I'm a bit confused by the results of the following function:
int main() {
string command;
while(1) {
cin >> command;
if(command == "end")
return 0;
else
cout << "Could you repeat the command?" << endl;
}
return 0;
}
First of all - the output line ("could you...") repeats once for each individual word in the input (stored in command). So far as I can see, it should only be possible for it to happen once for each instance of the loop.
Also, when the line 'if(command == "end")' is changed to 'if(command == "that's all")' it never triggers. A little testing suggested that all of the whitespace was removed from the command.
Could someone explain to me what's going on here?
Thanks
The formatted input operator >>() reads space separated tokens from input. If you want to read whole lines, use the getline() function:
string command;
getline( cin, command );
Most (possibly all) operating systems buffer input. When you type a string of words and then hit [enter] it is only at the time you hit enter that the input is usually passed to your program. Thus that is when it will start reading the input and separating it out into individual words (because as Neil mentions, the >> reads words, not lines). Thus your program goes through the loop multiple times (once per word you had in the line) even though you only hit enter once.
So, you are correct when you think it should only display "could you..." once per loop. That is what is happening.
Likewise, you'll never have a command that contains more than one word because of the space delimiter. As mentioned, use getline() to retrieve the entire text for the line you entered.
Related
I am trying to implement a pause function in C++, but it is looping forever.
I am using macOS but I am trying to create a pause function that will work in any system... I believe my cin >> is not capturing '\n' or '\r' from the keyboard and it is looping forever.
void Transferencia::pause() {
char enter = 0;
while(enter != '\n' && enter != '\r') {
cout << "(Press Enter to Continue...) ";
cin >> enter;
}
cin.clear();
}
I want to pause my program until user press the key "enter".
But even when I press "enter/return" it keeps looping...
At very first: enter != '\n' || enter != '\r' is a tautology: Even if enter does equal one of the characters it cannot be equal to the other one. So one of the tests must be true... You actually want to stay in the loop when enter is unequal to both values.
std::cin >> ... won't read data before you press enter, but it will discard the newlines (actually, all whitespace). So it would suffice just to read one single character right without loop (the loop again would get an endless one); solely: If the user doesn't enter anything at all before pressing 'enter' key, there's no character to read from std::cin and we'd still be waiting.
What you can do is reading entire lines:
std::string s;
std::getline(std::cin, s);
That will accept empty lines as well, so does exactly what you want (note: no loop around!).
Edit (stolen from the comments; thanks, Thomas Matthews): An even more elegant way is
std::cin.ignore(std::numeric_limits<std::streamsize>::max(), '\n');
as it won't create any additional resources that would be discarded afterwards anyway (the std::string object!).
Edit 2:
Depending on type of last input operation, there might still be a newline (or even further data) buffered, e. g. after int n; std::cin >> n;. In this case, you need to skip the input yet buffered. So you would need ignore twice.
However, if the last input operation consumed the newline already (e. g. std::getline – or if there wasn't any preceding input operation at all), then this would lead to user having to press enter twice. So you need to detect what's has been going on before.
std::cin.rdbuf().in_avail() allows you to detect how many characters are yet buffered. So you can have:
if(std::cin.rdbuf().in_avail())
{
std::cin.ignore(std::numeric_limits<std::streamsize>::max(), '\n');
}
std::cout << "press enter" << std::endl;
std::cin.ignore(std::numeric_limits<std::streamsize>::max(), '\n');
On some systems (including mine), though, in_avail can return 0 even though a newline is yet buffered! std::cin.sync_with_stdio(false); can fix the issue; you should execute it before very first input operation. Hopefully, you don't use C++ (streams) and C (scanf, printf, etc) IO intermixed then...
The easiest way to do this is with getline().
cin >> ignores whitespace, newline characters included. getline() will read an entire line, newline character included. However, it does not copy the newline character to the output string. If the user simply hit the enter key and nothing else, you'd end up with an empty string.
So, to get your desired behavior, you would construct your loop like this:
string line;
while(true)
{
cout << "(Press Enter to Continue...) " << endl;
getline(cin, line);
if(line == "")
break;
}
#Aconcagua has answered your question but this is what I want to add in.
Normally, for handling some specific kind of event in computer, we usually follow event-driven paradigm or event-callback.
The idea is there is an event loop that waits for a new event coming into the system. This case, keyboard is an event, the event loop then calls event-callback. What event-callback does is it compares the value of input with some conditions then do some other tasks (it might change some state of the program or notify users).
