What does 'System::String^' mean in C++?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
What does the caret mean in C++/CLI?

System::String is a class. What does the additional caret mean?

System::String^ productString = L"";

Has anyone seen this before? I can't find anything in Stroustrop on this one.

Answer 1

This is Microsoft's C++/CLI. The ^ operator is used for accessing .NET reference types. It means sort of a "handle", and the syntax is ClassName^ instead of ClassName*.