You don't understand strings.

What this C++ string-handling question tests

This is a medium-difficulty question that probes whether you understand how C++ handles string literals, character arrays, and the standard library's std::string class. It's the kind of detail that separates candidates who have read documentation from those who rely on intuition.

The question asks you to predict the output of a code snippet—a straightforward but revealing exercise. Success requires knowing the difference between string initialization semantics, pointer arithmetic, and implicit conversions. Interviewers use these questions to identify gaps in language knowledge that tend to surface later as subtle bugs.

• String literal types and decay rules
• Initialization of std::string from different sources
• Operator overloading and output stream behavior