Is it safe to overload char* and std::string?

Question

I have just read about the overloading functions on a beginner book. Just out of curiosity I \'d like to ask whether it is safe to overload between char* and std::string.

Answer 1

Short Answer: Perfectly safe. Consider the following uses:

foo("bar");//uses c string 
foo(std::string("bar") );//uses std::string
char* bar = "bar";
foo(bar);//uses c string
std::string bar_string = "bar";
foo(bar_string);//uses std::string
foo(bar_string.c_str()); //uses c string

Word of warning, some compilers (namely those with c++11 enabled) require the const keyword in parameter specification in order to allow temporary strings to be used.

For instance, in order to get this: foo("bar"); You need this: void foo(const char* bar);