How to convert a char* pointer into a C++ string?

Question

I have a C++ string. I need to pass this string to a function accepting a char* parameter (for example - strchr()).

a) How do I get that pointer?

b) Is there some function equivalent to strschr() that works for C++ strings?

Answer 1

1. To get the C string equivalent of the C++ string object use c_str function.
   
2. To locate the first occurence of a char in a string object use find_first_of function.

Example:

string s = "abc";

// call to strlen expects char *
cout<<strlen(s.c_str());  // prints 3

// on failure find_first_of return string::npos
if(s.find_first_of('a') != string::npos)
    cout<<s<<" has an a"<<endl;
else
    cout<<s<<" has no a"<<endl;

Note: I gave the strlen just an example of a function that takes char*.