--- deliantra/server/include/shstr.h	2006/09/14 21:16:12	1.11
+++ deliantra/server/include/shstr.h	2007/05/28 21:15:56	1.16
@@ -1,6 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * This file is part of Crossfire TRT, the Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.
+ * 
+ * Copyright (©) 2005,2006,2007 Marc Alexander Lehmann / Robin Redeker / the Crossfire TRT team
+ * 
+ * Crossfire TRT is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
+ * Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
+ * any later version.
+ * 
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
+ * or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
+ * for more details.
+ * 
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+ * with Crossfire TRT; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc. 51
+ * Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+ * 
+ * The authors can be reached via e-mail to <crossfire@schmorp.de>
+ */
+
 #ifndef SHSTR_H__
 #define SHSTR_H__
 
+#include <sstream>
+
 #include "util.h"
 
 extern int buf_overflow (const char *buf1, const char *buf2, int bufsize);
@@ -31,6 +55,14 @@
     return length (s);
   }
 
+  // returns wether this shared string begins with the given prefix,
+  // used mainly for searched when users give only the start of a name.
+  bool begins_with (const char *prefix) const
+  {
+    int plen = strlen (prefix);
+    return !strncasecmp (s, prefix, plen) && length () >= plen;
+  }
+
   static const char *find (const char *s);
   static const char *intern (const char *s);
 
@@ -101,6 +133,24 @@
   return sh.length ();
 }
 
+inline int strcmp (const shstr &a, const shstr &b)
+{
+  // TODO: use this to find all the occurences of people using strcmp
+  // all uses should be bogus, as we should be never interested in
+  // comparing shstr's alphabetically
+#if 0
+  extern void do_not_use_strcmp_to_compare_shstr_values ();
+  do_not_use_strcmp_to_compare_shstr_values ();
+#endif
+  return a != b;
+}
+
+static std::ostream &operator <<(std::ostream &o, const shstr &sh)
+{
+  o.write (sh.s, sh.length ());
+  return o;
+}
+
 // only good for mass comparisons to shstr objects
 struct shstr_cmp
 {