using QStringRef

[mentalmushroom]

yes, but it is boring to create a new function when there is exactly what you need in QString. And yes, in this case it is not very painful, but still it is extra and when used intensively it slows down processing. If QStringRef just had a pointer to a part of the initial string, everything would be ok.

[wysota]

It can't have a pointer to a part of the initial string because such thing doesn't exist. QStringRef is the closest you can get to "a part of the initial string". Remember that nobody forces you to use QString. If you only have ascii data, you can use QByteArray. This won't change much as most C functions require the string to end with \0 and there is no \0 in the middle of a string so you'll have to make a copy anyway.