How to use "gets" function in C++ after previous input? - c++

I tried to input data with gets() function, but whenever program execution get to the the lien with the gets, it ignores it.
When I use gets() without previous data input, it runs properly. But when I use it after data input the problem happens.
Here's the code where it is used after previous data input (so in execution I can't input data to string):
int main() {
char str[255];
int a = 0;
cin >> a;
if(a == 1) {
gets(str);
cout << "\n" << str << endl;
}
}
How could I fix this?
NB: the same happens with cin.getline

After
cin >>a
when you input a and enter, there is also a \n character left by cin, therefore, when you use cin.getline() or gets(str) it will read that newline character.
try the following:
cin >>a;
cin.ignore(); //^^this is necessary
if(a==1){
gets(str);
}
You'd better use C++ way of reading input:
cin >> a;
cin.ignore();
string str;
if (a == 1)
{
getline(cin, str);
}

Related

The best way to capture user input int with error handling loop

In my case, I have to make sure the user input is either 1 or 2, or 3.
Here's my code:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
void invalid_choice_prompt() {
string msg = "\nInvalid Command! Please try again.";
cout << msg << endl;
}
int ask_user_rps_check_input(int user_choice) {
if (user_choice == 1 || user_choice == 2 || user_choice == 3) return 1;
return 0;
}
int ask_user_rps() {
// ask user's choice of Rock or Paper or Scissors
while (1) {
string msg =
"\nPlease enter your choice:\nRock - 1\nPaper - 2\nScissors - 3";
cout << msg << endl;
int user_choice;
cin >> user_choice;
if (ask_user_rps_check_input(user_choice)) {
return user_choice;
}
invalid_choice_prompt();
}
}
int main() {
ask_user_rps();
return 0;
}
The code is capable to handle the situation when the input is an integer, but when the input are characters or strings, the program will be trapped in the infinite loop.
Is there any elegant way to do this? I've found some methods about using cin.ignore to ignore the specified length of io buffer, but I don't think this method is flexible enough. I am looking for a more flexible solution.
I think an option would be to collect the user input to a string and then move it to stringstream using getline kind of like this:
std::string input;
std::getline(std::cin, input);
//Now check if the input is correct. if it is, then:
std::stringstream stream;
stream << input;
int num;
stream >> num;
I'm not sure if this is a good method but it works.
One of the simplest solution would be to check the cin stream failure something like below:
int ask_user_rps() {
// ask user's choice of Rock or Paper or Scissors
while (1) {
string msg =
"\nPlease enter your choice:\nRock - 1\nPaper - 2\nScissors - 3";
cout << msg << endl;
int user_choice;
cin >> user_choice;
if(cin.fail()) {
invalid_choice_prompt();
std::cin.clear();
std::cin.ignore(256,'\n');
continue;
}
if (ask_user_rps_check_input(user_choice)) {
return user_choice;
}
invalid_choice_prompt();
}
}
Reading from a stream using operator >> takes as many characters from the stream as the target type accepts; the rest will remain in the stream for subsequent reads. If the input has a format error (e.g. a leading alphabetical characters when an integer is expected), then an error-flag is set, too. This error-flag can be checked with cin.fail(). It remains set until it gets explicitly cleared. So if your code is...
int user_choice;
cin >> user_choice;
and if you then enter something that is not a number, e.g. asdf, then user_choice has an undefined value, an error-flag cin.fail() is (and reamins) set. So any subsequent read will fail, too.
To overcome this, you have to do three things:
First, check the error-flag. You can do this either through calling cin.fail() after a read attempt of through checking the return value of the expression (cin >> user_choice), which is the same as calling cin.fail().
Second, in case of an error, you need to clear the error-flag using cin.clear(). Otherwise, any attempt to read in anything afterwards will fail.
Third, if you want to continue with reading integral values, you need to take the invalid characters from the stream. Otherwise, you will read in asdf into a variable of type integer again and again, and it will fail again and again. You can use cin.ignore(numeric_limits<streamsize>::max(),'\n'); to take all characters until EOF or an end-of-line from the input buffer.
The complete code for reading an integral value with error-handling could look as follows:
int readNumber() {
int result;
while (!(cin >> result)) {
cin.clear();
cin.ignore(numeric_limits<streamsize>::max(),'\n');
cout << "Input is not a number." << std::endl;
}
return result;
}
Take input as char
string user_choice;
cin >> user_choice;
check input is valid or not if(user_choice=='1')

Cin not waiting for input despite cin.ignore()

