C++ Write Run Output to File - c++

I have a program with a small game which I created, I want to save a log at the end of the game which takes all of the 'Run' output to a text file. Its a pretty hefty game which uses multiple different classes and states so I wont be posting the code. However this is my save function:
void saveState(){
string inputFile;
std::cout << "Please enter a file to write to:" << std::endl;
std::cin >> inputFile;
std::ofstream myFile;
myFile.open(inputFile);
myFile << "Hello";
myFile.close();
std::cout << "Saving to file " << inputFile << std::endl;
}
Is there any possible way to fetch the output and put it into a text file?
This is my output for reference:
Also I am using CLion if that means anything?

Related

Opening a C++ .txt file using user-input

I'm trying to open a C++ .txt file as shown in my code below. This is part of a larger program that I'm working on where I write the contents of one file into another so that it contains the same information as the original but I am required to provide user-input. If the user-provides a .txt file that is not the one we are using, I have to produce an error message and prompt them to re-enter an input until they input the correct one (test.txt):
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
/* Refers to test.txt */
ofstream mainfile;
std::string filename;
std::cout << "Please enter the name of your data file: ";
std::cin >> filename;
mainfile.open(filename.c_str());
mainfile << "test.txt";
if(!mainfile) {
std::cout << "I'm sorry, I could not open '" << filename << "'." << std::endl;
std::cout << "Please enter another name: " <<
std::endl;
std::cin >> filename;
} else {
std::cout << "File '" << filename << "' opened successfully!" << std::endl;
}
return 0;
}
My current issue is that the program is terminating too early, even when I input incorrect inputs such as jaguar.txt or flowers.txt, anything that isn't "test.txt". In fact, when I input just about any .txt file name it will output saying that it opened successfully.
It seems that what you want to do is open up 2 different files, where one is used as the file to copy from (test.txt), and the other is the file to copy to (jaguar.txt). Instead of checking if test.txt exists with std::ofstream, you should instead use std::ifstream.
Using ifstream, if the file does not exist, your code will work properly. Instead, because you are currently using ofstream, the file will open correctly, because you're essentially telling it to make the file for you.
So basically, where you have used ofstream mainfile, instead it should be:
ifstream mainfile;
Later in the code, you can prompt the user for the file to copy to (i.e. jaguar.txt), and this will be the one where you output data using ofstream.
Use ifstream to read from a file, and ofstream to write to a file.
To check whether the source file exists, test the corresponding ifstream after trying to open it:
ifstream mainfile; // ifstream stands for "input file stream"
std::cout << "Please enter the name of your data file: ";
std::cin >> filename;
mainfile.open(filename);
while (!mainfile) { // asking endlessly, until the user inputs a good file
std::cout << "I'm sorry, I could not open '" << filename << "'." << std::endl;
std::cout << "Please enter another name: " <<
std::endl;
std::cin >> filename;
mainfile.open(filename);
}
std::cout << "File '" << filename << "' opened successfully!" << std::endl;
By the way, in the error message "open" is programmer's jargon. It's a general word which includes both reading and writing. If your application copies stuff from one file to the other, the user may get confused: is there a problem with input or output? You might want to say "read" instead of "open", even though technically you didn't read anything yet. That would make a clearer error message.
If you want to copy one file to another, use one of the methods described in a dedicated question.

ifstream not working with variable parameter using C++11 and c_str() appended

Note: I am using the C++11 standard, so I don't see why this isn't working with or without c_str() appended.
I have the following code:
// open streams
ifstream in(input);
ofstream out(output);
// get which file to open
in.ignore(INT_MAX, ':'); // we don't need the beginning part
in.ignore(); // remove trailing whitespace
string fileLocation;
getline(in, fileLocation);
out << "Loading: " << fileLocation << endl;
cout << "Loading: " << fileLocation << endl;
// now that we know where the file is, load it:
ifstream file(fileLocation);
which reads from a file that looks vaguely like this
File: file.txt
(Subcommands below)
I know that I am pulling the correct filename because of the terminal output.
Anyway, I noticed that the stream wasn't opening properly, so I added this conditional to check:
if ( !file )
{
cout << "File wasn't loaded properly." << endl;
}
And sure enough, I see that message when running the program.
My question is this: how come, when I hard-code the file location, e.g. ifstream file("file.txt") it opens up no problem? How do I get this working properly?

