I have the following problem:
I have to split an HTTP header which has been serialized in a string. The current format is as follows:
Content-type: xml\nContent-Length: 12\nlast-modified: date\n ..etc etc
I need to store the keys and values of the header into a std::map .
(map["Content-type"] = "xml"; map["Content-Length"] = "12" ...)
Any suggestions on how to do that? Is it possible with boost:regex?
There's no need to use regular expressions for this, especially not boost (I still consider it a horrible, horrible dependency due to it's size alone). Since the separators are fixed and always the same characters (line breaks and colons) there's no real need to use any regular expressions engine.
Instead, use strtok() or one of the related functions (e.g. the wide char version; keep in mind that this function has its own downsides and problems, depending on the actual usage, e.g. it might not be threadsafe).
First step, you'd use it to split the header into single lines. Once you receive an empty line, you'll know that the header is over.
Then, to read your header line, you'll split it at the :, which will get you both a key as well as a value.
As an alternative, you can as well use std::string and the member function find_first_of() to look for the correct positions. The rest of the strategy would be the same.
strtok.
strtok(), I agree, it should be noted that there are downsides (which I added a note for).
\n is only one character (this is just the escape sequence representing a non-printable character). Are you sure you got that character sequence right?