Difference Between std::wstring and std::string

The std::wstring and std::string are the classes in C++ used to store sequences of characters. While serving similar purposes, they serve different requirements. In this article, we will look at some major differences between the std::wstring and std::string in C++.

Wide String in C++

The std::wstring (also called Wide String) is used to represent the string of wide characters. The “w” in the string stands for the word “wide” indicating that it handles wide character encodings, which usually require more than one byte per character. This makes wstring suitable for supporting a large character set, including Unicode characters and characters from various languages.

To use wstring, we need to include the <string> header.

Syntax

wstring nameOfwstring = L" " ;

Here, the L prefix before the string indicates that it’s a wide string literal.

Example

C++

// C++ program to demonstrate the declaration and use of
// wstring in C++.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
    // For wide character strings, use std::wstring (Unicode
    // support)
    wstring wString = L"Hello, GeeksForGeeks";

    // Putting the long string on display

    wcout << wString << endl;

    // Reaching specific large characters

    for (wchar_t ch : wString) {
        wcout << ch << L" ";
    }

    return 0;
}

Output

Hello, GeeksForGeeks
H e l l o ,   G e e k s F o r G e e k s 

Narrow String in C++

The std::string class in the C++ standard library represents a string of narrow characters. It is designed to handle characters in the ASCII character set. Compared to wide character strings, each character in a string usually takes only one byte of storage, making it more space-efficient.

Syntax

string stringName=" " ;

Example

C++

// C++ program to demonstrate the use of string

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    // creating string name myStr
    string myStr = "Hello, GeeksForGeeks!";

    // Displaying the string
    cout << myStr << endl;

    // Access individually
    for (char ch : myStr) {
        cout << ch << " ";
    }

    return 0;
}

Output

Hello, GeeksForGeeks!
H e l l o ,   G e e k s F o r G e e k s ! 

Difference Between std::wstring and std::string

The main distinction between the wstring and string is the kind of characters they store. Wide characters represents Unicode characters and require more than one byte of storage, are intended to be handled by wstring. Whereas, the purpose of string is to handle narrow characters, which are often characters that fall under the expanded ASCII character set or the ASCII character set.

The below table illustrates the key differences among them:

wstring	string
Character type of wstring is wchar_t	Character type of string is char
It is mainly used for wide characters.	It is mainly used for narrow characters .
It supports Unicode, with most characters requiring more than one byte.	It supports ASCII or extended ASCII characters.
I/O stream used is wcout.	I/O stream used is cout.
It is suitable for multilingual text.	It is suitable for single-byte encoding.
String literal prefix L is used (e.g., L"Hello").	No string literal prefix is used.

Conclusion

In conclusion string is more useful while working with smaller character sets, whereas wstring is made to handle wide characters and serve a wider range of languages. The choice between them depends on the specific needs of the program, taking into account factors like memory utilization and internationalization.