std::string

[Kurt`]

Hi,

All my life I've been using char * for string data. I've always been careful about range-checking and verifying user-inputted data before using sprintf, strcpy, etc.

I've recently started using std::string. Are there any reasons why I SHOULDN'T or things to look out for when using it?

Thanks

[thumper]

Some people complain about "performance" for some arbitrary definition of "performance" with regard to std::string. But in all my experience, for the domain that I work in, there has never been any problems with using std::string.

The only thing I'd say to look out for is the difference between the data and c_str methods. This bites some people, specifically those coming from a RogueWave background where the RWString::data method has the same effect as std::string::c_str.

But the guts is: use it. Never use fixed sized char buffers if you can avoid it.

[bonefry]

Both char* and std::string suck when it comes to internationalization.

I use GtkString contained by GLib.