BreakIterator Class Reference

The BreakIterator class implements methods for finding the location of boundaries in text. More...

#include <brkiter.h>

Inheritance diagram for BreakIterator:

UObject UMemory RuleBasedBreakIterator DictionaryBasedBreakIterator

Public Types

enum  { DONE = (int32_t)-1 }

Public Member Functions

virtual ~BreakIterator ()
 destructor
virtual UBool operator== (const BreakIterator &) const =0
 Return true if another object is semantically equal to this one.
UBool operator!= (const BreakIterator &rhs) const
 Returns the complement of the result of operator==.
virtual BreakIteratorclone (void) const =0
 Return a polymorphic copy of this object.
virtual UClassID getDynamicClassID (void) const =0
 Return a polymorphic class ID for this object.
virtual const CharacterIteratorgetText (void) const =0
 Return a CharacterIterator over the text being analyzed.
virtual UTextgetUText (UText *fillIn, UErrorCode &status) const =0
 Get a UText for the text being analyzed.
virtual void setText (const UnicodeString &text)=0
 Change the text over which this operates.
virtual void setText (UText *text, UErrorCode &status)=0
 Reset the break iterator to operate over the text represented by the UText.
virtual void adoptText (CharacterIterator *it)=0
 Change the text over which this operates.
virtual int32_t first (void)=0
 Return the index of the first character in the text being scanned.
virtual int32_t last (void)=0
 Return the index immediately BEYOND the last character in the text being scanned.
virtual int32_t previous (void)=0
 Return the boundary preceding the current boundary.
virtual int32_t next (void)=0
 Return the boundary following the current boundary.
virtual int32_t current (void) const =0
 Return character index of the current interator position within the text.
virtual int32_t following (int32_t offset)=0
 Return the first boundary following the specified offset.
virtual int32_t preceding (int32_t offset)=0
 Return the first boundary preceding the specified offset.
virtual UBool isBoundary (int32_t offset)=0
 Return true if the specfied position is a boundary position.
virtual int32_t next (int32_t n)=0
 Return the nth boundary from the current boundary.
virtual BreakIteratorcreateBufferClone (void *stackBuffer, int32_t &BufferSize, UErrorCode &status)=0
 Thread safe client-buffer-based cloning operation Do NOT call delete on a safeclone, since 'new' is not used to create it.
UBool isBufferClone (void)
 Determine whether the BreakIterator was created in user memory by createBufferClone(), and thus should not be deleted.
Locale getLocale (ULocDataLocaleType type, UErrorCode &status) const
 Returns the locale for this break iterator.
const char * getLocaleID (ULocDataLocaleType type, UErrorCode &status) const
 Get the locale for this break iterator object.

Static Public Member Functions

static BreakIterator *U_EXPORT2 createWordInstance (const Locale &where, UErrorCode &status)
 Create BreakIterator for word-breaks using the given locale.
static BreakIterator *U_EXPORT2 createLineInstance (const Locale &where, UErrorCode &status)
 Create BreakIterator for line-breaks using specified locale.
static BreakIterator *U_EXPORT2 createCharacterInstance (const Locale &where, UErrorCode &status)
 Create BreakIterator for character-breaks using specified locale Returns an instance of a BreakIterator implementing character breaks.
static BreakIterator *U_EXPORT2 createSentenceInstance (const Locale &where, UErrorCode &status)
 Create BreakIterator for sentence-breaks using specified locale Returns an instance of a BreakIterator implementing sentence breaks.
static BreakIterator *U_EXPORT2 createTitleInstance (const Locale &where, UErrorCode &status)
 Create BreakIterator for title-casing breaks using the specified locale Returns an instance of a BreakIterator implementing title breaks.
static const Locale *U_EXPORT2 getAvailableLocales (int32_t &count)
 Get the set of Locales for which TextBoundaries are installed.
static UnicodeString &U_EXPORT2 getDisplayName (const Locale &objectLocale, const Locale &displayLocale, UnicodeString &name)
 Get name of the object for the desired Locale, in the desired langauge.
static UnicodeString &U_EXPORT2 getDisplayName (const Locale &objectLocale, UnicodeString &name)
 Get name of the object for the desired Locale, in the langauge of the default locale.
static URegistryKey U_EXPORT2 registerInstance (BreakIterator *toAdopt, const Locale &locale, UBreakIteratorType kind, UErrorCode &status)
 Register a new break iterator of the indicated kind, to use in the given locale.
static UBool U_EXPORT2 unregister (URegistryKey key, UErrorCode &status)
 Unregister a previously-registered BreakIterator using the key returned from the register call.
static StringEnumeration
*U_EXPORT2 
getAvailableLocales (void)
 Return a StringEnumeration over the locales available at the time of the call, including registered locales.

