searching a name in the csv file on C++ - c++

Question

I am a young programmer who is trying to learn c++. i have a working csv.file. but i want to search for a specific number assigned to the name and then displays the name of what i'm looking for. i have the file here:
1,Bulbasaur,grass
2,Ivysaur, grass
3,Venusaur, grass
4,Charmander, fire
5,Charmeleon, fire
6,Charizard, fire
7,Squirtle, water
8,Wartortle, water
9,Blastoise, water
Code
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
ifstream ip("pokedex.csv");
string pokedexnum[9];
string pokemonName[9];
string pokemonType[9];
cout<<"please enter a pokemon number:"<<" ";
cin>>pokemonType[0];
while (ip.good()){
getline( ip, pokedexnum[0]);
getline( ip, pokemonName[0]);
getline( ip, pokemonType[0]);
}
cout<<"the pokemon that is:"<< " "<<pokedexnum[0]<< "is the pokemon called:"<< pokemonName[0];
ifstream close("pokedex.csv");
return 0;
}
when it runs
please enter a pokemon number: 1
the pokemon that is: is the pokemon called:8,Wartortle, water
could you please point out what i am doing wrong?

Answer 1

Among the issues in this code:
You're not using std::getline correctly for comma-separated data. The result is each pass is consuming three lines from your input file; not three values from each line.
You're also not using ip.good() correctly as a while-condition.
You're retaining your test value in the array, which will be overwritten on the first iteration pass, so it is lost.
You're ignoring potential IO failures with each std::getline invoke.
You're overwriting slot-0 in your arrays with each loop iteration.
Minor, ifstream close("pokedex.csv"); clearly isn't doing what you think it is. That just creates another fstream object called close on the given file name.
The later may be intentional for now, but clearly broken in the near future.
In reality, you don't need arrays for any of this. All you're doing is reading lines, and seem to want to test the input number against that of the CSV data first column, reporting the line that you find, then ending this.
So do that:
Read the input value to search for.
Open the file for scanning.
Enumerate the file one line at a time.
For each line from (3), use a string stream to break the line into the comma separated values.
Test the id value against the input from (1). If the same, report the result and break the loop; you're done.
The result is something like this:
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
#include <sstream>
#include <string>
#include <cstdlib>
int main()
{
std::cout<<"please enter a pokemon number: ";
long num;
if (std::cin >> num && num > 0)
{
std::ifstream ip("pokedex.csv");
std::string line;
while (std::getline(ip, line))
{
std::istringstream iss(line);
std::string id, name, skill;
if (std::getline(iss, id, ',') &&
std::getline(iss, name, ',') &&
std::getline(iss, skill))
{
char *endp = nullptr;
long n = std::strtol(id.c_str(), &endp, 10);
if (id.c_str() != endp && n == num)
{
std::cout << "The pokemon that is: " << num << " is called: " << name << '\n';
break;
}
}
}
}
}
Admittedly untested, but it should work.
Whether you want to store the items in arrays at this point is entirely up to you, but it isn't needed to solve the somewhat abstract problem you seem to be attempting, namely finding the matching line and reporting the name from said-same. If you still want to store them in arrays, I suggest you craft a structure to do so, something like:
struct Pokemon
{
int id;
std::string name;
std::string skill;
};
and have a single array of those, rather than three arbitrary arrays that must be kept in sync.

Answer 2

Four issues jump out at me:
You store the user's input into pokemonType, but then also use pokemonType for reading data from your CSV file. The file input is going to overwrite the user input.
Your file input loop always references index 0. All of the lines from your data file are going into element 0. That's the main reason that even if the user inputs 1, the output is from the last line of the data file.
Your file reading loop is structured like you want to put one part of each data line into a different array, but what you've written actually reads three lines on every iteration, storing those lines into the three different arrays.
This isn't affecting your output, but the code ifstream close("pokedex.csv"); is written like you want to close the file stream you opened, but I do believe what this line actually does is create a new ifstream called close, and opens pokedex.csv attached to it. In other words, it's just like your other line ifstream ip("pokedex.csv"); but with close as the variable name instead of ip.
You are going to want to look into something called "string tokenization". Start with some web searches, apply what you read about to your code, and of course if you hit another snag, post a new question here to Stack Overflow, showing (as you did here) what you tried and in what way it isn't working.
Elaborating on #3, here's what how your data file is being read:
at the end of the 1st iteration of the file-reading loop, ...
pokedexnum[0] is "1,Bulbasaur,grass"
pokemonName[0] is "2,Ivysaur, grass"
pokemonType[0] is "3,Venusaur, grass"
at the end of the 2nd iteration of the file-reading loop, ...
pokedexnum[0] is "4,Charmander, fire"
pokemonName[0] is "5,Charmeleon, fire"
pokemonType[0] is "6,Charizard, fire"
at the end of the 3rd iteration of the file-reading loop, ...
pokedexnum[0] is "7,Squirtle, water"
pokemonName[0] is "8,Wartortle, water"
pokemonType[0] is "9,Blastoise, water"
And that's why
<< "is the pokemon called:"<< pokemonName[0];
outputs
is the pokemon called:8,Wartortle, water