diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/pom.xml b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/pom.xml
index c27d884..df1f94e 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/pom.xml
@@ -32,10 +32,6 @@
   </properties>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
-      <artifactId>commons-lang3</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
       <groupId>org.apache.hyracks</groupId>
       <artifactId>hyracks-util</artifactId>
       <version>${project.version}</version>
@@ -56,5 +52,9 @@
       <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
       <artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
     </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>it.unimi.dsi</groupId>
+      <artifactId>fastutil</artifactId>
+    </dependency>
   </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointable.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointable.java
index 944b317..3b1f18b 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointable.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointable.java
@@ -19,10 +19,8 @@
 package org.apache.hyracks.data.std.primitive;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
-import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.charset.Charset;
 
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.CharSet;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.io.IJsonSerializable;
@@ -38,6 +36,8 @@
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.ints.IntCollection;
+
 public final class UTF8StringPointable extends AbstractPointable implements IHashable, IComparable {
 
     public static final UTF8StringPointableFactory FACTORY = new UTF8StringPointableFactory();
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@
     private int hashValue;
     private int stringLength;
 
+    public static final UTF8StringPointable SPACE_STRING_POINTABLE = generateUTF8Pointable(" ");
+    public static final Charset CESU8_CHARSET = Charset.forName("CESU8");
+
     /**
      * reset those meta length.
      * Since the {@code utf8Length} and the {@code metaLength} are often used, we compute those two values in advance.
@@ -122,6 +125,18 @@
         return UTF8StringUtil.codePointSize(bytes, start + offset);
     }
 
+    public void getCodePoints(IntCollection codePointSet) {
+        int byteIdx = 0;
+        while (byteIdx < utf8Length) {
+            codePointSet.add(codePointAt(metaLength + byteIdx));
+            byteIdx += codePointSize(metaLength + byteIdx);
+        }
+
+        if (byteIdx != utf8Length) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Decoding error: malformed bytes");
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Gets the length of the string in characters.
      * The first time call will need to go through the entire string, the following call will just return the pre-caculated result
@@ -176,11 +191,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public String toString() {
-        try {
-            return new String(bytes, getCharStartOffset(), getUTF8Length(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8.name());
-        } catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
-            throw new IllegalStateException(e);
-        }
+        return new String(bytes, getCharStartOffset(), getUTF8Length(), CESU8_CHARSET);
     }
 
     public int ignoreCaseCompareTo(UTF8StringPointable other) {
@@ -553,16 +564,11 @@
         builder.finish();
     }
 
-    public void trim(UTF8StringBuilder builder, GrowableArray out, boolean left, boolean right, CharSet charSet)
-            throws IOException {
-        trim(this, builder, out, left, right, charSet);
-    }
-
     /**
      * Generates a trimmed string of an input source string.
      *
      * @param srcPtr
-     *            , the input source string.
+     *            , the input source string
      * @param builder
      *            , the result string builder.
      * @param out
@@ -571,23 +577,23 @@
      *            , whether to trim the left side.
      * @param right
      *            , whether to trim the right side.
-     * @param charSet
-     *            , the chars that should be trimmed.
+     * @param codePointSet
+     *            , the set of code points that should be trimmed.
      * @throws IOException
      */
     public static void trim(UTF8StringPointable srcPtr, UTF8StringBuilder builder, GrowableArray out, boolean left,
-            boolean right, CharSet charSet) throws IOException {
+            boolean right, IntCollection codePointSet) throws IOException {
         final int srcUtfLen = srcPtr.getUTF8Length();
         final int srcStart = srcPtr.getMetaDataLength();
         // Finds the start Index (inclusive).
         int startIndex = 0;
         if (left) {
             while (startIndex < srcUtfLen) {
-                char ch = srcPtr.charAt(srcStart + startIndex);
-                if (!charSet.contains(ch)) {
+                int codepoint = srcPtr.codePointAt(srcStart + startIndex);
+                if (!codePointSet.contains(codepoint)) {
                     break;
                 }
-                startIndex += srcPtr.charSize(srcStart + startIndex);
+                startIndex += srcPtr.codePointSize(srcStart + startIndex);
             }
         }
 
@@ -597,9 +603,9 @@
             endIndex = startIndex;
             int cursorIndex = startIndex;
             while (cursorIndex < srcUtfLen) {
-                char ch = srcPtr.charAt(srcStart + cursorIndex);
-                cursorIndex += srcPtr.charSize(srcStart + cursorIndex);
-                if (!charSet.contains(ch)) {
+                int codePioint = srcPtr.codePointAt(srcStart + cursorIndex);
+                cursorIndex += srcPtr.codePointSize(srcStart + cursorIndex);
+                if (!codePointSet.contains(codePioint)) {
                     endIndex = cursorIndex;
                 }
             }
@@ -613,6 +619,26 @@
     }
 
     /**
+     * Generates a trimmed string from the original string.
+     *
+     * @param builder
+     *            , the result string builder.
+     * @param out
+     *            , the storage for the output string.
+     * @param left
+     *            , whether to trim the left side.
+     * @param right
+     *            , whether to trim the right side.
+     * @param codePointSet
+     *            , the set of code points that should be trimmed.
+     * @throws IOException
+     */
+    public void trim(UTF8StringBuilder builder, GrowableArray out, boolean left, boolean right,
+            IntCollection codePointSet) throws IOException {
+        trim(this, builder, out, left, right, codePointSet);
+    }
+
+    /**
      * Generates a reversed string from an input source string
      *
      * @param srcPtr
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointableTest.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointableTest.java
index fa93003..22be7ca 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointableTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointableTest.java
@@ -27,14 +27,17 @@
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Arrays;
 