Protected Member Functions

 BreakIterator ()
 BreakIterator (const BreakIterator &other)

Protected Attributes

UBool fBufferClone

Friends

class ICUBreakIteratorFactory
class ICUBreakIteratorService

Detailed Description

The BreakIterator class implements methods for finding the location of boundaries in text.

BreakIterator is an abstract base class. Instances of BreakIterator maintain a current position and scan over text returning the index of characters where boundaries occur.

Line boundary analysis determines where a text string can be broken when line-wrapping. The mechanism correctly handles punctuation and hyphenated words.

Sentence boundary analysis allows selection with correct interpretation of periods within numbers and abbreviations, and trailing punctuation marks such as quotation marks and parentheses.

Word boundary analysis is used by search and replace functions, as well as within text editing applications that allow the user to select words with a double click. Word selection provides correct interpretation of punctuation marks within and following words. Characters that are not part of a word, such as symbols or punctuation marks, have word-breaks on both sides.

Character boundary analysis allows users to interact with characters as they expect to, for example, when moving the cursor through a text string. Character boundary analysis provides correct navigation of through character strings, regardless of how the character is stored. For example, an accented character might be stored as a base character and a diacritical mark. What users consider to be a character can differ between languages.

This is the interface for all text boundaries.

Examples:

Helper function to output text

    void printTextRange( BreakIterator& iterator, int32_t start, int32_t end )
    {
        UnicodeString textBuffer, temp;
        CharacterIterator *strIter = iterator.createText();
        strIter->getText(temp);
        cout << " " << start << " " << end << " |"
             << temp.extractBetween(start, end, textBuffer)
             << "|" << endl;
        delete strIter;
    }
Print each element in order:
    void printEachForward( BreakIterator& boundary)
    {
       int32_t start = boundary.first();
       for (int32_t end = boundary.next();
         end != BreakIterator::DONE;
         start = end, end = boundary.next())
         {
             printTextRange( boundary, start, end );
         }
    }
Print each element in reverse order:
    void printEachBackward( BreakIterator& boundary)
    {
       int32_t end = boundary.last();
       for (int32_t start = boundary.previous();
         start != BreakIterator::DONE;
         end = start, start = boundary.previous())
         {
             printTextRange( boundary, start, end );
         }
    }
Print first element
    void printFirst(BreakIterator& boundary)
    {
        int32_t start = boundary.first();
        int32_t end = boundary.next();
        printTextRange( boundary, start, end );
    }
Print last element
    void printLast(BreakIterator& boundary)
    {
        int32_t end = boundary.last();
        int32_t start = boundary.previous();
        printTextRange( boundary, start, end );
    }
Print the element at a specified position
    void printAt(BreakIterator &boundary, int32_t pos )
    {
        int32_t end = boundary.following(pos);
        int32_t start = boundary.previous();
        printTextRange( boundary, start, end );
    }
Creating and using text boundaries
       void BreakIterator_Example( void )
       {
           BreakIterator* boundary;
           UnicodeString stringToExamine("Aaa bbb ccc. Ddd eee fff.");
           cout << "Examining: " << stringToExamine << endl;

