如何在const＆参数上使用QString :: replace？

Question

What is the best way to call QString::replace in a non-destructive way ?

I have a function taking a const QString& as a parameter, then I can't directly call call replace because this function modify the object (same for remove ).
I would like to chain calls on the parameter and to use that as an expression like :

return myString.replace(QRegExp("\\s+"), "_").remove("someSuffix");

Of course I could change the function definition to take the QString by value instead of reference, but I don't like this solution. One could later wonder why we are not passing by reference like the rest of the parameters.

I can also make a local copy but is there any more practical/clean way ?

Answer 1

You can create a temporary and operate on it:

return QString(argument).replace(QRegExp("\\s+"), "_").remove("someSuffix");

However, I don't see anything bad in accepting the argument by value. You are copying the argument in one way or another, and acepting by value clearly indicates this to the user.