Passing relative path to ifstream c++ - c++

Question

I am working on dev c++. I am using file stream to open a file which is already placed in a folder. Below is my code.
int main(){
ifstream file; // File stream object
string name; // To hold the file name
//Write the path of the folder in which your file is placed
string path = "C:\\Users\\Faisal\\Desktop\\Programs\\";
string inputLine; // To hold a line of input
int lines = 0; // Line counter
int lineNum = 1; // Line number to display
// Get the file name.
cout << "Enter the file name: ";
getline(cin, name);// Open the file.
string fileToOpen = path + name + ".txt";
file.open(fileToOpen.c_str(),ios::in);// Test for errors.
if (!file){
// There was an error so display an error
// message and end the PROGRAM.
cout << "Error opening " << name << endl;
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
// Read the contents of the file and display
// each line with a line number.
// Get a line from the file.
getline(file, inputLine, '\n');
while (!file.fail()){
// Display the line.
cout << setw(3) << right << lineNum<< ":" << inputLine << endl;
// Update the line DISPLAY COUNTER for the next line.
lineNum++;// Update the total line counter.
lines++;// If we've displayed the 24th line, pause the screen.
if (lines == 24){
cout << "Press ENTER to CONTINUE...";
cin.get();
lines = 0;
}
// Get a line from the file.
getline(file, inputLine, '\n');
}
//Close the file.
file.close();
return 0;
}
My file is in the same folder where my program resides i.e. in my C:\\Users\\Faisal\\Desktop\\Programs\\. However, I want to use a relative path, so whoever runs the program can access the file.
How can I pass the relative path?
Any help would be highly appreciated.

Answer 1

Consider using /tmp directory on unices and System.IO.Path.GetTempPath() on Windows.
How to get temporary folder for current user
If you decide to use current working directory, you need to find current working directory executable cwd which is not at the same place on all platforms.
How do I get the directory that a program is running from?
Check out https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/filesystem/current_path also