[Term-Entry] C++ Strings c_str()

content/cpp/concepts/strings/terms/c-str.md

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+---
+Title: '.c_str()'
+Description: 'Returns a pointer to an array of characters represent the string on which the method was called.'
+Subjects:
+  - 'Computer Science'
+  - 'Game Development'
+Tags:
+  - 'Strings'
+  - 'Methods'
+CatalogContent:
+  - 'learn-c-plus-plus'
+  - 'paths/computer-science'
+---
+
+Calling the **`c_str()`** method on a [string](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/cpp/strings) returns a [pointer](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/cpp/pointers) to an [array](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/cpp/arrays) of characters, equivalent to the characters in the string.
+
+> **Note:** `c_str()` runs in constant time O(1).
+
+## Syntax
+```pseudo
+std::string string = "Hello";
+const char *pString = example_string.c_str();
+```
+
+## Examples
+The following example shows the size taken to store the characters `Foobar` when stored as a string and as an array.
+```cpp
+#include <string>
+#include <iostream>
+
+int main() {
+    std::string str = "Foobar";
+    const char* arr = str.c_str();
+    std::cout << "Size of \"" << arr << "\" as Array: " << sizeof(arr) << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "Size of \"" << str << "\" as String: " << sizeof(str) << std::endl;
+    return 0;
+}
+```
+
+
+## Codebyte Example
+In this example we have a function `printPointerCharArrToStdOut` that expects a pointer to an array. The `c_str()` method can be used to obtain the correct parameter type for `printPointerCharArrToStdOut` from a given string, which then outputs the array character-by-character.  
+```codebyte/cpp
+#include <string>
+#include <iostream>
+
+void printPointerCharArrToStdOut(const char* arr) {
+    const int size = sizeof(arr);
+    for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) {
+        std::cout << *(arr + i) << std::endl;
+    }
+}
+
+int main() {
+    std::string str = "StrArray";
+    const char* cStr = str.c_str();
+    printPointerCharArrToStdOut(cStr);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+```