redef fun *(i) do
		var ret = new Buffer.with_cap(byte_length * i)
		for its in [0 .. i[ do ret.append self
		return ret
	end

	redef fun *(i) do
		var x: String = self
		for j in [1 .. i[ do x += self
		return x
	end

	redef fun *(i) do
		var mybtlen = _byte_length
		var new_byte_length = mybtlen * i
		var mylen = _length
		var newlen = mylen * i
		var its = _items
		var fb = _first_byte
		var ns = new CString(new_byte_length + 1)
		ns[new_byte_length] = 0
		var offset = 0
		while i > 0 do
			its.copy_to(ns, mybtlen, fb, offset)
			offset += mybtlen
			i -= 1
		end
		return new FlatString.full(ns, new_byte_length, 0, newlen)
	end