const string vs. #define

Question

i need to share some strings in my c++ program. should i use #define or const string? thanks

mystring1.h

#define str1 "str1" #define str2 "str2"     

Or
mystring2.h

extern const string str1;   extern const string str2;   

mystring.cpp

const string str1 = "str1";   const string str2 = "str2"; 

Answer 1

Prefer the second option. If you use the first option (preprocessor), you are limiting your flexibility with the object.

Consider the following... You won't be able to compare strings this way:

if (str1 == "some string") {     // ... }