returning a pointer to a literal (or constant) character array (string)?

Question

I know this is wrong:

char* getSomething() {       char szLocal[5];       /* put something in the char array somehow */       return szLocal;   }   

...because szLocal can be destroyed sometime after the function returns.

But is this ok?

char* getSomethingElse() {       return "something else";   }   

Answer 1

That is actually OK. The string literal is usually allocated in an immutable memory area that remains available for as long as your program is running.

See also the answers to when does c/c++ allocate string literals.