Re: String literals and templates

Consider the following function:

template <typename T>
void foo(const T& t) { // pass-by-reference
 std::cout << t << std::endl;
}

If I call this function three times:
 foo("a");
 foo("bb");
 foo("ccc");
...the compiler renders 3 different functions:
void foo<char [2]>(char const (&) [2]);
void foo<char [3]>(char const (&) [3]);
void foo<char [4]>(char const (&) [4]);

However, if I write foo to be pass-by-value, gcc takes this chance to
optimize the code in such a way that only one function is generated:
void foo<char const*>(char const*);

What is the easiest way to get the "best of both worlds" in this
situation? By that I mean how can I get the least amount of generated
code (only one function for all string literals) and the ability to
pass by reference?