use of char * vs std::string in different environments

I have been using std::string in my code. I was going to make a std::string and pass it by reference. However, someone suggested using a char * instead. Something about std::string is not开发者_StackOverflow社区 reliable when porting code. Is that true? I have avoided using char * as I would need to do some memory management for it. Instead I find using the std::string much easier to use.

Basically I have a 10 digit output that I am storing in this string. Atm, I am not sure which would be better to use.

std::string is part of the C++ Standard, and has been since 1998. It is available in all the current C++ compilers. There really is no portability reason not to use it. If you have an API that needs to use a C-style string, you can use the std::string's c_str() member to get one from a string:

std::string s = "foo";
int n = strlen( s.c_str() );   

In C++, almost every string should be std::string unless another library requires a cstring, in which case you should still be using an std::string and passing string.c_str(), unless you're using functions that work with buffers.

However, if you're writing a library and exporting functions, it's better to use const char* parameters rather than std::string parameters for portability.

Using a char * you are sure that you will not get portability issues among libraries.
If a library exports a function that uses an std::string, it might have problems communicating with another library that has been linked against a different version of the standard library.

I think that there is nothing to worry about unless you are going to provide some API to 3rd party.

Just use std::string

There's nothing unportable about std::string that isn't also an issue with char *. std::string actually uses a char * internally...

string is better. There is nothing unreliable about it on any platform. If you're worried about passing large classes, you can pass const references of your strings into functions. Makes coding faster and less bug prone.

In addition to the fact thata it's easier, std::string will probably be more efficient. Its small string optimization can keep the 10 digits in the std::string object itself, instead of putting them in another memory block off the heap.