Problem with printing vector of object pointer backwards? - c++

Question

I am trying to write a program to print a vector of object pointers backwards.
My instructions for the part of the lab im stuck on:
Function main() to use the GroceryItem class above
a. Read a grocery
item from standard input (std::cin) until end of file. For each item
read:
i. Store the item in a dynamically allocated object
ii. Store the pointer to the item in a standard vector
b. After you have reached the end of file, write the grocery items to standard output (std::cout) in reverse order.
c. Be sure to release the
dynamically allocated objects before exiting the program
I tried looking at multiple forums and can't figure out how to print my vector forwards or backwards since it is a pointer to an object. I'm confused on how to print each member within the object
#include <iostream>
#include "GroceryItem.hpp"
#include <vector>
#include <string>
int main()
{
// vector of GroceryItem pointer
std::vector<GroceryItem*> groceries;
// variables for the parameter of the constructor
std::string upc;
std::string brand;
std::string product;
double price;
int size;
std::cout << "How many grocery items are in your list: ",
std::cin >> size; // size of vector
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
std::cout << "UPC: ", std::cin >> upc;
std::cout << "Brand Name: ", std::cin >> brand;
std::cout << "Product Name: ", std::cin >> product;
std::cout << "Price: ", std::cin >> price;
// constructor of GroceryItem object
groceries.push_back(new GroceryItem(upc, brand, product, price));
}
// trying to print the vector backwards but it only prints the
// address (i want it to print each memeber of the object)
int iterator = size - 1;
while (iterator != -1)
{
std::cout << groceries[iterator] << "\n";
iterator--;
}
return 0;
}

Answer 1

//trying to print the vector backwards but it only prints the
//address (i want it to print each memeber of the object)
In that case, use:
std::cout << *(groceries[iterator]) << "\n";
However, to be able use that, you must add the following overload:
std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, GroceryItem const&);