           //print each sentence in forward and reverse order
           boundary = BreakIterator::createSentenceInstance( Locale::US );
           boundary->setText(stringToExamine);
           cout << "----- forward: -----------" << endl;
           printEachForward(*boundary);
           cout << "----- backward: ----------" << endl;
           printEachBackward(*boundary);
           delete boundary;

           //print each word in order
           boundary = BreakIterator::createWordInstance();
           boundary->setText(stringToExamine);
           cout << "----- forward: -----------" << endl;
           printEachForward(*boundary);
           //print first element
           cout << "----- first: -------------" << endl;
           printFirst(*boundary);
           //print last element
           cout << "----- last: --------------" << endl;
           printLast(*boundary);
           //print word at charpos 10
           cout << "----- at pos 10: ---------" << endl;
           printAt(*boundary, 10 );

           delete boundary;
       }

Definition at line 211 of file brkiter.h.


Member Enumeration Documentation

anonymous enum
 

Enumerator:
DONE  DONE is returned by previous() and next() after all valid boundaries have been returned.

Stable:
ICU 2.0

Definition at line 312 of file brkiter.h.


Constructor & Destructor Documentation

virtual BreakIterator::~BreakIterator  )  [virtual]
 

destructor

Stable:
ICU 2.0

BreakIterator::BreakIterator  )  [protected]
 

Internal:
Do not use. This API is for interal use only.

BreakIterator::BreakIterator const BreakIterator other  )  [inline, protected]
 

Internal:
Do not use. This API is for interal use only.

Definition at line 642 of file brkiter.h.


Member Function Documentation

virtual void BreakIterator::adoptText CharacterIterator it  )  [pure virtual]
 

Change the text over which this operates.

The text boundary is reset to the start.

Parameters:
it The CharacterIterator used to change the text.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual BreakIterator* BreakIterator::clone void   )  const [pure virtual]
 

Return a polymorphic copy of this object.

This is an abstract method which subclasses implement.

Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in DictionaryBasedBreakIterator, and RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual BreakIterator* BreakIterator::createBufferClone void *  stackBuffer,
int32_t BufferSize,
UErrorCode status
[pure virtual]
 

Thread safe client-buffer-based cloning operation Do NOT call delete on a safeclone, since 'new' is not used to create it.

Parameters:
stackBuffer user allocated space for the new clone. If NULL new memory will be allocated. If buffer is not large enough, new memory will be allocated.
BufferSize reference to size of allocated space. If BufferSize == 0, a sufficient size for use in cloning will be returned ('pre-flighting') If BufferSize is not enough for a stack-based safe clone, new memory will be allocated.
status to indicate whether the operation went on smoothly or there were errors An informational status value, U_SAFECLONE_ALLOCATED_ERROR, is used if any allocations were necessary.
Returns:
pointer to the new clone
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in DictionaryBasedBreakIterator, and RuleBasedBreakIterator.

static BreakIterator* U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::createCharacterInstance const Locale where,
UErrorCode status
[static]
 

Create BreakIterator for character-breaks using specified locale Returns an instance of a BreakIterator implementing character breaks.

Character breaks are boundaries of combining character sequences.

Parameters:
where the locale.
status The error code.
Returns:
A BreakIterator for character-breaks. The UErrorCode& status parameter is used to return status information to the user. To check whether the construction succeeded or not, you should check the value of U_SUCCESS(err). If you wish more detailed information, you can check for informational error results which still indicate success. U_USING_FALLBACK_WARNING indicates that a fall back locale was used. For example, 'de_CH' was requested, but nothing was found there, so 'de' was used. U_USING_DEFAULT_WARNING indicates that the default locale data was used; neither the requested locale nor any of its fall back locales could be found. The caller owns the returned object and is responsible for deleting it.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

static BreakIterator* U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::createLineInstance const Locale where,
UErrorCode status
[static]
 

Create BreakIterator for line-breaks using specified locale.

Returns an instance of a BreakIterator implementing line breaks. Line breaks are logically possible line breaks, actual line breaks are usually determined based on display width. LineBreak is useful for word wrapping text.

