String Encoding

To preserve interoperability throughout your enterprise, all strings must use UTF-8 encoding.

  • When the TIBCO FTL Java and .NET libraries send messages, all strings are automatically UTF-8 encoded.
  • C programs must treat strings in inbound messages as UTF-8 encoded strings.
  • C programs must send only UTF-8 encoded strings.
    Note: Strings cannot include embedded null characters.

    Message: Printable String Form

Programs can convert a message to a printable string. You can output the string to log files, or user output streams. The string does not contain sufficient information to reconstitute the original message.

Messages as Printable Strings
Element Form Detail
Message

Nested message

{field, field, field, field} Curly braces surround a list of fields, separated by commas. (For readability, you may add space characters.)
Field (with a value) data_type:field_name=value Data type, colon, field name, equals symbol, value.
Clear field (no value)   The output omits the field entirely.
Array [val, val, val, val] Square brackets surround array elements, which are separated by commas. (For readability, you may add space characters.)
Opaque <length bytes> Angle brackets surround the length of the opaque data.
String "chars" Double-quotes surround the characters of the string. This representation does not use escape characters.
DateTime yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.fracZ For more information, see DateTime Values Printable String Form.

Printable String Example

This example message string has added whitespace to increase readability. (Actual printable strings do not include vertical formatting or indenting.) 

{long:myLong=44,
 opaque:myOpaque=<128 bytes>,
 message:myInner_msg=
    {double:a_double_field=5.300000,
     string:an_inner_string_field="the inner "value""},
 long_array:an_array=[11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20],
 message_array:a_msg_array=
    [{double:a_double_field=5.300021,
      string:an_inner_string_field="first inner string"},
     {double:a_double_field=123.4506,
      string:an_inner_string_field="second inner string"},
     {double:a_double_field=72.90927,
      string:an_inner_string_field="third inner string"},
     {double:a_double_field=17.17017,
      string:an_inner_string_field="fourth inner string"},
     {double:a_double_field=42.00000,
      string:an_inner_string_field="fifth inner string"}]}

Several aspects of this example are noteworthy:

  • The second field, myOpaque, displays a token representing a byte-array. It does not attempt to display the actual bytes in the byte-array.
  • The third field, myInner_msg, contains a nested submessage. Curly braces surround the submessage, which in turn has two fields.

    The second of those two fields in the nested submessage contains a string. The string value is surrounded by double-quote character, and the string itself contains two double-quote characters (around the word "value"). Those inner double-quote characters are not preceded by an escape character.

  • The fourth field, an_array, contains an array. The array values are surrounded by square brackets, and separated by commas.
  • The fifth field, a_msg_array, contains an array of 5 messages. Each message contains two fields: a double and a string.