Exchanging the String type with the plugin API

[Calin Leafshade]

How can i pass a string between AGS and the plugin API?

How do i pass a managed type like a string?

[Wyz]

AGS -> plugin
Let's say you have a plugin function that returns a string like this:

Code: ags

import void SetString(String input);

that would translate to:

Code: ags

void SetString(const char *input)
{
  // here you can just use input as a regular null terminated string.
}

plugin -> AGS
Let's say you want to retrun a string from a plugin function like this:

Code: ags

import String GetString();

that would translate to:

Code: ags

const char *GetString()
{
  return (engine->CreateScriptString(...));
}

Note that you need to use the CreateScriptString function for all strings you return.

[Calin Leafshade]

Thanks Wyz!

[helios123]

Also below excerpt from the AGS plugin API documentation should be kept in mind:

"The text script currently supports char, short and int types. These are 1, 2 and 4 byte integers respectively. Text script strings are implemented as standard C-style char* pointers, but with preallocated buffers of 200 bytes per string. Therefore, if you write a function which takes a string from the text script, make sure that if you add anything to it you don't write past 200 characters, or problems will result."

So I think we can safely declare and use character arrays of about 205 characters for passing strings between engine and plugin.

[Pumaman]

Ooh, I should remove that. That 200-byte thing refers to old style "string" variables, not to the newer "String" variables in newer versions of AGS.

Wyz has given the answers you need, anyway!