Using char* as a key in std::map

You need to give a comparison functor to the map otherwise it's comparing the pointer, not the null-terminated string it points to. In general, this is the case anytime you want your map key to be a pointer.

For example:

struct cmp_str
{
   bool operator()(char const *a, char const *b) const
   {
      return std::strcmp(a, b) < 0;
   }
};

map<char *, int, cmp_str> BlahBlah;

You can't use char* unless you are absolutely 100% sure you are going to access the map with the exact same pointers, not strings.

Example:

char *s1; // pointing to a string "hello" stored memory location #12
char *s2; // pointing to a string "hello" stored memory location #20

If you access map with s1 you will get a different location than accessing it with s2.

Two C-style strings can have equal contents but be at different addresses. And that map compares the pointers, not the contents.

The cost of converting to std::map<std::string, int> may not be as much as you think.

But if you really do need to use const char* as map keys, try:

#include <functional>
#include <cstring>
struct StrCompare : public std::binary_function<const char*, const char*, bool> {
public:
    bool operator() (const char* str1, const char* str2) const
    { return std::strcmp(str1, str2) < 0; }
};

typedef std::map<const char*, int, StrCompare> NameMap;
NameMap g_PlayerNames;