Parameters:
where the locale.
status The error code.
Returns:
A BreakIterator for line-breaks. The UErrorCode& status parameter is used to return status information to the user. To check whether the construction succeeded or not, you should check the value of U_SUCCESS(err). If you wish more detailed information, you can check for informational error results which still indicate success. U_USING_FALLBACK_WARNING indicates that a fall back locale was used. For example, 'de_CH' was requested, but nothing was found there, so 'de' was used. U_USING_DEFAULT_WARNING indicates that the default locale data was used; neither the requested locale nor any of its fall back locales could be found. The caller owns the returned object and is responsible for deleting it.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

static BreakIterator* U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::createSentenceInstance const Locale where,
UErrorCode status
[static]
 

Create BreakIterator for sentence-breaks using specified locale Returns an instance of a BreakIterator implementing sentence breaks.

Parameters:
where the locale.
status The error code.
Returns:
A BreakIterator for sentence-breaks. The UErrorCode& status parameter is used to return status information to the user. To check whether the construction succeeded or not, you should check the value of U_SUCCESS(err). If you wish more detailed information, you can check for informational error results which still indicate success. U_USING_FALLBACK_WARNING indicates that a fall back locale was used. For example, 'de_CH' was requested, but nothing was found there, so 'de' was used. U_USING_DEFAULT_WARNING indicates that the default locale data was used; neither the requested locale nor any of its fall back locales could be found. The caller owns the returned object and is responsible for deleting it.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

static BreakIterator* U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::createTitleInstance const Locale where,
UErrorCode status
[static]
 

Create BreakIterator for title-casing breaks using the specified locale Returns an instance of a BreakIterator implementing title breaks.

The iterator returned locates title boundaries as described for Unicode 3.2 only. For Unicode 4.0 and above title boundary iteration, please use Word Boundary iterator.createWordInstance

Parameters:
where the locale.
status The error code.
Returns:
A BreakIterator for title-breaks. The UErrorCode& status parameter is used to return status information to the user. To check whether the construction succeeded or not, you should check the value of U_SUCCESS(err). If you wish more detailed information, you can check for informational error results which still indicate success. U_USING_FALLBACK_WARNING indicates that a fall back locale was used. For example, 'de_CH' was requested, but nothing was found there, so 'de' was used. U_USING_DEFAULT_WARNING indicates that the default locale data was used; neither the requested locale nor any of its fall back locales could be found. The caller owns the returned object and is responsible for deleting it.
Stable:
ICU 2.1

static BreakIterator* U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::createWordInstance const Locale where,
UErrorCode status
[static]
 

Create BreakIterator for word-breaks using the given locale.

Returns an instance of a BreakIterator implementing word breaks. WordBreak is useful for word selection (ex. double click)

Parameters:
where the locale.
status the error code
Returns:
A BreakIterator for word-breaks. The UErrorCode& status parameter is used to return status information to the user. To check whether the construction succeeded or not, you should check the value of U_SUCCESS(err). If you wish more detailed information, you can check for informational error results which still indicate success. U_USING_FALLBACK_WARNING indicates that a fall back locale was used. For example, 'de_CH' was requested, but nothing was found there, so 'de' was used. U_USING_DEFAULT_WARNING indicates that the default locale data was used; neither the requested locale nor any of its fall back locales could be found. The caller owns the returned object and is responsible for deleting it.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

virtual int32_t BreakIterator::current void   )  const [pure virtual]
 

Return character index of the current interator position within the text.

Returns:
The boundary most recently returned.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual int32_t BreakIterator::first void   )  [pure virtual]
 

Return the index of the first character in the text being scanned.

Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual int32_t BreakIterator::following int32_t  offset  )  [pure virtual]
 

Return the first boundary following the specified offset.

The value returned is always greater than the offset or the value BreakIterator.DONE

Parameters:
offset the offset to begin scanning.
Returns:
The first boundary after the specified offset.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in DictionaryBasedBreakIterator, and RuleBasedBreakIterator.

static StringEnumeration* U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::getAvailableLocales void   )  [static]
 

Return a StringEnumeration over the locales available at the time of the call, including registered locales.

