CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++string
bman
bman

Reputation: 5235

How to set a char* member of a class? Using strcat or something else?

I have a very simple class with some char* members. Is strcat the best way to set their values?

class CImage {
public:
    CImage() {};

    char* Name;
};

void AddImage(const char* Name)
{
    CImage* img = new CImage();
    
    strcpy(img->Name, Name); // Is this correct or the best way?
}

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1015

Answers (2)

Spo1ler
Spo1ler

Reputation: 4369

You must first allocate dynamically enough memory to store the string like this

img->Name = new char[strlen(Name) + 1];
strcpy(img->Name, Name);

And if you do so, you should then deallocate memory using delete[]

Also, you should consider incapsulating your string and its initialization in constructor.

The best way to store strings, however, is std::string

Upvotes: 4

Alok Save
Alok Save

Reputation: 206536

Strongly advice you to drop the char * and use std::string.

With char * as member you need to bother about allocating(in constructor) and deallocating memory(in destructor) to the pointer yourself. Also, You need to manage the exceptions and do the manual management of the underlying data everytime you access it.
Also you would have to ensure following Rule of Three for your class.

In short there are too many places where you can shoot yourself in the foot(or head) easily, so safest and best way is to use a std::string as member and save yourself all the trouble.

Upvotes: 11

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