Question

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    if ("zabc" < "def") {
        std::cout << "Less.\n";
    }
}

The code above prints Less.. I know this is not the right way to compare char*s in C++, but how does the above code print Less.?

Answer 1

The code compares the addresses of the two strings. Formally, that’s unspecified behavior, since they are not elements of the same array, but in this case it’s probably telling the truth: the first string has a lower address than the second. But you can’t count on that…