Thread: namespace problem

Another beginner question...

The following compiles and runs without any problem:

Code:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

namespace ns1
{
    char *string1 = "string 1 ns1";
    char *string2 = "string 2 ns1";
}

namespace ns2
{
    char *string1 = "string 1 ns2";
    char *string2 = "string 2 ns2";
}

namespace comb1
{
    using namespace ns1;
    using namespace ns2;
    using ns1::string1;
    using ns2::string2;
}

int main()
{
     cout << comb1::string1 << ", " <<comb1::string2 << endl;
     return 0;
}

However, if I change the first line in main() to:

Code:

using namespace comb1;
cout << string1 << ", " << string2 << endl;

the compiler gets confused by the conflicting definitions of string1 and string2 and gives an error. I can't see why there should be any difference between the two versions.

Any suggestions?