How to input a file into C++ and comparing console input - c++

Question

Im working on my homework assignment and I stuck because in the assignment we have to ask the user to enter a file name but also to type in either wc cc or lc (word count, character count, and line count of a file. For example, wc filename.txt. Im suppose to check the file to see if its valid or not which i understand and I know how to compare the users input to determine the different kind of function to run, but I dont understand how you could do it together. Any ideas? This is what I have so far.
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
string line;
string file;
ifstream input; //input file stream
int i;
cout << "Enter a file name" << endl;
while(true){
cout << ">" ;
getline(cin,file);
input.open(file.c_str());
if (input.fail()) {
cerr << "ERROR: Failed to open file " << file << endl;
input.clear();
}
else {
i = 0;
while (getline(input, line))
if(line == "wc"){
cout << "The word count is: " << endl;
}
else if(line == "cc"){
cout << "The character count is: " << endl;
}
else if(line == "lc"){
cout << "The line count is: " << endl;
}
else if(line == "exit"){
return 0;
}
else{
cout << "----NOTE----" << endl;
cout << "Available Commands: " << endl;
cout <<"lc \"filename\"" << endl;
cout <<"cc \"filename\"" << endl;
cout <<"wc \"filename\"" << endl;
cout <<"exit" << endl;
}
}
}
return 0;
}
void wordCount(){
//TBD
}
void characterCount(){
//TBD
}
void lineCount(){
//TBD
}

Answer 1

You have to find the space between the command and the file name in the users input and then split the string where you find the space. Something like this
cout << "Enter a command\n";
string line;
getline(cin, line);
// get the position of the space as an index
size_t space_pos = line.find(' ');
if (space_pos == string::npos)
{
// user didn't enter a space, so error message and exit
cout << "illegal command\n";
exit(1);
}
// split the string at the first space
string cmd = line.substr(0, space_pos);
string file_name = line.substr(space_pos + 1);
This is untested code.
You could do better than this, for instance this would not work if the user entered two spaces between the command and the file name. But this kind of work rapidly gets very tedious. As this is an assignment I would be tempted to move on to more interesting things. You can always come back and improve things later if you have the time.

Answer 2

I think you are asking how to validate multiple arguments: the command and the file.
A simple strategy is to have function like the following:
#include <fstream> // Note: this is for ifstream below
bool argumentsInvalid(const string& command, const string & command) {
// Validate the command
// Note: Not ideal, just being short for demo
if("wc" != command && "cc" != command && "lc" != command) {
std::cout << "Invalid command" << std::endl;
return false;
}
// Validate the file
// Note: This is a cheat that uses the fact that if its valid, its open.
std::ifstream fileToRead(filename);
if(!fileToRead) {
std::cout << "Invalid file: \"" << filename << "\"" << std::endl;
return false;
}
return true;
// Note: This does rely on the ifstream destructor closing the file and would mean
// opening the file twice. Simple to show here, but not ideal real code.
}
If you want to evaluate ALL arguments before returning an error, insert a flag at the top of that function, like:
// To be set true if there is an error
bool errorFound = false;
and change all of the returns in the conditions to:
errorFound = true;
and the final return to:
return !errorFound;
Usage:
....
if(argumentsInvalid(command, filename)) {
std::cout << "Could not perform command. Skipping..." << std::endl;
// exit or continue or whatever
}
// Now do your work
Note: The specific validity tests here are over simplified.