C++, strings, and pointers

Question

I know this is rudimentary but I know nothing about C++. Is it necessary to do:

string *str = getNextRequest();

rather than

string str = getNextRequest();

in order to reference str later on in the same block of code? If so, what type of error would the latter produce?

Answer 1

That depends entirely on the return type of getNextRequest.

Strings can be used and reused throughout the scope they're declared in. They essentially contain a mutable C string and some handling information, helper methods, etc.

You can, very safely, return a string from a function and the compiler will make a copy or move it as necessary. That string (str here) can then be used normally, with no worries about using out-of-scope locals or such.

There are times when a pointer to a string is needed, but unless you're using it as an out parameter, those tend to be rare and indicate some design oddity.