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c++function-qualifier

C++ const member functions

I have a syntax error that is puzzling

Previous code:

class A {
public:
    void process(const string& str) {};
};

I have 

A a;
a.process("abcd");

all is well now I change the process member function to a const

void process(const string& str) const {};

and now a.process("abcd"); get a compile error about str being a const char[5]...

How the const addition impact the syntax error. I thought const only (in this context) meant that the member variables will not change?

Thoughts on this?

Solution

  • Adding a const to the end of the method declaration would not have changed the semantics of the str parameter. Either something else is happening, or the compiler has a bug.