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.CharSet;
 import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.util.GrowableArray;
 import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.util.UTF8StringBuilder;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.string.UTF8StringSample;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.string.UTF8StringUtil;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.ints.IntArraySet;
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.ints.IntCollection;
+
 public class UTF8StringPointableTest {
     public static UTF8StringPointable STRING_EMPTY = generateUTF8Pointable(UTF8StringSample.EMPTY_STRING);
     public static UTF8StringPointable STRING_UTF8_MIX = generateUTF8Pointable(UTF8StringSample.STRING_UTF8_MIX);
@@ -229,26 +232,35 @@
         GrowableArray storage = new GrowableArray();
         UTF8StringPointable result = new UTF8StringPointable();
         UTF8StringPointable input = generateUTF8Pointable("  this is it.i am;here.  ");
+        IntCollection spaceCodePointSet = new IntArraySet(Arrays.asList((int) ' '));
 
         // Trims both sides.
-        input.trim(builder, storage, true, true, CharSet.getInstance(" "));
+        input.trim(builder, storage, true, true, spaceCodePointSet);
         result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
         UTF8StringPointable expected = generateUTF8Pointable("this is it.i am;here.");
         assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
 
         // Only trims the right side.
         storage.reset();
-        input.trim(builder, storage, false, true, CharSet.getInstance(" "));
+        input.trim(builder, storage, false, true, spaceCodePointSet);
         result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
         expected = generateUTF8Pointable("  this is it.i am;here.");
         assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
 
         // Only trims the left side.
         storage.reset();
-        input.trim(builder, storage, true, false, CharSet.getInstance(" "));
+        input.trim(builder, storage, true, false, spaceCodePointSet);
         result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
         expected = generateUTF8Pointable("this is it.i am;here.  ");
         assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
+
+        // Only trims the left side in case of emoji
+        input = STRING_POINTABLE_EMOJI_FAMILY_OF_4;
+        storage.reset();
+        input.trim(builder, storage, true, false, spaceCodePointSet);
+        result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
+        expected = STRING_POINTABLE_EMOJI_FAMILY_OF_4;
+        assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -258,25 +270,59 @@
         UTF8StringPointable result = new UTF8StringPointable();
         UTF8StringPointable input = generateUTF8Pointable("  this is it.i am;here.  ");
 
+        String pattern = " hert.";
+        UTF8StringPointable patternPointable = generateUTF8Pointable(pattern);
+        IntCollection codePointSet = new IntArraySet();
+        codePointSet.clear();
+        patternPointable.getCodePoints(codePointSet);
+
         // Trims both sides.
-        input.trim(builder, storage, true, true, CharSet.getInstance(" hert."));
+        input.trim(builder, storage, true, true, codePointSet);
         result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
         UTF8StringPointable expected = generateUTF8Pointable("is is it.i am;");
         assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
 
         // Only trims the right side.
         storage.reset();
-        input.trim(builder, storage, false, true, CharSet.getInstance(" hert."));
+        input.trim(builder, storage, false, true, codePointSet);
         result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
         expected = generateUTF8Pointable("  this is it.i am;");
         assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
 
         // Only trims the left side.
         storage.reset();
-        input.trim(builder, storage, true, false, CharSet.getInstance(" hert."));
+        input.trim(builder, storage, true, false, codePointSet);
         result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
         expected = generateUTF8Pointable("is is it.i am;here.  ");
         assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
+
+        // Test Emoji trim
+        input = STRING_POINTABLE_EMOJI_FAMILY_OF_4;
+        pattern = "👨👦";
+        patternPointable = generateUTF8Pointable(pattern);
+        codePointSet.clear();
+        patternPointable.getCodePoints(codePointSet);
+
+        // Trim left
+        storage.reset();
+        input.trim(builder, storage, true, false, codePointSet);
+        result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
+        expected = generateUTF8Pointable("\u200D" + "👨‍👦‍👦");
+        assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
+
+        // Trim right
+        storage.reset();
+        input.trim(builder, storage, false, true, codePointSet);
+        result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
+        expected = generateUTF8Pointable("👨‍👨‍👦" + "\u200D");
+        assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
+
+        // Trim left and right
+        storage.reset();
+        input.trim(builder, storage, true, true, codePointSet);
+        result.set(storage.getByteArray(), 0, storage.getLength());
+        expected = generateUTF8Pointable("\u200D" + "👨‍👦" + "\u200D");
+        assertEquals(0, expected.compareTo(result));
     }
 
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/pom.xml b/hyracks-fullstack/pom.xml
index fb801b9..d7b6829 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/pom.xml
@@ -283,6 +283,11 @@
         <artifactId>maven-plugin-api</artifactId>
         <version>3.6.3</version>
       </dependency>
+      <dependency>
+        <groupId>it.unimi.dsi</groupId>
+        <artifactId>fastutil</artifactId>
+        <version>8.3.0</version>
+      </dependency>
     </dependencies>
   </dependencyManagement>
   <build>