basic_string::begin
Returns an iterator addressing the first element in the string.
const_iterator begin( ) const;
iterator begin( );
Return Value
A random-access iterator that addresses the first element of the sequence or just beyond the end of an empty sequence.
Remark
If the return value of begin is assigned to a const_iterator, the string object cannot be modified. If the return value of begin is assigned to an iterator, the string object can be modified.
Example
// basic_string_begin.cpp
// compile with: /EHsc
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
int main( ) {
using namespace std;
string str1 ( "No way out." ), str2;
basic_string <char>::iterator strp_Iter, str1_Iter, str2_Iter;
basic_string <char>::const_iterator str1_cIter;
str1_Iter = str1.begin ( );
cout << "The first character of the string str1 is: "
<< *str1_Iter << endl;
cout << "The full original string str1 is: " << str1 << endl;
// The dereferenced iterator can be used to modify a character
*str1_Iter = 'G';
cout << "The first character of the modified str1 is now: "
<< *str1_Iter << endl;
cout << "The full modified string str1 is now: " << str1 << endl;
// The following line would be an error because iterator is const
// *str1_cIter = 'g';
// For an empty string, begin is equivalent to end
if ( str2.begin ( ) == str2.end ( ) )
cout << "The string str2 is empty." << endl;
else
cout << "The string str2 is not empty." << endl;
}
Output
The first character of the string str1 is: N
The full original string str1 is: No way out.
The first character of the modified str1 is now: G
The full modified string str1 is now: Go way out.
The string str2 is empty.
Requirements
Header: <string>
Namespace: std