In C++, **reversing a string**, or completely flipping a string means flipping changing the order of the characters in it, such that it reads backward. 

The illustration below shows what happens when we reverse a string.

# How do you reverse a string?

There are multiple implementations that can be used to reverse a string, depending on the requirements of the programme you are writing. Let's look at all of them in order. 

## 1. Using the built-in reverse function

  C++ has an in-built `reverse` function, that can be called to reverse a string. This function takes in two inputs; 
  * The iterator for the string start 
  * The iterator for string ends 

The code snippet below shows how to use this function:

#include <iostream>
//The library below must be included for the reverse function to work
#include<bits/stdc++.h> 
using namespace std;

int main() {
  
  string greeting = "Hello";
  //Note that it takes the iterators to the start and end of the string as arguments
  reverse(greeting.begin(),greeting.end());
  cout<<greeting<<endl;
}

## 2. Using a loop

Within the `main` body of the function, a *loop* can be written to reverse a string. 

In the loop body, you will use the `swap` function, which is in-built, to change element positions. In case one is not allowed to use any in-built function, the second code tab shows how to carry out the reverse loop. 

The third tab shows how to do the same reversal with a while loop using the `swap` method. 

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
 
  string greeting = "Hello";
  int len = greeting.length();
  int n=len-1;
  for(int i=0;i<(len/2);i++){
    //Using the swap method to switch values at each index
    swap(greeting[i],greeting[n]);
    n = n-1;

  }
  cout<<greeting<<endl;
}

swap

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
  
  string greeting = "Hello";
  int len = greeting.length();
  int n=len-1;
  for(int i=0;i<(len/2);i++){

    //Using temp to store the char value at index i so 
    //you can swap it in later for char value at index n
    char temp = greeting[i];
    greeting[i] = greeting[n];
    greeting[n] = temp;
    n = n-1;

  }
  cout<<greeting<<endl;
}

No_swap

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
 
  string greeting = "Hello";
  int len = greeting.length();
  int n = len-1;
  int i = 0;
  while(i<=n){
    //Using the swap method to switch values at each index
    swap(greeting[i],greeting[n]);
    n = n-1;
    i = i+1;

  }
  cout<<greeting<<endl;
}

while

>**Note:** The for loop only runs for **half the length** of the string as swaps are happening between the first and last positions and slowly moving inwards till both `i` and `n` are the same. The while loop shows this condition more explicitly.

## 3. Using a function

A function can also be written to reverse a string using recursion. 

The code snippet below shows how:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

void reverse_String(string& greet, int n,int i){

  if(n<=i){return;}

  swap(greet[i],greet[n]);
  reverse_String(greet,n-1,i+1);

}

int main() {
  
  string greeting = "Hello";
  cout<<"String before reversal: "<<greeting<<endl;
  reverse_String(greeting,greeting.length()-1,0);
  cout<<"String after reversal: "<<greeting<<endl;
  
}

## 4. Creating a new string
A roundabout method for reversing a string is looping backwards through it and storing the elements in a new string of the same size. 

To add elements to an empty string, we can the `push_back` method.

The code below shows how:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
  
  string greeting = "Hello";

  string new_greeting;

  for(int n = greeting.length()-1; n >= 0; n--){
    new_greeting.push_back(greeting[n]);
  }
  cout<<"Original string: "<< greeting << endl;
  cout<<"New reversed string: "<< new_greeting << endl;
  
}

How to reverse a string in C++

Reverse a string in C++ using built-in reverse, loops with swap, recursion, or by creating a new string.