CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++
nyarian
nyarian

Reputation: 4375

Why does the `const` modifier applied to a variable holding a struct value make the struct values immutable?

struct S { string s; }

void method() 
{
    const S s = { "s" };
    s.s = "l"; // Error
}

I can't understand why a compile-error is being generated here. From my understanding, making a struct-referencing variable const should make the variable itself immutable (only s = { "m" } after s initialization should generate error), not the structure itself (so s.s = "l" should pass OK). Why const makes both the variable and the struct immutable?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 62

Answers (1)

hobbs
hobbs

Reputation: 240472

It's not "a variable referencing a struct instance". There's no indirection. The value of s is a struct S, which includes all of its fields.

Upvotes: 3

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