Temporary std::strings returning junk

Question

I\'m still learning c++, so please bear with me. I\'m writing a simple wrapper around boost filesystem paths -- I\'m having strange issues with returning temporary strings.

Answer 1

CString c_str() const {
        return mPath.string().c_str();
    };

mPath.string() returns a copy of a std::string. That copy is stored in a temporary which will be destroyed at the end of this expression.

.c_str() returns a pointer to memory which will be destroyed when the string is destroyed, i.e. at the end of this expression.

You are returning a pointer to memory which is already destroyed.