strTmp.UngetWriteBuf();
-    *this = strTmp;
-  }
-
-  return *this;
-}
-
-size_t wxString::find(const wxString& str, size_t nStart) const
-{
-  wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
-  wxASSERT( nStart <= Len() );
-
-  const wxChar *p = wxStrstr(c_str() + nStart, str);
-
-  return p == NULL ? npos : p - c_str();
-}
-
-// VC++ 1.5 can't cope with the default argument in the header.
-#if !defined(__VISUALC__) || defined(__WIN32__)
-size_t wxString::find(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart, size_t n) const
-{
-  return find(wxString(sz, n), nStart);
-}
-#endif // VC++ 1.5
-
-// Gives a duplicate symbol (presumably a case-insensitivity problem)
-#if !defined(__BORLANDC__)
-size_t wxString::find(wxChar ch, size_t nStart) const
-{
-  wxASSERT( nStart <= Len() );
-
-  const wxChar *p = wxStrchr(c_str() + nStart, ch);
-
-  return p == NULL ? npos : p - c_str();
-}
-#endif
-
-size_t wxString::rfind(const wxString& str, size_t nStart) const
-{
-  wxASSERT( str.GetStringData()->IsValid() );
-  wxASSERT( nStart == npos || nStart <= Len() );
-
-  // TODO could be made much quicker than that
-  const wxChar *p = c_str() + (nStart == npos ? Len() : nStart);
-  while ( p >= c_str() + str.Len() ) {
-    if ( wxStrncmp(p - str.Len(), str, str.Len()) == 0 )
-      return p - str.Len() - c_str();
-    p--;
-  }
-
-  return npos;
-}
-
-// VC++ 1.5 can't cope with the default argument in the header.
-#if !defined(__VISUALC__) || defined(__WIN32__)
-size_t wxString::rfind(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart, size_t n) const
-{
-    return rfind(wxString(sz, n == npos ? wxSTRING_MAXLEN : n), nStart);
-}
-
-size_t wxString::rfind(wxChar ch, size_t nStart) const
-{
-    if ( nStart == npos )
-    {
-        nStart = Len();
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        wxASSERT( nStart <= Len() );
-    }
-
-    const wxChar *p = wxStrrchr(c_str(), ch);
-
-    if ( p == NULL )
-        return npos;
-
-    size_t result = p - c_str();
-    return ( result > nStart ) ? npos : result;
-}
-#endif // VC++ 1.5
-
-size_t wxString::find_first_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart) const
-{
-    const wxChar *start = c_str() + nStart;
-    const wxChar *firstOf = wxStrpbrk(start, sz);
-    if ( firstOf )
-        return firstOf - c_str();
-    else
-        return npos;
-}
-
-size_t wxString::find_last_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart) const
-{
-    if ( nStart == npos )
-    {
-        nStart = Len();
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        wxASSERT( nStart <= Len() );
-    }
-
-    for ( const wxChar *p = c_str() + length() - 1; p >= c_str(); p-- )
-    {
-        if ( wxStrchr(sz, *p) )
-            return p - c_str();
-    }
-
-    return npos;
-}
-
-size_t wxString::find_first_not_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart) const
-{
-    if ( nStart == npos )
-    {
-        nStart = Len();
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        wxASSERT( nStart <= Len() );
-    }
-
-    size_t nAccept = wxStrspn(c_str() + nStart, sz);
-    if ( nAccept >= length() - nStart )
-        return npos;
-    else
-        return nAccept;
-}
-
-size_t wxString::find_first_not_of(wxChar ch, size_t nStart) const
-{
-    wxASSERT( nStart <= Len() );
-
-    for ( const wxChar *p = c_str() + nStart; *p; p++ )
-    {
-        if ( *p != ch )
-            return p - c_str();
-    }
-
-    return npos;
-}
-
-size_t wxString::find_last_not_of(const wxChar* sz, size_t nStart) const
-{
-    if ( nStart == npos )
-    {
-        nStart = Len();
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        wxASSERT( nStart <= Len() );
-    }
-
-    for ( const wxChar *p = c_str() + nStart - 1; p >= c_str(); p-- )
-    {
-        if ( !wxStrchr(sz, *p) )
-            return p - c_str();
-    }
-
-    return npos;
-}
-
-size_t wxString::find_last_not_of(wxChar ch, size_t nStart) const
-{
-    if ( nStart == npos )
-    {
-        nStart = Len();
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        wxASSERT( nStart <= Len() );
-    }
-
-    for ( const wxChar *p = c_str() + nStart - 1; p >= c_str(); p-- )
-    {
-        if ( *p != ch )
-            return p - c_str();
-    }
-
-    return npos;
-}
-
-wxString& wxString::erase(size_t nStart, size_t nLen)
-{
-  wxString strTmp(c_str(), nStart);
-  if ( nLen != npos ) {
-    wxASSERT( nStart + nLen <= Len() );
-
-    strTmp.append(c_str() + nStart + nLen);
-  }
-
-  *this = strTmp;
-  return *this;
-}
-
-wxString& wxString::replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, const wxChar *sz)
-{
-  wxASSERT_MSG( nStart + nLen <= Len(),
-                _T("index out of bounds in wxString::replace") );
-
-  wxString strTmp;
-  strTmp.Alloc(Len());      // micro optimisation to avoid multiple mem allocs
-
-  if ( nStart != 0 )
-    strTmp.append(c_str(), nStart);
-  strTmp << sz << c_str() + nStart + nLen;
-
-  *this = strTmp;
-  return *this;
-}
-
-wxString& wxString::replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen, size_t nCount, wxChar ch)
-{
-  return replace(nStart, nLen, wxString(ch, nCount));
-}
-
-wxString& wxString::replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
-                            const wxString& str, size_t nStart2, size_t nLen2)
-{
-  return replace(nStart, nLen, str.substr(nStart2, nLen2));
-}
-
-wxString& wxString::replace(size_t nStart, size_t nLen,
-                        const wxChar* sz, size_t nCount)
-{
-  return replace(nStart, nLen, wxString(sz, nCount));
-}
-
-#endif  //std::string compatibility
-
 // ============================================================================
 // ArrayString
 // ============================================================================