string-handling

name	string-handling
description	Working with ovx_string_t in C and C++. Use when user asks about printing, comparing, or converting ovx strings.
license	LicenseRef-NvidiaProprietary
version	0.3.0
author	NVIDIA ovrtx
tags	["ovrtx","c","strings"]
tools	["Read","Grep"]

String Handling

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks about printing, comparing, or converting ovx strings.

Inputs

Resolve inputs in this order: existing repository files and referenced snippets, explicit user request, then broader agent context.

• Target API surface: C, C++, or Python interop with C strings.
• Source of the ovx_string_t: error text, returned path, dictionary lookup, status message, or user-provided string wrapper.
• Required operation: print, compare, convert to std::string_view, copy to owning storage, or preserve lifetime.
• Repository source snippets referenced below. Treat these snippets as the API source of truth.

Prerequisites

• Use an ovrtx checkout that contains the referenced examples and docs tests.
• Read the relevant > **Source:** snippet before writing or explaining API usage.
• Know whether the string is API-owned borrowed storage or caller-owned storage before recommending a borrowed view or copy.

Instructions

1. Identify whether the task is printing, comparing, converting, or preserving an ovx_string_t.
2. Use both ptr and length; do not assume the string can be handled safely by APIs that only look for a null terminator.
3. In C, print with a precision-limited string format and compare by checking length before using strncmp.
4. In C++, prefer std::string_view when the caller only needs borrowed access, and copy immediately if the value must outlive the API-owned storage.
5. When changing code, run the C example or helper test that owns the referenced string-handling pattern whenever practical.

Output Format

• For explanations, cite the relevant API names, source snippets, and caveats.
• For code changes, summarize the files changed, snippets affected, and validation run.

Scripts

This skill has no scripts.

Limitations

• The referenced snippets remain the source of truth; update or add tested snippets before documenting new API usage.

Overview

All strings returned by the ovrtx API use ovx_string_t — a (ptr, length) pair. The strings are null-terminated, but prefer using the length field over relying on the null terminator.

C

Print with the %.*s precision pattern so the explicit length controls how many characters are read from ptr.

Compare by checking length first, then using strncmp for the exact byte count.

C++

Wrap ptr and length in std::string_view for zero-copy access to the standard string API.

The error-handling helper in the minimal C example demonstrates this pattern:

Source: examples/c/minimal/main.cpp snippet check-error-helper

Key Types / Functions

Type	Header
ovx_string_t	include/ovx/types.h
literal_to_ovx_string(str)	include/ovx/types.h — creates ovx_string_t from a string literal
is_ovx_string_empty(str)	include/ovx/types.h — null/empty check

Troubleshooting

• Do not pass ovx_string_t::ptr directly to functions that expect a specific length (e.g. strcmp) without also checking length. Use strncmp or std::string_view instead.
• Error strings from ovrtx_get_last_error() are in thread-local storage and are invalidated by the next API call on the same thread. Copy or consume them immediately.

References

• Use the > **Source:** directives in this skill to locate tested snippets before reusing API patterns.
• Keep related skills, docs, and snippets synchronized when changing the workflow.