C++: Overloading the << operator - c++

Question

I have a very silly problem that I just can't figure out. I'm trying to overload the << operator in my "PrioQueue" class. I'm still pretty new to C++ and i've tried almost every example I could find on the web but nothing works.
The PrioQueue is a template class I made that works like a normal Queue but puts the highest value it receives on the top.
PrioQueue<int> intq1(5);
intq1.push(1);
intq1.push(2);
intq1.push(1);
cout << intq1;
The << operator should write all the values that I've pushed to the queue with a '|' in between. So like this:
2 | 1 | 1 |
This is my overload operator << method.
friend std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, PrioQueue q){
while(!q.empty()){
out.write(q.pop()); //This method pops off the top value and returns it
}
return out;
}
I hope this is enough information but if not. This is my full code:
#include "stdafx.h"
#include <iostream>
#include <ostream>
using namespace std;
template <typename Type>
class PrioQueue
{
private:
Type *bottom_;
Type *top_;
int size_;
public:
PrioQueue(Type size){
bottom_ = new Type[size];
top_ = bottom_;
size_ = size;
}
friend PrioQueue operator+(PrioQueue q1, PrioQueue q2){
while(!q2.empty()){
q1.push(q2.pop());
}
return q1;
}
friend std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, PrioQueue q){
while(!q.empty()){
out.write(q.pop());
}
return out;
}
//Checks to see if the given value is bigger than the bottom character.
//If so, the bottom and the given value swap places.
//If not, the value gets placed at the top of the queue
void push(Type t){
if(*bottom_ < t){
*top_ = *bottom_;
*bottom_ = t;
}else{
*top_ = t;
}
top_++;
}
int num_items() {
return (top_ - bottom_);
}
Type pop(){
return *(bottom_++);
}
int full() {
return (num_items() >= size_);
}
int empty() {
return (num_items() <= 0);
}
void print(){
cout << "Queue currently holds " << num_items() << " items: " ;
for (Type *element=top_-1; element >= bottom_; element--) {
cout << " " << *element;
}
cout << "\n";
}
int getSize(){
return size_;
}
~PrioQueue(){ // stacks when exiting functions
bottom_ = 0;
delete[] bottom_;
}
};
void intExample(){
PrioQueue<int> intq1(5);
intq1.push(1);
intq1.push(2);
intq1.push(1);
cout << intq1;
intq1.print();
PrioQueue<int> intq2(5);
intq2.push(8);
intq2.push(2);
intq2.push(5);
intq2.print();
PrioQueue<int> intq3(10);
intq3 = intq1 + intq2;
intq3.print();
cout << intq3;
}
void charExample(){
PrioQueue<char> charq1(5);
charq1.push('t');
charq1.push('h');
charq1.push('g');
charq1.print();
PrioQueue<char> charq2(5);
charq2.push('i');
charq2.push('q');
charq2.push('k');
charq2.print();
PrioQueue<char> charq3(10);
charq3 = charq1 + charq2;
charq3.print();
}
int main(){
intExample();
charExample();
return 0;
}

Answer 1

This would work:
friend std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, PrioQueue q){
while(!q.empty()){
out << q.pop() << "|";
}
return out << "\n"; // if you want a newline, otherwise just "return out;"
}
Edit Note that for this to work, you will have to modify your queue to be copyable. You need to add a copy constructor and an assignment operator (see the rule of three) or use a type that is copyable and assignable to store your data (see std::vector, std::deque, or container adapter std::priority_queue if this is not an exercise).

Answer 2

The problem is that the out.write() expects a const char* and size. First of all, your Type will not implicitly convert to const char* and also, you're missing an argument.
Using out << q.pop() will fix the problem for you.