Using my class member functions practically - c++

Question

I'm trying to make a program that does input/output in the following way, notice that I HAVE NOT finished all of the functions yet. I just need some tips on how to get started because I'm completely stumped on what to do...ANY hints/help would be so appreciated.
Input follows this:
Add Alice
Add Bob
Update Alice laptop 6000 2
Output Alice
Update Bob deskTop 18000 4
Update Bob tabLet 4600 3
Output Bob
Add Charlie
OUTPUT FOR THIS INPUT:
Alice is seller 1.
Bob is seller 2.
Alice sold 2 laptop computers for 6000 Dollars.
Alice: $6000; sold 2 LapTops, 0 DeskTops and 0 Tablets.
Bob sold 4 desktop computers for 18000 Dollars.
Bob sold 3 tablet computers for 4600 Dollars.
Bob: $22600; sold 0 LapTops, 4 DeskTops and 3 Tablets.
Charlie is seller 3.
I really have no idea where to start off now... I need to be able to input the command followed by arguments for the member function parameters...but really have no clue how to incorporate this... this is my second month in C++, so note that I really don't know any advanced things. I have knowledge up to classes....
Main question is just how to use these practically...
Other important info:::: 1. Add – Add command. Add a seller with the given name (Sellername) to the end of the list if a seller with that name doesn't already exist and the list isn't full. The name will be a contiguous sequence of non-white-space characters. Your program doesn't need to check this. See sample outputs.
Output – Output command. Output the total value of computers sold and the total number of each type of computer sold for that seller. If the seller doesn't exist, print an appropriate message. See sample outputs.
Update – Update command. Update the seller with the given sales and the appropriate number of computers. For this command: Sellername designates the name of the sales person; typeOfComputer designates either laptop, desktop or tablet; total-Dollars designates the amount in dollars that was sold; number-of-Computers-Sold designates the quantity of computers of this type that were sold. Your program should convert the typeOfComputer parameter to lower case, as the input will use a mixed case designation. [Hint, include , use function
char tolower(char c); // if c is upper case, returns it in lower case
If the seller doesn't exist, print an appropriate message (and read and discard the data). See sample outputs.
Quit – Quit command. Print out the list of people who sold enough to win the fabulous vacation.
#include <iostream>
#include <cctype>
#include <string>
#include "conio.h"
using namespace std;
const int MAX_SELLERS = 5;
const int NOT_FOUND = -1;
const float GOAL_IN_DOLLARS = 35000.0f;
const int GOAL_IN_COMPUTERS = 12;
class Seller
{
private:
float salestotal; // run total of sales in dollars
int lapTopSold; // running total of lap top computers sold
int deskTopSold; // running total of desk top computers sold
int tabletSold; // running total of tablet computers sold
string name; // name of the seller
public:
// default constructor
Seller()
{
name = "";
salestotal = 0.0;
lapTopSold = 0;
deskTopSold = 0;
tabletSold = 0;
}
// parameterized constructor and member functions
// Constructor:
// Initializes the Seller's name to newname.
// Initializes the Seller's salestotal to 0 and all integer fields to 0.
// Params: in
Seller ( string newname );
// Returns true if the seller's name is the same as nameToSearch;
// false otherwise.
// Params: in
bool SellerHasName ( string nameToSearch );
// Returns true if the seller sold GOAL_IN_COMPUTERS computers
// or GOAL_IN_DOLLARS sales or more.
// Params: NONE
bool WinsPrize ( );
// Adds the money and number of computers to the seller's accumulated
// sales total and number of computers sold based on the computer type.
// That is, if the computer type is “DESKTOP” then the desktop field is
// updated by numComputers, if the computer type is “LAPTOP” then the
// laptop field is updated by numComputers, if the computer type is
// “TABLET” then the tablet fields is updated by numComputers.
// Params: in, in, in
void UpdateSales ( float totalDollars, int numComputers,
string computerType );
// Print the salesperson's name, sales total, and number of
// computers sold.
// Params: NONE
void PrintSales ( );
};
Seller::Seller(string newname)
{
name = newname;
salestotal = 0.0;
lapTopSold = 0;
deskTopSold = 0;
tabletSold = 0;
}
bool Seller::SellerHasName ( string nameToSearch )
{
if(name == nameToSearch)
return true;
else
return false;
}
bool Seller::WinsPrize ( )
{
if(salestotal >= GOAL_IN_DOLLARS || (lapTopSold + deskTopSold +
tabletSold) >= GOAL_IN_COMPUTERS)
return true;
else
return false;
}
void Seller::UpdateSales( float totalDollars, int numComputers,
string computerType )
{
salestotal += totalDollars;
if(computerType == "DESKTOP")
deskTopSold += numComputers;
else if(computerType == "LAPTOP")
lapTopSold += numComputers;
else if(computerType == "TABLET")
tabletSold += numComputers;
}
void Seller::PrintSales ()
{
cout << name << " " << salestotal << "; sold " << lapTopSold <<
"LapTops, " << deskTopSold << " DeskTops, " << "and " <<
tabletSold << " Tablets." << endl;
}
class SellerList
{
private:
int num; // current number of salespeople in the list
Seller salespeople[MAX_SELLERS];
public:
// default constructor to make an empty list
SellerList()
{
num = 0;
}
// member functions
// If a salesperson with thisname is in the SellerList, this
// function returns the associated index; otherwise, return NOT_FOUND.
// Params: in
int Find ( string thisName );
void Add(Seller sellerName);
void Output(Seller sellerName);
};
int SellerList::Find(string thisName)
{
for(int i = 0; i < MAX_SELLERS; i++)
if(salespeople[i].SellerHasName(thisName))
return i;
return NOT_FOUND;
}
// Add a salesperson to the salespeople list IF the list is not full
// and if the list doesn't already contain the same name.
void SellerList::Add(Seller sellerName)
{
Seller(sellerName);
num++;
}
// Output the total value of computers sold and the total number of each
// type of computer sold for that seller. If the seller does not
// exist, print an appropriate message
void SellerList::Output(Seller sellerName)
{
}
int main()
{
return 0;
}

Answer 1

Assuming your Seller implementation is correct and comprehensive (I didn't check it) all you need to do is parse input. In order to parse input, you should read it line by line, interpreting each line as some sort of a command. This command consists of a command name itself along with its arguments (if any).
There are several approaches:
First one:
While end of file isn't reached:
Read a line (string from the current position up to \n symbol)
Split it by spaces. First element of the result is command, rest are arguments. You may need to convert it to appropriate type before executing Seller's method.
Second one:
While end of file isn't reached:
Read a word (from current position up to whitespace symbol).
Now you know the command. If you know the command, you know what arguments should be passed. You can extract them from input right there or delegate it to some other function / method (you pass a reference to input stream to that function and work with that reference)
Take a look at documentation on <iostream> in order to see function's and method's names as well as some examples.