what does this function declaration mean in c++

Question

virtual const char* what() const throw()
{

}

AFAIK it\'s a function that will return a constant pointer to a mutable char. The rest I am not sure.

Answer 1

From left to right:

• virtual - this function may be overridden in derived classes
• const char* - this function returns a modifiable pointer to a constant (array of) char
• what() - this function takes no parameters
• const - this function does not modify the (non-mutable) members of the object on which it is called, and hence can be called on const instances of its class
• throw() - this function is not expected to throw any exceptions. If it does, unexpected will be called.