Computer Programming:
C++ language
Strings :)
C++-Strings OR Character Arrays
• Character array: An array whose components are
of type char
• String: A sequence of zero or more characters
enclosed in double quote marks (e.g., “hello”)
• Internally (by the compiler) C++ stings are
terminated with null (‘\0’) in memory
» (the last character in a string is the null-character
C++-String OR Character-Arrays
• We have learned that the elements of an array
can be just about anything
• Consider an array whose elements are all
characters
• Such type of an array is called a C-String
C++-Strings OR Character Arrays
char str[80] = “Amanuensis”
C-Strings OR Character Arrays
• There is a difference between 'A' and "A"
– 'A' is the character A
– "A" is the string A
• Because strings are terminated with null, "A"
represents two characters, 'A' and '\0‘
• Similarly, "Hello" contains six characters, 'H',
'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', and '\0'
Declaration of C++ Strings
Similar to declaration of any array
// no initialization
string title;
// initialized at declaration with a
string
string title2 = "QUEST NAWABSHAH";
// initialized with list of char values
string chList = "abcd";
Declaration of C++ Strings
In C++ strings you don’t need [10] (or any size) because std::string manages
its own size dynamically.
• In C (char array):
char chList[10] = {'a', 'b', 'c', 'd'};
● ➝ You must give a size, because it’s literally an array of characters in
memory.
• In C++ (std::string):
string chList = {'a', 'b', 'c', 'd'};
● ➝ No size needed. The string just becomes "abcd".
So ✅ in your C++ notes, drop the [10].
C-Strings: Example-1
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
char name[]="Yasir";
int i=0;
while(i<=4)
{
cout << name[i];
i++;
}
cout << endl;
return 0;
}
C++ offers four main operations on strings
C++ String Operations (Modern Way)
In C, string handling relies on functions like strcpy, strcat, strcmp, and strlen.
In C++, the string class provides built-in operators and functions that make these
tasks easier and safer.
● Copy (= operator) → Assign one string directly to another.
● Concatenation (+ operator or +=) → Join two strings together.
● Comparison (==, !=, <, >) → Compare strings alphabetically.
● Length (.length() or .size()) → Get the number of characters in a string.
👉 Unlike C, there’s no need for separate library functions—the string class handles
these operations naturally.
strcpy
String Copy in C++
● In C → strcpy(destination, source) is used to copy the contents of one
string into another.
● In C++ → we simply use the assignment operator (=) with string objects.
● = operator → directly assigns one string to another.
Example:
string str;
str = "hello world"; // assigns value directly
👉 This is much simpler and safer than strcpy() in C.
Example with strcpy
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main() {
string x = "Example with strcpy";
string y;
cout << "The string in x is: " << x << endl;
// Copy string
y = x;
cout << "The string in y is: " << y << endl;
return 0;
}
String Concatenation in C++
String Concatenation in C++
● In C → strcat(destination, source) is used to append one string to
another.
● In C++ → we use the + operator or += operator with string objects.
● + operator → creates a new combined string.
● += operator → adds (appends) text to the existing string.
Example:
● "a big " + "hello world" → gives "a big hello world"
String Concatenation in C++
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
string x = "Example with strcat";
string y = " which stands for string concatenation";
cout << "The string in array x is " << x << endl;
x = x + y; // Simple concatenation using + operator
cout << "The string in array x is " << x << endl;
return 0;
}
📌 length() in C++ Strings
length() (or size()) gives the number of characters in a string.
It does not count the null character \0 (because C++ string doesn’t need
it).
● Example:
string str = "tttt";
cout << str.length(); // Output: 4
✔ So, "tttt" has length 4, not 5.
Example with length()
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main() {
string arr = "QUEST";
int len1, len2;
len1 = arr.length(); // length of arr
len2 = string("QUEST NAWABSHAH").length(); // length of literal
cout << "string = " << arr << " length = " << len1 << endl;
cout << "string = " << "QUEST NAWABSHAH" << " length = " << len2 << endl;
return 0;
}
Example with length()
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int i, count;
string x = "tommy tucket took a tiny ticket";
count = 0;
for (i = 0; i < x.length(); i++)
{
if (x[i] == 't') count++;
}
cout << "The number of ts in " << x << " is " << count <<
endl;
return 0;
}
Vowels Example with lenght
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int i, count;
string x = "tommy tucket took a tiny ticket";
count = 0;
for (i = 0; i < x.length(); i++)
{
if ((x[i] == 'a')||(x[i]=='e')||(x[i]=='i')||(x[i]=='o')||(x[i]=='u'))
count++;
}
cout << "The number of vowels in " << x << " is " << count <<
endl;
return 0;
}
No of Words Example with length()
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int i, count;
string x = "tommy tucket took a tiny ticket ";
count = 0;
for (i = 0; i < x.length(); i++)
{
if (x[i] == ' ') count++;
}
cout << "The number of words in " << x << "is " << count+1 <<
endl;
return 0;
}
.comapre()
stringa.compare(stringb)
* Compares stringa and stringb alphabetically
* Returns a negative value if stringa precedes stringb
alphabetically
* Returns a positive value if stringb precedes stringa
alphabetically
* Returns 0 if they are equal
* Note lowercase characters are greater than Uppercase
* A=65 and a=97
// Alternative: Use comparison operators
stringa == stringb // equal
stringa < stringb // stringa precedes stringb
stringa > stringb // stringb precedes stringa
Example
#include <iostream>
with strcmp
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
string x = "cat";
string y = "cat";
string z = "dog";
if (x == y)
cout << "The string in array x " << x << " is equal to that in " << y << endl;
if (x != z)
{
cout << "The string in array x " << x << " is not equal to that in z " << z << endl;
if (x < z)
cout << "The string in array x " << x << " precedes that in z " << z << endl;
Example with strcmp
else
cout << "The string in array z " << z << " precedes that in x " << x << endl;
}
else
cout << "they are equal" << endl;
return 0;
}
In C, strings are stored as character arrays (char[]) and the equality operator ==
only compares memory addresses, not the actual contents of the string. That’s
why functions like strcmp() are required to compare characters one by one.
In C++, the std::string class was introduced, which overloads the comparison
operators (==, !=, <, >, etc.) to perform lexicographical (alphabetical) content
comparison directly. This makes the code simpler, safer, and more readable.
👉 Therefore, in modern C++ we use simple operators like x == y instead of
strcmp(x,y) == 0.
Input output functions of characters and
strings
✅ C++ (Modern way)
● cin >> str; → input one word (stops at space).
● getline(cin, str); → input a full sentence (with spaces).
● cout << str; → output / print text (same line).
● cout << str << endl; → output / print text and move to next
line.
👉 Rule of thumb:
In C++ always use getline() for input and cout for output.
They are safe, simple, and work with std::string.
Input output functions of characters and
strings
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main() {
string name;
cout << "Enter your full name: ";
getline(cin, name); // safe input for full name with spaces
cout << "Hello!" << endl;
cout << name << endl; // print the name
return 0;
}
