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How can I access individual elements in a std::string with pointers? Is it possible without type casting to a const char *?

#include <iostream> #include <string> using namespace std; int main() { // I'm trying to do this... string str = "This is a string"; cout << str[2] << endl; // ...but by doing this instead string *p_str = &str; cout << /* access 3rd element of str with p_str */ << endl; return 0; }
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  • So you want to access the third element of a string through a pointer? Commented Jul 5, 2019 at 11:17
  • It's pretty much the same as accessing any other class object by a pointer. All standard ways apply. Commented Jul 5, 2019 at 11:20

1 Answer 1

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There are two ways:

  1. Call the operator[] function explicitly:

    std::cout << p_str->operator[](2) << '\n';

    Or use the at function

    std::cout << p_str->at(2) << '\n';

    Both of these are almost equivalent.

  2. Or dereference the pointer to get the object, and use normal indexing:

    std::cout << (*p_str)[2] << '\n';

Either way, you need to dereference the pointer. Through the "arrow" operator -> or with the direct dereference operator * doesn't matter.

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