How to return &str?

help
#1 
fn get_str() -> &str {
    let str = fs::read_to_string("file_path").unwrap().as_str();
    str
}

error: cannot return value referencing temporary value

#2

The answer is to return String instead. Returning a &str needs to borrow it from somewhere, but the contents of that file aren't anywhere that lives after the function returns.

You might be interested this article about String vs &str:

#3

Thanks.

#4

Also, note that the error message includes the following:

help: this function's return type contains a borrowed value, but there is no value for it to be borrowed from

Which might help you find that problem in future.

I also have a bug open that the error message for this should just suggest -> String :slight_smile: Suggest returning an owned type instead of a reference in E0106 · Issue #76007 · rust-lang/rust · GitHub

#5

Thanks.

#6

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