I'm new to C++ and I'm using Visual Studio 2015.
cin is not waiting for input after "Please enter another integer:\n" and outputs "You entered 0" every time.
I've searched the Internet more than an hour without a solution. No combination of cin.ignore() is working. Why is the cin buffer still not cleared?
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
using namespace std;
int main() {
vector<int> vals;
int val = 0;
int n = 0;
cout << "Please enter some integers (press a non-numerical key to stop)\n";
while (cin >> val)
vals.push_back(val);
cin.ignore(INT_MAX, '\n');
cin.ignore();
cout << "Please enter another integer:\n";
cin.ignore();
cin >> n;
cout << "You entered " << n;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
The problem is for the user to exit the loop you need to put the cin in a failed state. That is why your
while(cin >> val){ .... }
is working.
If in a failed state cin is no longer in a position to supply you with input so you need to clear() the failed state. You also need to ignore() the previously non-integer response that triggered the failed state initially.
It would also be of merit to use
if(cin >> n){
cout << "You entered " << n;
}
This will assert that a proper input for n was provided.
The problem in your program is that it expects integers, whereas a user can input anything, like a non-integer char.
A better way to do what you seem to want to do is to read characters one by one, ignoring whitespace, and if it's a digit, then continue reading to get the whole number, else stop the loop. Then you can read all chars until you reach '\n', and do the same for one number. While you do that, for each character you should check that there can still be characters in the stream with cin.eof().
Also, instead of using system("pause"), you can prevent the command line window from closing by requesting a last character before terminating the application.
Try getting your integers like this :
#include <sstream>
...
fflush(stdin);
int myNum;
string userInput = "";
getline(cin, userInput);
stringstream s (userInput);
if (s >> myNum) // try to convert the input to int (if there is any int)
vals.push_back(myNum);
without sstream you have to use try catch, so your programme won't crash when input is not an integer

C++ getline method not working

I'm sorry but I'm quite new to C++ but not programming in general. So I tried to make a simple encryption/decryption. However when I added the modification to my previous code (so there isn't two programs for encrypting and decrypting) I found that the code 'getline()' method no longer works. Instead it's just ignoring it when the code is ran. Here's the code:
int main(){
std::string string;
int op = 1; //Either Positive or Negative
srand(256);
std::cout << "Enter the operation: " << std::endl;
std::cin >> op;
std::cout << "Enter the string: " << std::endl;
std::getline(std::cin, string); //This is the like that's ignored
for(int i=0; i < string.length(); i++){
string[i] += rand()*op; //If Positive will encrypt if negative then decrypt
}
std::cout << string << std::endl;
std::getchar(); //A Pause
return 0;
}
That's because std::cin >> op; leaves a hanging \n in your code, and that's the first thing getline reads. Since getline stops reading as soon as it finds a newline character, the function returns immediately and doesn't read anything more. You need to ignore this character, for example, by using cin.ignore(std::numeric_limits<std::streamsize>::max(), '\n'); (std::numeric_limits is defined in header <limits>), as stated on cppreference.
This is because you still have the newline character in the buffer which makes getline() stop reading as soon as it encounters it.
Use cin.ignore() to ignore the newline character from the buffer. This will do in your case.
In general, if you want to remove characters from your buffer untill a specific character, use:
cin.ignore ( std::numeric_limits<std::streamsize>::max(), ch )
Use :
cin.ignore ( std::numeric_limits<std::streamsize>::max(), '\n' );
to eat newlines from previous input std::cin >> op;
header - <limits>
Other way would be :
while (std::getline(std::cin, str)) //don't use string
if (str != "")
{
//Something good received
break;
}
As other stated already, the formatted input (using in >> value) start skipping space abd stop when they are done. Typically this results in leaving some whitespace around. When switching between formatted and unformatted input you typically want to get rid of leading space. Doing so can easily be done using the std::ws manipulator:
if (std::getline(std::cin >> std::ws, line)) {
...
}
You must use std::cin.ignore() before std::getline(std::cin, string) to clear the buffer, because when you use std::cin >> op before the getline a \n gets in the buffer and std::getline() reads it. std::getline() takes only the line you type, when you skip a line, std::getline() closes, so when std::getline() picks up \n from the buffer it is already terminated before you type something, because /n skips a line.
Try this way:
int main(){
std::string string;
int op = 1; //Either Positive or Negative
srand(256);
std::cout << "Enter the operation: " << std::endl;
std::cin >> op;
std::cout << "Enter the string: " << std::endl;
std::cin.ignore();
std::getline(std::cin, string); //This is the like that's ignored
for(int i=0; i < string.length(); i++){
string[i] += rand()*op; //If Positive will encrypt if negative then decrypt
}
std::cout << string << std::endl;
std::getchar(); //A Pause
return 0;
}

