overloading operator in C++

Originally Posted by -EquinoX-

okay... some say that using operator cast will allow me to use one function definition

Beware of those. They are the source of much evil. You must use them with care.
Saving a function isn't enough. They cause all sorts of problems.

Originally Posted by Elysia

Because in the first case, the compiler looks for a function with a parameter list that looks like const String&, int, and in the second the reverse. Since no such function exists...
The reason for the need of two is probably technical. Such as the compiler cannot guarantee no side effects.

I don't think the reason for this is technical at all. I think it's fairly easy: you can't assume that a*b == b*a. That is, not all multiplications are commutative. Sure, the multiplication of two integers is, but matrix multiplication is not, for instance. So let's say we have operator*(Matrix1Type, Matrix2Type) and the operator* of the two reversed is called, we get unexpected results, which are probably fairly hard to debug as well.

That is kind of what I meant by technical. The compiler cannot assume that the two will do the same thing.