string to char array

[fry]

Ok, i've searched around and got nothing.

Is it possible to convert a data type string into a char array?
Here is an example:

  
string name = "Myname";
char *name_array = name;

I am figuring that there may be a function to allow you to do this, or a way of getting around it. Any ideas?

[endo]

string name = "endo";
char* ptr = name.c_str( );

[fry]

I get the following error message:

initialization to `char *' from `const char *' discards qualifiers

[Fordy]

It returns a pointer to const data, otherwise, you could access the private data in the string and alter it.....not good!!!

#include<iostream>
#include<cstring>
#include<string>



int main(){

	std::string name = "endo!!";

	std::cout << name << std::endl;//ok so far

	/*now for something awful!*/

	char* ptr = const_cast<char*>(name.c_str());//You could..

	/*but then!!!! Agh!!!!!*/

	strcpy(ptr,"Fordy!");//surely not!!!!!

	std::cout << name << std::endl;//nasty!!!!	

	return 0;

}

Best bet...assign it to a const char*...you shouldnt expect to change that char array....so it can safely be const...

If you want to alter a copy of the string...then use the normal string copying methods

char copy[10];
strcpy(copy,name.c_str());

or something....

[fry]

I see. Thanks for the info.
It all works now

[Prelude]

std::string has two member functions which convert the string to an array of characters. The first, c_str(), transforms the string into an array of characters with a terminating nul character ('\0') at the end to designate a C style string. The second and less useful is data(), which converts that string directly to an array of characters, no nul terminator is added:

std::string s = "HappyFrosty"

s.c_str()
{'H','a','p','p','y','F','r','o','s','t','y','\0'}
s.data()
{'H','a','p','p','y','F','r','o','s','t','y'}

-Prelude