The idea is keep CPU busy by either 2 ways.
event-driven : do other tasks while waiting for a new event
multithreading: multiple threads in the system. This approach has the disadvantage is at data-race
Have fun
I thought getline stops at a newline character, but the while loop does not end? it returns the correct data but it just sits in the terminal window. For example:
Enter an expression: #5+4#5+4
(blinking cursor)
(can enter data forever and press enter forever and it wont exit)
my code, (main.cpp):
int main()
{
string exp;
cout << "Enter an Infix Expression:";
while (getline(cin, exp, '#'))
{
string token = exp;
string post;
cout << token << endl;
IntoPost *infix = new IntoPost(token.length());
post = infix->inToPost(token);
cout << post << endl;
}
cin.get();
}
The Solution Using EOF
Your current program is looping endlessly because getline returns std::basic_istream, so while(getline()) will never equate to 'false'.
As #0x499602D2 has stated, your program is working as intended, but the extraction from getline can only end in two ways, as indicated by the reference here:
Extracts characters from is and stores them into str until the delimitation character delim is found (or the newline character, '\n', for when no delimiter is specified).
The extraction also stops if the end of file is reached in is or if some other error occurs during the input operation.
The first condition is difficult to pull off, as inputs on console are triggered by the \n character.
As for the second condition, as per #DavidC.Rankin:
You can also generate a manual EOF on Linux with [Ctrl+d] or windows with [Ctrl+z] (generally twice is required)
This means the solution is to use [Ctrl+d] or [Ctrl+z] to trigger the second condition to end your while loop at any time.
Alternative Using a Break Statement
One alternative way you can try to end the loop instead is breaking on input of an 'exit' string:
(1)
#include <algorithm>
//...
while (getline(cin, exp, '#'))
{
// removes meaningless endline chars from input
exp.erase(std::remove(exp.begin(), exp.end(), '\n'), exp.end());
if (exp == "exit"){
break;
}
//... Your While Block Code Here!
}
To break out of your while loop, you can simply use:
exit#
# Note, the endls from your couts in the loop will bleed into your inputs on your next while (getline(cin, exp, '#')), giving us unwanted newlines. To prevent this, we can get rid of the endlines from the inputs by using std::erase(). If you wish to keep those endlines in your input, simply set string token = exp; in front of the erase() line.
That's right, getline blocks the execution of the loop until a line separator is received and returns while that all is well, in the next step everything is repeated. If you want the loop not to be infinite - then put the Boolean variable key in the loop condition, and from the input check if the last character is an exit symbol and if so switch the variable key
void Manager::ManagerView1()
{
system("cls");
string Ipass;
string Opass;
ifstream Password("Password.txt", ios::in);
if (!Password)
{
cerr << "Check File Integrity";
}
else
{
while (!Password.eof())
{
getline(Password,Ipass);
cout << "Enter Password :\n";
cin >> Opass;
if (Opass == Ipass)
{
cout << "Passwords Match";
}
}
}
}
Text inside the "Password.txt":
Abhik Ray 1123
The password is being read properly, I have already checked that.
When I run the code it lets me enter the password but then the Passwords match doesn't show up as it should. And then it again asks for the password where I am unable to enter it. And then it just quits.
What should I change?
You have several problems, like trying to match only one line from the password file at a time.
The reason for the message is that if (Opass == Ipass) compares the addresses of the character arrays, not their contents.
If you had used std::string to store the strings, the comparison would have worked, but with C style strings you need to use if(strcmp(Opass, Ipass) == 0).
You might also want to check this question for how to terminate the loop:
Why is iostream::eof inside a loop condition considered wrong?
In the new version of the code with cin >> Opass; the >> will only read one word at a time (it stops at each space). So if you type Abhik Ray 1123 you will only get Abhik in Opass, and the rest of the line will remain in the input buffer until the next read.
That's also why it doesn't ask for the next input, it just reads the following words that are already there.
To read a whole line of input, you need to use getline(cin, Opass);, just like when you read from the textfile.
Opass and Ipass are pointers and by doing Opass == Ipass you check if they point to the same area in the memory.
You have to use strcmp to compare their values.
I need to read lines from standard input, but I dont really know, how many it will be.
I tried to do it with getline() and cin combined with a while loop, but it led to an infinite loop:
string line;
while( getline(cin, string) ){...}
or
string word;
while( cin >> word ){...}
it doesnt stops at the end of the input( the lines are coming at one time, so the user is hitting just one time the Enter key ).
Thanks for your help.
Reading your comments you have a misunderstanding of "end of input".
When you start your program it waits for input from console, and if input is available it reads it. Initially your copy some strings to your console so your program takes this as input. But your program still keeps reading from the console because there was no "end of input". The program is still connected to the console.