Trying to manipulate files in c++

When using <fstream> library to open and add a stream to an existing file test.rtf and I use the following lines:
char data[100];
// open a file in write mode.
ofstream outfile;
outfile.open("test.rtf");
if (outfile.is_open()) { cout << "file is open" << endl; }
cout << "Writing to the file" << endl;
cout << "Enter your name: ";
cin.getline(data, 100);
// write inputted data into the file.
outfile << data << endl;
And when reading it by using ifstream, the lines input are displayed correctly. The problem is the output file is not modified and lines I have added are not saved. The question might sound very stupid but it's a problem I could not resolve.
When you << to your file you are just writing to a buffer, not actually "flushing" it to the file itself. If you just close your file you should be fine.
So:
outfile.close()
Also in the future you can flush (actually write from buffer to the file) when you want to write to a file but not close it. .close() flushes then closes for you automatically.

C++: How can I switch between input and output from file?

I'm trying to write up a program that will display the contents of a text file to the screen for a user. Specifically, the text file will be a list of names that the program will read and display each name to the user individually. The user will then either like the name and keep it or dislike the name and remove it.
My dilemma is: if the user elects to keep the name, the program will need to go from reading the file to "writing" (deleting the name) the file and then back to reading the file again! I found the following relevant code on http://www.tutorialspoint.com/cplusplus/cpp_files_streams.htm. It shows that one must use .close() to switch from reading to writing, but this seems funky to a newbie like me. Is there a better way to do it or is the code below just fine?
#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main ()
{
char data[100];
// open a file in write mode.
ofstream outfile;
outfile.open("afile.dat");
cout << "Writing to the file" << endl;
cout << "Enter your name: ";
cin.getline(data, 100);
// write inputted data into the file.
outfile << data << endl;
cout << "Enter your age: ";
cin >> data;
cin.ignore();
// again write inputted data into the file.
outfile << data << endl;
// close the opened file.
outfile.close();
This is where the file goes from write mode to read mode.
// open a file in read mode.
ifstream infile;
infile.open("afile.dat");
cout << "Reading from the file" << endl;
infile >> data;
// write the data at the screen.
cout << data << endl;
// again read the data from the file and display it.
infile >> data;
cout << data << endl;
// close the opened file.
infile.close();
return 0;
}
Also, I'm having a hard time finding how to read and modify individual characters in the file. I need to do this too, as the file needs to follow a specific pattern, with five names per line and one space between each name (newline at end of fifth name, obviously). Help with this would be appreciated.
Changing things mid-file is complicated.
What I would do is either create a temporary file, write the kept names to that file and replace the original file with this temporary file, (or just store the kept names in a vector and rewrite the file)
try
std::fstream ff("io.txt", std::fstream::in | std::fstream::out);
and fstream::read, fstream::write, fstream::seekg
If the file is small then load it into memory.
Otherwise use fopen with "a+" or "r+" mode and fseek.

Save txt file as the name of a variable

What I would like the user to do is type a file name in such as testquote and then for my program to add .txt to the end to save the file as a .txt, this is so I can save multiple quotes to the computer without over writing. This is what I have so far:
cout << "What would you like to save the quotation as? (Maybe using your last name) " << endl;
cin >> nameOfFile;
ofstream outfile; // Opens file in write mode
outfile.open(nameOfFile)<<(".txt"); // Opens the quotations file
//Lawn
outfile << "The total lawn area is " << lawnArea << " square meters" << endl; // Writes users data into the file
outfile << "The total cost for the lawn is £" << (lawnArea * lawnCost) << endl; // Writes users data into the file
Assuming nameOfFile is a std::string, you can use std::string::operator+ to concatenate it with ".txt":
ofstream outfile(nameOfFile + ".txt");
(Note: there's no need to call open - just pass the filename to the constructor)
outfile.open(nameOfFile)<<(".txt"); // Opens the quotations file
This line of code is simply wrong. You seem to be confused with usage of the operator<< in conjunction with the std::ofstream class.
What you want is a std::string variable containing the name of the file to be opened. Appending a .txt extension should be done automatically, right?
So first have a variable to receive the users file name choice (without the .txt):
std::string nameOfFile;
// ...
cin >> nameOfFile;
Then append a .txt:
nameOfFile += ".txt";
Then construct a std::ofstream with this string:
std::ofstream outfile(nameOfFile.c_str());