Read File line by line using C++ - c++

Question

I am trying to read a file line by line using the code below :
void main()
{
cout << "b";
getGrades("C:\Users\TOUCHMATE\Documents\VS projects\GradeSystem\input.txt");
}
void getGrades(string file){
string buf;
string line;
ifstream in(file);
if (in.fail())
{
cout << "Input file error !!!\n";
return;
}
while(getline(in, line))
{
cout << "read : " << buf << "\n";
}
}
For some reason it keeps returning "input file error!!!". I have tried to full path and relative path (by just using the name of the file as its located in the same folder as the project). what am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

You did not escape the string. Try to change with:
getGrades("C:\\Users\\TOUCHMATE\\Documents\\VS projects\\GradeSystem\\input.txt");
otherwise all the \something are misinterpreted.

Answer 2

As Felice said the '\' is an escape. Thus you need two.
Or you can use the '/' character.
As windows has accepted this as a directory separator for a decade or more now.
getGrades("C:/Users/TOUCHMATE/Documents/VS projects/GradeSystem/input.txt");
This has the advantage that it looks much neater.

Answer 3

first, if you wanna say '\' in a string, you should put '\\', that's the path issue.
then, the string buf is not in connect to your file..

Answer 4

The backslash in C strings is used for escape sequences (e.g. \n is newline, \r carriage return, \t is a tabulation, ...), thus your string is getting garbled because for each backslash+character sequence the compiler is replacing the corresponding escape sequence. To enter backslashes in a C string you have to escape them, using \\:
getGrades("C:\\Users\\TOUCHMATE\\Documents\\VS projects\\GradeSystem\\input.txt");
By the way, it's int main, not void main, and you should return an exit code (usually 0 if everything went fine).