Returns:
a StringEnumeration over the locales available at the time of the call
Stable:
ICU 2.4

static const Locale* U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::getAvailableLocales int32_t count  )  [static]
 

Get the set of Locales for which TextBoundaries are installed.

Note: this will not return locales added through the register call. To see the registered locales too, use the getAvailableLocales function that returns a StringEnumeration object

Parameters:
count the output parameter of number of elements in the locale list
Returns:
available locales
Stable:
ICU 2.0

static UnicodeString& U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::getDisplayName const Locale objectLocale,
UnicodeString name
[static]
 

Get name of the object for the desired Locale, in the langauge of the default locale.

Parameters:
objectLocale must be from getMatchingLocales
name the fill-in parameter of the return value
Returns:
user-displayable name
Stable:
ICU 2.0

static UnicodeString& U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::getDisplayName const Locale objectLocale,
const Locale displayLocale,
UnicodeString name
[static]
 

Get name of the object for the desired Locale, in the desired langauge.

Parameters:
objectLocale must be from getAvailableLocales.
displayLocale specifies the desired locale for output.
name the fill-in parameter of the return value Uses best match.
Returns:
user-displayable name
Stable:
ICU 2.0

virtual UClassID BreakIterator::getDynamicClassID void   )  const [pure virtual]
 

Return a polymorphic class ID for this object.

Different subclasses will return distinct unequal values.

Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implements UObject.

Implemented in DictionaryBasedBreakIterator, and RuleBasedBreakIterator.

Locale BreakIterator::getLocale ULocDataLocaleType  type,
UErrorCode status
const
 

Returns the locale for this break iterator.

Two flavors are available: valid and actual locale.

Draft:
This API may be changed in the future versions and was introduced in ICU 2.8 likely to change after ICU 3.0, based on feedback

const char* BreakIterator::getLocaleID ULocDataLocaleType  type,
UErrorCode status
const
 

Get the locale for this break iterator object.

You can choose between valid and actual locale.

Parameters:
type type of the locale we're looking for (valid or actual)
status error code for the operation
Returns:
the locale
Internal:
Do not use. This API is for interal use only.

virtual const CharacterIterator& BreakIterator::getText void   )  const [pure virtual]
 

Return a CharacterIterator over the text being analyzed.

Changing the state of the returned iterator can have undefined consequences on the operation of the break iterator. If you need to change it, clone it first.

Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual UText* BreakIterator::getUText UText fillIn,
UErrorCode status
const [pure virtual]
 

Get a UText for the text being analyzed.

The returned UText is a shallow clone of the UText used internally by the break iterator implementation. It can safely be used to access the text without impacting any break iterator operations, but the underlying text itself must not be altered.

Parameters:
fillIn A UText to be filled in. If NULL, a new UText will be allocated to hold the result.
status receives any error codes.
Returns:
The current UText for this break iterator. If an input UText was provided, it will always be returned.
Draft:
This API may be changed in the future versions and was introduced in ICU 3.4

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual UBool BreakIterator::isBoundary int32_t  offset  )  [pure virtual]
 

Return true if the specfied position is a boundary position.

As a side effect, the current position of the iterator is set to the first boundary position at or following the specified offset.

Parameters:
offset the offset to check.
Returns:
True if "offset" is a boundary position.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

UBool BreakIterator::isBufferClone void   )  [inline]
 

Determine whether the BreakIterator was created in user memory by createBufferClone(), and thus should not be deleted.

Such objects must be closed by an explicit call to the destructor (not delete).

Stable:
ICU 2.0

Definition at line 657 of file brkiter.h.

References fBufferClone.

virtual int32_t BreakIterator::last void   )  [pure virtual]
 

Return the index immediately BEYOND the last character in the text being scanned.

Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual int32_t BreakIterator::next int32_t  n  )  [pure virtual]
 

Return the nth boundary from the current boundary.