Input Validation to make sure only number c++

Ok, I'm trying to get good at using pointers so I'm trying to write a input validation for the user input to make sure that anything that isn't a number is handled correctly. When I use isdigit() isn't working for me. I still get an exception when I enter a alphabet. Any suggestions? Thanks. Check this out:
#include<iostream>
#include<algorithm>
#include<string>
#include<cctype>
using namespace std;
void EnterNumbers(int * , int);
int main()
{
int input = 0;
int *myArray;
cout << "Please enter the number of test scores\n\n";
cin >> input;
//Allocate Array
myArray = new int[input];
EnterNumbers(myArray,input);
delete[] myArray;
return 0;
}
void EnterNumbers(int *arr, int input)
{
for(int count = 0; count < input; count++)
{
cout << "\n\n Enter Grade Number " << count + 1 << "\t";
cin >> arr[count];
if(!isdigit(arr[count]))
{
cout << "Not a number";
}
}
}
If you test if (!(cin >> arr[count])) ... instead - isdigit(arr[digit]) tests if the value of arr[digit] is the ASCII code of a digit [or possibly matches Japanese, Chinese or Arabic (that is, as an Arabic script typeface, not that it's a 0-9 like our "Arabic" ones) digit]. So if you type in 48 to 57, it will say it's OK, but if you type 6 or 345, it's complaining that it is not a digit...
Once you have discovered a non-digit, you will also need to either exit or clean out the input buffer from "garbage". cin.ignore(1000, '\n'); will read up to the next newline or a 1000 characters, whichever happens first. Could get annoying if someone has typed in a million digits, but otherwise, should solve the problem.
You will of course also need a loop to read the number again, until a valid number is entered.
The way I do this kind of input validation is that I use std::getline(std::cin, str) to get the whole line of input and then I parse it using the following code:
std::istringstream iss(str);
std::string word;
// Read a single "word" out of the input line.
if (! (iss >> word))
return false;
// Following extraction of a character should fail
// because there should only be a single "word".
char ch;
if (iss >> ch)
return false;
// Try to interpret the "word" as a number.
// Seek back to the start of stream.
iss.clear ();
iss.seekg (0);
assert (iss);
// Extract value.
long lval;
iss >> lval;
// The extraction should be successful and
// following extraction of a characters should fail.
result = !! iss && ! (iss >> ch);
// When the extraction was a success then result is true.
return result;
isdigit() applies to char not to int as you're trying. The cin >> arr[count]; statement already ensures an integer numeric digits format is given in the input. Check cin.good() (!cin respectively) for possible input parsing errors.

getline not asking for input? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Need help with getline() [duplicate]
(7 answers)
Closed 7 years ago.
This is probably a very simple problem but forgive me as I am new.
Here is my code:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <sstream>
using namespace std;
int main ()
{
string name;
int i;
string mystr;
float price = 0;
cout << "Hello World!" << endl;
cout << "What is your name? ";
cin >> name;
cout << "Hello " << name << endl;
cout << "How old are you? ";
cin >> i;
cout << "Wow " << i << endl;
cout << "How much is that jacket? ";
getline (cin,mystr);
stringstream(mystr) >> price;
cout << price << endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
The problem is that when asked how much is that jacket? getline does not ask the user for input and just inputs the initial value of "0". Why is this?
You have to be careful when mixing operator>> with getline. The problem is, when you use operator>>, the user enters their data, then presses the enter key, which puts a newline character into the input buffer. Since operator>> is whitespace delimited, the newline character is not put into the variable, and it stays in the input buffer. Then, when you call getline, a newline character is the only thing it's looking for. Since that's the first thing in the buffer, it finds what it's looking for right away, and never needs to prompt the user.
Fix:
If you're going to call getline after you use operator>>, call ignore in between, or do something else to get rid of that newline character, perhaps a dummy call to getline.
Another option, and this is along the lines of what Martin was talking about, is to not use operator>> at all, and only use getline, then convert your strings to whatever datatype you need. This has a side effect of making your code more safe and robust. I would first write a function like this:
int getInt(std::istream & is)
{
std::string input;
std::getline(is,input);
// C++11 version
return stoi(input); // throws on failure
// C++98 version
/*
std::istringstream iss(input);
int i;
if (!(iss >> i)) {
// handle error somehow
}
return i;
*/
}
You can create a similar function for floats, doubles and other things. Then when you need in int, instead of this:
cin >> i;
You do this:
i = getInt(cin);
Its because you have a '\n' left lying on the input stream from a previous call.
cin >> i; // This reads the number but the '\n' you hit after the number
// is still on the input.
The easiest way to do interactive user input is to make sure each line is processed independently (as the user will hit enter after each prompt).
As a result always read a line, then process the line (until you get familiar with the streams).
std::string line;
std::getline(std::cin, line);
std::stringstream linestream(line);
// Now processes linestream.
std::string garbage;
lienstream >> i >> garbage; // You may want to check for garbage after the number.
if (!garbage.empty())
{
std::cout << "Error\n";
}
Ignore some characters until line feed is reached.
cin.ignore(256, '\n')
getline (cin,mystr);