C++ Erase-Remove Idiom not working properly? - c++

Question

This post is a continuation on my post from yesterday: How to output a vector.
So I am in the process of writing a short program that will take a list of strings into a vector, export them to a file, view them before outputting them and lastly remove them if possible. I have managed to get all of the functions working properly except for case 3 (remove a book from the list). The errors I am getting in visual studio as follows:
1.) "No instance of the overloaded function "remove" matches the argument list. [LN 76]
2.) "'Remove': function does not take 2 arguments". [LN 76]
As you can probably tell, I am trying to remove by value instead of index. I am still learning here so be gentle, but why exactly am I getting these errors?
Here is my full code:
#include <iostream>
#include <cctype>
#include <ctype.h>
#include <algorithm>
#include <string>
#include <math.h>
#include <windows.h>
#include <iomanip>
#include <vector>
#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
#include <fstream>
#include <istream>
// common namespace
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int option;
bool iWannaLeave = false;
vector<string> bookCollection;
string entryVal = " ";
int anotherOption;
do
{
cout << "Welcome to MyBook! - A text recorder framework application." << endl;
cout << "-----------------------------------------------------------" << endl;
cout << "Main Menu:" << endl;
cout << "1 - Add a book to the collection." << endl;
cout << "2 - Display all books currently in the collection." << endl;
cout << "3 - Remove books from the collection." << endl;
cout << "4 - Write stored collection to file." << endl;
cout << "5 - Quit" << endl;
cout << "Make your selection: ";
cin >> option;
cin.ignore();
switch (option)
{
case 1:
{
bool wannaMoreBooks = false;
// the next loop will execute at least one time so you could enter a book
do
{
wannaMoreBooks = false;
cout << "Add a book title to the collection: ";
getline(cin, entryVal);
bookCollection.push_back(entryVal);
cout << "Would you like to enter another book?(1 - yes, 0 - no): ";
cin >> anotherOption;
cin.ignore();
if (anotherOption == 1) wannaMoreBooks = true;
} while (wannaMoreBooks == true);
}
break;
case 2:
{
for (int i = 0; i < bookCollection.size(); i++)
cout << bookCollection[i] << " | ";
cout << endl;
break;
}
case 3:
{
string vecVal;
cout << "Enter the value you would like to remove: " << endl;
cin >> vecVal;
bookCollection.erase(remove(bookCollection.begin(), vecVal), bookCollection.end());
}
// remove a book from the collection
break;
case 4:
{
ofstream fileOut("Collection.txt");
fileOut << "Your MyBook Collection: [Begin] - | ";
auto first = true;
for (string x : bookCollection)
{
if (!first) { fileOut << " | "; }
first = false;
fileOut << x;
}
fileOut << " | - [End]" << endl;
cout << "Collection.txt has been successfully written." << endl;
break;
}
case 5:
{
//Nested IF to kill program properly
int quitVar;
cout << "Are you sure you want to exit the program?: ";
cin >> quitVar;
cin.ignore();
if (quitVar == 1)
{
cout << "The program will now be terminated." << endl;
iWannaLeave = true;
}
else if (quitVar == 0) cout << "Returning to the main menu." << endl;
}
break;
}
} while (iWannaLeave == false);
return 0;
}
I am aware that this is no where near perfect code so in addition to finding out why I am getting these errors I would also like some constructive criticism as to how I can improve.
Additionally: If I wanted to go about using functions in a header file as opposed to a switch, would I just move the case contents to a header file?
Thanks in advance! :)

Answer 1

Virtually all STL-functions take one or more pairs of iterators. Since you just pass begin, there is no viable overload. You need to call
remove(bookCollection.begin(), bookCollection.end(), vecVal)
It is always a good idea to check the reference, which typically also contains a basic usage example.