assigning string::c_str() to a const char* when the string goes out of scope

Question

I have a doubt on basic C++ usage. The code below, compiled with gcc/LInux, prints out correctly.

The string test goes out of scope so also its c_str() value should be invalid isn't it? Am I wrong or do I have misunderstood the const char*meaning?

   #include <iostream>
   int main(){
     const char* a = "aaaa";
       std::cout << a;
       { std::string test("bbbb");a=test.c_str();}
       std::cout << a;
       a = "cccc";
       std::cout << a;
   }


   aaaabbbbcccc
   // print out without any problem

Answer 1

You're right, your code is not valid since it uses an object whose lifetime has already ended. It works "by accident", you cannot rely on that.