A String Example

Consider this code--what does it display?

(:source lang=cpp filename=c.cc -inline:)

1. include <iostream>
2. include <string>

using namespace std; int main() {

    string a="hello", b=a;
    a[0]='j';
    cout << a << ' ' << b << endl;
    return 0;

} (:sourceend:)

Now, consider this code. This code is evil, because it casts the result of a.data() to be writable. However, its result may be surprising. What does it display?

(:source lang=cpp filename=d.cc -inline:)

1. include <iostream>
2. include <string>

using namespace std; int main() {

    string a="hello", b=a;
    char *p = (char *) a.data();
    *p = 'm';
    cout << a << ' ' << b << endl;
    return 0;

} (:sourceend:)