If you have ever used any of the EmptyXXX() functions, or ever will, please
read on.
These functions (in string_util.h and gurl.h) are meant for a single,
specific use case:
const std::string& MyClass::foo() const {
return (everything == OK) ? member_string : EmptyString();
}
Here you cannot return "string()", because it's destroyed before the
function returns, and the caller receives garbage; and you don't want to
have the function return by value, because you can access the member
variable directly and save a copy. The utility functions give you a global
empty string that you can safely return a const reference to.
DON'T USE THESE OUTSIDE THIS CASE. You should never use these as
initializers, arguments to functions, or return values in functions that
return by value. Just use the default constructor; that's what it's there
for.
I have a change out for review that removes the erroneous uses of these from
our codebase and clarifies the comment on their declaration, but it's worth
calling this out directly so they don't creep back in.
PK
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