Shifting an array of structs C++ - c++

Question

I am quite new to c++ programming and data structures and really need some help. I am working on an assignment where I have a text file with 100 lines and on each line there is an item, a status(for sale or wanted), and a price. I need to go through the text file and add lines to an array of structs and as I add lines I need to compare the new information with the previously submitted information. If there is a line that is wanted and has a price higher than a previously input item that is for sale then the item would be removed from the struct and the array of structs shifted.
The place that I am having trouble is in actually shifting all the structs once a line that satisfies the condition is found.
My issue is that when I try to shift the array of structs using the second for loop nothing happens and I just get null structs and nothing seems to move.
Please if you guys can offer any help it would be greatly appreciated.
Below is the code of the text file and my current code.
#include<iostream>
#include<fstream>
#include <string>
#include <algorithm>
#include <sstream>
using namespace std;
struct items
{
string type;
int status;
int price;
} itemArray [100];
int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
int x = -1;
//int chickenCount = 0;
int counter = 0;
int itemsSold = 0;
int itemsRemoved = 0;
int itemsForSale = 0;
int itemsWanted = 0;
string itemType;
int itemStatus = 0;
int itemPrice = 0;
int match = 0;
ifstream myReadFile( "messageBoard.txt" ) ;
std::string line;
//char output[100];
if (myReadFile.is_open()) {
while (!myReadFile.eof()) {
getline(myReadFile,line); // Saves the line in STRING.
line.erase(std::remove(line.begin(), line.end(), ' '), line.end());
//cout<<line<<endl; // Prints our STRING.
x++;
std::string input = line;
std::istringstream ss(input);
std::string token;
while(std::getline(ss, token, ',')) {
counter++;
//std::cout << token << '\n';
if (counter>3){
counter =1;
}
//cout << x << endl;
if (counter == 1){
itemType = token;
//cout<< itemType<<endl;
}
if (counter == 2){
if (token == "forsale"){
itemStatus = 1;
//itemsForSale++;
}
if (token == "wanted"){
itemStatus = 0;
//itemsWanted++;
}
//cout<< itemStatus<<endl;
}
if (counter == 3){
itemPrice = atoi(token.c_str());
//cout<< itemPrice<<endl;
}
//cout<<"yo"<<endl;
}
if (x >= 0){
for (int i = 0; i<100;i++){
if (itemArray[i].type == itemType){
//cout<<itemType<<endl;
if(itemArray[i].status != itemStatus){
if (itemArray[i].status == 1){
if(itemPrice>=itemArray[i].price){
itemsSold++;
match =1;
//itemArray[i].type = "sold";
for (int j=i; j<100-1;j++){
//cout<<j<<endl;
itemArray[j].type = itemArray[j+1].type;
itemArray[j].status = itemArray[j+1].status;
itemArray[j].price = itemArray[j+1].price;
}
i =i-1;
break;
}
}
if (itemArray[i].status == 0){
if(itemArray[i].price>=itemPrice){
itemsSold++;
match = 1;
//itemArray[i].type = "sold";
for (int j=i; j<100-1;j++){
//cout<<j<<endl;
itemArray[j].type = itemArray[j+1].type;
itemArray[j].status = itemArray[j+1].status;
itemArray[j].price = itemArray[j+1].price;
}
i=i-1;
break;
}
}
}
}
}
}
if (counter == 3 && match == 0){
itemArray[(x)].type = itemType;
itemArray[(x)].status = itemStatus;
itemArray[(x)].price = itemPrice;
}
match = 0;
// cout << itemArray[x].type << " " << itemArray[x].status<<" "<<itemArray[x].price<<endl;
}
for(int i=0;i<100;i++){
cout<<itemArray[i].type<< " "<<itemArray[i].status<<" "<<itemArray[i].price<<endl;
}
//cout<<itemArray[1].price<<endl;
cout << itemsSold<<endl;
}
myReadFile.close();
return 0;
}
text file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8O3izVcHJBzem0wMzA3VHoxNk0/view?usp=sharing
Thanks for the help

Answer 1

I see several issues in the code, but without being able to test it, I think the main problem is that you always insert new elements at position 'x' which correspond to the currently line read from the file, without taking into account any shift of elements done. You should insert the new element at the first empty slot (or just overwrite the old element instead of shifting everything).
An other issue is that you do not initialize the status and price in your array.
The best way would be to rewrite the code by using more standard C++ features, for example:
replace the items structure by a class with a constructor defining default values
use object copy (there is no need to copy a struct element by element)
use standard C++ containers like a list (see http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/list/list/) which has insert and erase methods