PGM File Reader Doesn't Read Asymmetric Files - c++

Question

I'm writing a simple PGM file reader for a basic CV idea, and I'm having a weird issue. My method seems to work alright for symmetric files (255 x 255, for example), but when I try to read an asymmetric file (300 x 246), I get some weird input. One file reads to a certain point and then dumps ESCAPE characters (ASCII 27) into the remainder of the image (see below), and others just won't read. I think this might be some flawed logic or a memory issue. Any help would be appreciated.
// Process files of binary type (P5)
else if(holdString[1] == '5') {
// Assign fileType value
fileType = 5;
// Read in comments and discard
getline(fileIN, holdString);
// Read in image Width value
fileIN >> width;
// Read in image Height value
fileIN >> height;
// Read in Maximum Grayscale Value
fileIN >> max;
// Determine byte size if Maximum value is over 256 (1 byte)
if(max < 256) {
// Collection variable for bytes
char readChar;
// Assign image dynamic memory
*image = new int*[height];
for(int index = 0; index < height; index++) {
(*image)[index] = new int[width];
}
// Read in 1 byte at a time
for(int row = 0; row < height; row++) {
for(int column = 0; column < width; column++) {
fileIN.get(readChar);
(*image)[row][column] = (int) readChar;
}
}
// Close the file
fileIN.close();
} else {
// Assign image dynamic memory
// Read in 2 bytes at a time
// Close the file
}
}

Answer 1

Tinkered with it a bit, and came up with at least most of a solution. Using the .read() function, I was able to draw the whole file in and then read it piece by piece into the int array. I kept the dynamic memory because I wanted to draw in files of different sizes, but I did pay more attention to how it was read into the array, so thank you for the suggestion, Mark. The edits seem to work well on files up to 1000 pixels wide or tall, which is fine for what I'm using it for. After, it distorts, but I'll still take that over not reading the file.
if(max < 256) {
// Collection variable for bytes
int size = height * width;
unsigned char* data = new unsigned char[size];
// Assign image dynamic memory
*image = new int*[height];
for(int index = 0; index < height; index++) {
(*image)[index] = new int[width];
}
// Read in 1 byte at a time
fileIN.read(reinterpret_cast<char*>(data), size * sizeof(unsigned char));
// Close the file
fileIN.close();
// Set data to the image
for(int row = 0; row < height; row++) {
for(int column = 0; column < width; column++) {
(*image)[row][column] = (int) data[row*width+column];
}
}
// Delete temporary memory
delete[] data;
}