std::string_view Causes Dangling Reference in Custom String Wrapper Class
Quick question that's been bugging me - I'm working with a question with my custom string wrapper class in C++17 that uses `std::string_view` to manage string data..... The scenario arises when I attempt to return a `std::string_view` from a member function. It seems like I'm getting a dangling reference when the original string is no longer in scope, leading to undefined behavior. Here's a simplified version of my class: ```cpp #include <string> #include <string_view> #include <iostream> class StringWrapper { public: StringWrapper(const std::string& str) : data(str) {} std::string_view getView() const { return std::string_view(data); // Potential dangling reference } private: std::string data; }; int main() { StringWrapper wrapper("Hello, World!"); std::string_view view = wrapper.getView(); std::cout << view << std::endl; // This works fine here return 0; } ``` In this example, the `data` member holds a string, and I'm returning a `std::string_view` that references it. While this seems to work within the main function, I'm worried about what happens if the `StringWrapper` instance goes out of scope. I've read that `std::string_view` doesn't own the underlying data, but it's not clear how I should manage this in my class. Should I avoid using `std::string_view` altogether, or is there a safe pattern I can use to maintain a valid reference? I'm looking for best practices or alternative approaches that would prevent potential dangling references while still allowing efficient string access. Any insights would be greatly appreciated! This is part of a larger API I'm building. Thanks in advance! I'm working on a application that needs to handle this.