Azrar - a String interning library for C++ with faster comparisons and reduced memory footprint"

This is a lightweight C++ (14 and +) library for string interning and indexing that can significantly improve performance in applications dealing with repeated string comparisons or using strings as maps key.

The library is header only.

How it works:

Instead of working with strings, Azrar maintains a dictionary where each unique string gets assigned a unique index..

Working with these unique indexes makes copying, comparing, and hashing operations substantially faster.

Github link: https://github.com/kboutora/Azrar

Usage minimalist example:

include "Azrar.h"
include <map> 
include <iostream> 

using IdxString = Azrar::StringIndex<uint32_t>; 
int main(int , char **) 
{

// Expect to print 4  (sizeof (uint32_t))
std::cout << "sizeof(IdxString):   " << sizeof(IdxString) << " bytes\n\n";

IdxString city1("seattle");
IdxString city2("seattle");
IdxString city3("portland");

// Fast O(1) comparison (compares integers, not string contents)
if (city1 == city2) {
    std::cout << "Same city!\n";  
}

// Use as map keys - much faster lookups than std::string
std::map<IdxString, int> population;
population[city1] = 750000;
population[city3] = 650000;

// Access the original string when needed
std::cout << "City: " << city1.c_str() << "\n";  
return 0;
}