Parameters:
n which boundary to return. A value of 0 does nothing. Negative values move to previous boundaries and positive values move to later boundaries.
Returns:
The index of the nth boundary from the current position, or DONE if there are fewer than |n| boundaries in the specfied direction.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual int32_t BreakIterator::next void   )  [pure virtual]
 

Return the boundary following the current boundary.

Returns:
The character index of the next text boundary or DONE if all boundaries have been returned.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

UBool BreakIterator::operator!= const BreakIterator rhs  )  const [inline]
 

Returns the complement of the result of operator==.

Parameters:
rhs The BreakIterator to be compared for inequality
Returns:
the complement of the result of operator==
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Reimplemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

Definition at line 240 of file brkiter.h.

virtual UBool BreakIterator::operator== const BreakIterator  )  const [pure virtual]
 

Return true if another object is semantically equal to this one.

The other object should be an instance of the same subclass of BreakIterator. Objects of different subclasses are considered unequal.

Return true if this BreakIterator is at the same position in the same text, and is the same class and type (word, line, etc.) of BreakIterator, as the argument. Text is considered the same if it contains the same characters, it need not be the same object, and styles are not considered.

Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual int32_t BreakIterator::preceding int32_t  offset  )  [pure virtual]
 

Return the first boundary preceding the specified offset.

The value returned is always smaller than the offset or the value BreakIterator.DONE

Parameters:
offset the offset to begin scanning.
Returns:
The first boundary before the specified offset.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in DictionaryBasedBreakIterator, and RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual int32_t BreakIterator::previous void   )  [pure virtual]
 

Return the boundary preceding the current boundary.

Returns:
The character index of the previous text boundary or DONE if all boundaries have been returned.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in DictionaryBasedBreakIterator, and RuleBasedBreakIterator.

static URegistryKey U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::registerInstance BreakIterator toAdopt,
const Locale locale,
UBreakIteratorType  kind,
UErrorCode status
[static]
 

Register a new break iterator of the indicated kind, to use in the given locale.

The break iterator will be adopted. Clones of the iterator will be returned if a request for a break iterator of the given kind matches or falls back to this locale.

Parameters:
toAdopt the BreakIterator instance to be adopted
locale the Locale for which this instance is to be registered
kind the type of iterator for which this instance is to be registered
status the in/out status code, no special meanings are assigned
Returns:
a registry key that can be used to unregister this instance
Stable:
ICU 2.4

virtual void BreakIterator::setText UText text,
UErrorCode status
[pure virtual]
 

Reset the break iterator to operate over the text represented by the UText.

The iterator position is reset to the start.

This function makes a shallow clone of the supplied UText. This means that the caller is free to immediately close or otherwise reuse the Utext that was passed as a parameter, but that the underlying text itself must not be altered while being referenced by the break iterator.

Parameters:
text The UText used to change the text.
status receives any error codes.
Draft:
This API may be changed in the future versions and was introduced in ICU 3.4

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

virtual void BreakIterator::setText const UnicodeString text  )  [pure virtual]
 

Change the text over which this operates.

The text boundary is reset to the start.

Parameters:
text The UnicodeString used to change the text.
Stable:
ICU 2.0

Implemented in RuleBasedBreakIterator.

static UBool U_EXPORT2 BreakIterator::unregister URegistryKey  key,
UErrorCode status
[static]
 

Unregister a previously-registered BreakIterator using the key returned from the register call.

Key becomes invalid after a successful call and should not be used again. The BreakIterator corresponding to the key will be deleted.

Parameters:
key the registry key returned by a previous call to registerInstance
status the in/out status code, no special meanings are assigned
Returns:
TRUE if the iterator for the key was successfully unregistered
Stable:
ICU 2.4


Field Documentation

UBool BreakIterator::fBufferClone [protected]
 

Internal:
Do not use. This API is for interal use only.

Definition at line 640 of file brkiter.h.

Referenced by isBufferClone().


The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:
Generated on Tue Sep 13 11:03:27 2005 for ICU 3.4 by  doxygen 1.4.4