c++ - Inheriting and overriding functions of a std::string?

Question

Since std::string is actually a typedef of a templated class, how can I override it? I want to make a UTF-8 std::string that will return the correct length, among other things.

Answer 1

If you must define your own string type, then don't inherit from std::string but define your own Character Traits class and do something like

typedef std::basic_string<unsigned char, utf8_traits> utf8string;

See also Herb Sutter's website.