You need to signal "end of input" to your program. On Windows you do this by pressing Ctrl+Z. On Linux you need to press Ctrl+D.
Your problem is reading from the console.
As your console does not put an EOF(end of file) when you enter an empty line.
You should try pipeing the input from a file to your program. This should end, when there is no more input.
Otherwise, just check if the string is empty, and break out of the loop, if it is empty.
The way you run your program, your input doesn't end, since the console can always provide more input. Your program behaves correctly, though perhaps not in the way you desire. That's because you have misunderstood your own desires.
What you are looking for is perhaps (but I can't be sure) for the program to end when either the input ends or when the input contains a blank line. This can be coded as follows:
int main()
{
for (std::string line; std::getline(std::cin, line); )
{
if (line.empty())
{
std::cout << "Got blank line, quitting.\n";
return 0;
}
// process line
}
std::cout << "End of input, quitting.\n";
return 0;
}
I'm having a hard time understanding why while (cin.get(Ch)) doesn't see the EOF. I read in a text file with 3 words, and when I debug my WordCount is at 3 (just what I hoped for). Then it goes back to the while loop and gets stuck. Ch then has no value. I thought that after the newline it would read the EOF and break out. I am not allowed to use <fstream>, I have to use redirection in DOS. Thank you so much.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
char Ch = ' ';
int WordCount = 0;
int LetterCount = 0;
cout << "(Reading file...)" << endl;
while (cin.get(Ch))
{
if ((Ch == '\n') || (Ch == ' '))
{
++WordCount;
LetterCount = 0;
}
else
++LetterCount;
}
cout << "Number of words => " << WordCount << endl;
return 0;
}
while (cin >> Ch)
{ // we get in here if, and only if, the >> was successful
if ((Ch == '\n') || (Ch == ' '))
{
++WordCount;
LetterCount = 0;
}
else
++LetterCount;
}
That's the safe, and common, way to rewrite your code safely and with minimal changes.
(Your code is unusual, trying to scan all characters and count whitespace and newlines. I'll give a more general answer to a slightly different question - how to read in all the words.)
The safest way to check if a stream is finished if if(stream). Beware of if(stream.good()) - it doesn't always work as expected and will sometimes quit too early. The last >> into a char will not take us to EOF, but the last >> into an int or string will take us to EOF. This inconsistency can be confusing. Therefore, it is not correct to use good(), or any other test that tests EOF.
string word;
while(cin >> word) {
++word_count;
}
There is an important difference between if(cin) and if(cin.good()). The former is the operator bool conversion. Usually, in this context, you want to test:
"did the last extraction operation succeed or fail?"
This is not the same as:
"are we now at EOF?"
After the last word has been read by cin >> word, the string is at EOF. But the word is still valid and contains the last word.
TLDR: The eof bit is not important. The bad bit is. This tells us that the last extraction was a failure.
The Counting
The program counts newline and space characters as words. In your file contents "this if fun!" I see two spaces and no newline. This is consistent with the observed output indicating two words.
Have you tried looking at your file with a hex editor or something similar to be sure of the exact contents?
You could also change your program to count one more word if the last character read in the loop was a letter. This way you don't have to have newline terminated input files.
Loop Termination
I have no explanation for your loop termination issues. The while-condition looks fine to me. istream::get(char&) returns a stream reference. In a while-condition, depending on the C++ level your compiler implements, operator bool or operator void* will be applied to the reference to indicate if further reading is possible.
Idiom
The standard idiom for reading from a stream is
char c = 0;
while( cin >> c )
process(c);
I do not deviate from it without serious reason.
you input file is
this is fun!{EOF}
two spaces make WordCount increase to 2
and then EOF, exit loop! if you add a new line, you input file is
this is fun!\n{EOF}
I took your program loaded it in to visual studio 2013, changed cin to an fstream object that opened a file called stuff.txt which contains the exact characters "This is fun!/n/r" and the program worked. As previous answers have indicated, be careful because if there's not a /n at the end of the text the program will miss the last word. However, I wasn't able to replicate the application hanging in an infinite loop. The code as written looks correct to me.
cin.get(char) returns a reference to an istream object which then has it's operator bool() called which returns false when any of the error bits are set. There are some better ways to write this code to deal with other error conditions... but this code works for me.
In your case, the correct way to bail out of the loop is:
while (cin.good()) {
char Ch = cin.get();
if (cin.good()) {
// do something with Ch
}
}
That said, there are probably better ways to do what you're trying to do.