Help writing code (Can't think of a proper title)

In Java, I would do this:

Code:

public interface Date {

  public static final String[] month = { "January", "February", "March", etc etc};

}

or in C#, I would do this:

Code:

public class Date
{
  // you can't have an array of const strings in C#
  public readonly static string[] month = { "January", "February", "March", etc etc};
}

How do I achieve this in C++? Like, are there static, const, etc? I promise I'd read the FAQs first, but if only I had a bit more time

Say this would be in a separate class called Date (Actually, I think Date is a class that already exists. I'm just using date as an example). A .h file and a .cpp file.

Would my .h file contain all these declarations, and my .cpp file be empty with an #include "Date.h"?

use the string class

Code:

// date.h
#include <string>

class Date
{
public:
    static const std::string month[];
};

Code:

// date.cpp
#include "date.h"
const std::string Date::month = {"jan", "feb", //etc..
};

What is the string class for?

How come I can declare strings without having to include the string class?

I just include <iostream> and also use "using namespace std". Does that include strings as well?

Oh, and should I declare the "Date" class as static as well?

Edit: Now I'm having problems trying to retrieve those values.

In another class, say Test.cpp, say I have an #include Date.h

and I have something like
cout << "The month is " << Date.month[0] ;

This gives me an error with compilation. Saying "expected primary-expression before '.' token"

What am I doing wrong?

Edit: Problem solved. It's supposed to be
cout << "The month is" << Date::month[0];
right?

What is the string class for?

The string class is for representing strings.

How come I can declare strings without having to include the string class?

I just include <iostream> . Does that include strings as well?

Simple answer: Yes.

Oh, and should I declare the "Date" class as static as well?

Declaring the class as static?

Hahaha sorry, I don't think I have to set the class as static (I don't even know why I thought of that). Got it working already. Thanks

>> I just include <iostream> . Does that include strings as well?
No.

On some compilers you might be able to do some stuff with strings (because <iostream> might include some other header that declares some of string) but you should not rely on that because many compilers don't do that. So if you use the string class, #include its header <string>. In general, always #include the header that declares the stuff you need even if it seems to work without it. This will avoid hard to find errors later in your coding.