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I'm trying to use std::string instead of char* whenever possible, but I worry I may be degrading performance too much. Is this a good way of returning strings (no error checking for brevity)?
std::string linux_settings_provider::get_home_folder() { return std::string(getenv("HOME")); } Also, a related question: when accepting strings as parameters, should I receive them as const std::string& or const char*?
Thanks.
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h functions when you are declaring string with std::string keyword because std::string strings are of basic_string class type and cstring strings are of const char* type. Pros: When dealing exclusively in C++ std:string is the best way to go because of better searching, replacement, and manipulation functions.
std::string::end Returns an iterator pointing to the past-the-end character of the string. The past-the-end character is a theoretical character that would follow the last character in the string.
Use the std::string func() Notation to Return String From Function in C++ Return by the value is the preferred method for returning string objects from functions. Since the std::string class has the move constructor, returning even the long strings by value is efficient.
Strings in C are arrays of char elements, so we can't really return a string - we must return a pointer to the first element of the string. All forms are perfectly valid.
Return the string.
I think the better abstraction is worth it. Until you can measure a meaningful performance difference, I'd argue that it's a micro-optimization that only exists in your imagination.
It took many years to get a good string abstraction into C++. I don't believe that Bjarne Stroustroup, so famous for his conservative "only pay for what you use" dictum, would have permitted an obvious performance killer into the language. Higher abstraction is good.
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