Question

I want to write a C++11 function that will only accept string literals as a parameter:

 void f(const char* s) { static_assert(s is a string literal); ... }

That is:

 f("foo"); // OK

 char c = ...;
 f(&c); // ERROR: Doesn't compile

 string s = ...;
 f(s.c_str()); // ERROR: Doesn't compile

 etc

Is there anyway to implement this? The signature of the function is open to changes, as is adding the use of macros or any other language feature.

If this is not possible what is the closest approximation? (Can user-defined literals help in anyway?)

If not is there a platform specific way in GCC 4.7 / Linux ?

Answer 1

I think the closest you are going to get is this

template<int N>
void f(const char (&str)[N]){
  ...
}

It will compile with literals and arrays but not pointers.