Thread: Reversing a c-string with a function

Hi guys,

Well, once again I'm pulling my freaking hair out over C++ programs, you think that I would have learned my lesson last year after that horrible data structures class. Anyways, I'm reviewing my text, and I have a question the book (and a lot of tutorials) don't answer in a straightforward manner:

If I have a c-string, what it the best way to pass it to a function (as a char*, as a char[], etc), and what is the best way to return it? Should I declare the return type as char*, char[], etc.?

Also, for converting a c-string to a string, what is the most straightforward way?

Thanks,

Patrick

>> for converting a c-string to a string
Just assign the character array to the string, the conversion is done automatically by the string class.

>> If I have a c-string, what it the best way to pass it to a function.
I'd use char* or const char*, but I don't think it matters whether you use char* or char[].

>> what is the best way to return it?
That depends on the situation. C style strings are hard to return because you have to deal with the memory issues.

Originally Posted by Daved

>> C style strings are hard to return because you have to deal with the memory issues.

Thanks, Daved!

OK, so, then, book exercises aside, C-strings are best converted to strings before returning (and in general, too, correct?).

-Patrick

Yes. In fact, you almost never need to use a C style string in a C++ program. In most situations I would use C++ strings exclusively.