What's the difference between std::string::c_str and std::string::data? [duplicate]

Answer 1

c_str() return a pointer to the data with a NUL byte appended so you can use the return value as a "C string".

data() returns a pointer to the data without any modifications.

Use c_str() if the code you are using assumes a string is NUL terminated (such as any function written to handle C strings).