C++: how to get fprintf results as a std::string w/o sprintf

Here's the idiom I like for making functionality identical to 'sprintf', but returning a std::string, and immune to buffer overflow problems. This code is part of an open source project that I'm writing (BSD license), so everybody feel free to use this as you wish.

#include <string>
#include <cstdarg>
#include <vector>
#include <string>

std::string
format (const char *fmt, ...)
{
    va_list ap;
    va_start (ap, fmt);
    std::string buf = vformat (fmt, ap);
    va_end (ap);
    return buf;
}



std::string
vformat (const char *fmt, va_list ap)
{
    // Allocate a buffer on the stack that's big enough for us almost
    // all the time.
    size_t size = 1024;
    char buf[size];

    // Try to vsnprintf into our buffer.
    va_list apcopy;
    va_copy (apcopy, ap);
    int needed = vsnprintf (&buf[0], size, fmt, ap);
    // NB. On Windows, vsnprintf returns -1 if the string didn't fit the
    // buffer.  On Linux & OSX, it returns the length it would have needed.

    if (needed <= size && needed >= 0) {
        // It fit fine the first time, we're done.
        return std::string (&buf[0]);
    } else {
        // vsnprintf reported that it wanted to write more characters
        // than we allotted.  So do a malloc of the right size and try again.
        // This doesn't happen very often if we chose our initial size
        // well.
        std::vector <char> buf;
        size = needed;
        buf.resize (size);
        needed = vsnprintf (&buf[0], size, fmt, apcopy);
        return std::string (&buf[0]);
    }
}

EDIT: when I wrote this code, I had no idea that this required C99 conformance and that Windows (as well as older glibc) had different vsnprintf behavior, in which it returns -1 for failure, rather than a definitive measure of how much space is needed. Here is my revised code, could everybody look it over and if you think it's ok, I will edit again to make that the only cost listed:

std::string
Strutil::vformat (const char *fmt, va_list ap)
{
    // Allocate a buffer on the stack that's big enough for us almost
    // all the time.  Be prepared to allocate dynamically if it doesn't fit.
    size_t size = 1024;
    char stackbuf[1024];
    std::vector<char> dynamicbuf;
    char *buf = &stackbuf[0];
    va_list ap_copy;

    while (1) {
        // Try to vsnprintf into our buffer.
        va_copy(ap_copy, ap);
        int needed = vsnprintf (buf, size, fmt, ap);
        va_end(ap_copy);

        // NB. C99 (which modern Linux and OS X follow) says vsnprintf
        // failure returns the length it would have needed.  But older
        // glibc and current Windows return -1 for failure, i.e., not
        // telling us how much was needed.

        if (needed <= (int)size && needed >= 0) {
            // It fit fine so we're done.
            return std::string (buf, (size_t) needed);
        }

        // vsnprintf reported that it wanted to write more characters
        // than we allotted.  So try again using a dynamic buffer.  This
        // doesn't happen very often if we chose our initial size well.
        size = (needed > 0) ? (needed+1) : (size*2);
        dynamicbuf.resize (size);
        buf = &dynamicbuf[0];
    }
}

I am using #3: the boost string format library - but I have to admit that I've never had any problem with the differences in format specifications.

Works like a charm for me - and the external dependencies could be worse (a very stable library)

Edited: adding an example how to use boost::format instead of printf:

sprintf(buffer, "This is a string with some %s and %d numbers", "strings", 42);

would be something like this with the boost::format library:

string = boost::str(boost::format("This is a string with some %s and %d numbers") %"strings" %42);

Hope this helps clarify the usage of boost::format

I've used boost::format as a sprintf / printf replacement in 4 or 5 applications (writing formatted strings to files, or custom output to logfiles) and never had problems with format differences. There may be some (more or less obscure) format specifiers which are differently - but I never had a problem.

In contrast I had some format specifications I couldn't really do with streams (as much as I remember)

You can use std::string and iostreams with formatting, such as the setw() call and others in iomanip