Can I get a non-const C string back from a C++ string?

Question

Const-correctness in C++ is still giving me headaches. In working with some old C code, I find myself needing to assign turn a C++ string object into a C string and assign i

Answer 1

If you can afford extra allocation, instead of a recommended strcpy I would consider using std::vector<char> like this:

// suppose you have your string:
std::string some_string("hello world");
// you can make a vector from it like this:
std::vector<char> some_buffer(some_string.begin(), some_string.end());
// suppose your C function is declared like this:
// some_c_function(char *buffer);
// you can just pass this vector to it like this:
some_c_function(&some_buffer[0]);
// if that function wants a buffer size as well,
// just give it some_buffer.size()

To me this is a bit more of a C++ way than strcpy. Take a look at Meyers' Effective STL Item 16 for a much nicer explanation than I could ever provide.