Functions Problem

You are still not using a function. You use a return statement, you have no function except main to return from. Your book or lecture notes must have an example for a function. Read it. Understand it. Then look again at Post #3 above.

You are still having a condition while (target != SENTINEL) but don't change either value in the loop. The condition can thus be only "always true" or "always false" thus making little sense.

After days and days of slaving, I think I finally have something that works. You guys see any corrections I could make to this?

Code:

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#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <fstream>

using namespace std;

string findName(int parkingSticker);

int main ()
{
    int target = 0;
    const double SENTINEL = 000000;
    //string functionMessage = "";

    cout << "Please enter a parking sticker number (enter 000000 to exit): " << endl;
    cin >> target;
 
    while (target != SENTINEL)
    {
          if  (findName (target) == "NOT FOUND")
          {
              cout << "This parking sticker is not on file. Try again." << endl << endl;
          }
          else
          {
              cout << "This parking sticker belongs to " << findName(target) << endl << endl; 
          }
         
          cout << "Please enter a parking sticker number (enter 000000 to exit): " <<endl;
          cin >> target; 
    }
 
    system ("pause");
    return 0;
 
}

string findName (int parkingSticker)
{
    string name;
    int tempNum;
    string returnValue = "";
    ifstream input;
    input.open("HWK5.txt"); 
 
    input >> name >> tempNum;
    while (!input.eof())
    {
            if (parkingSticker == tempNum)
            {
                      returnValue = name;
                      break;
            }               
            else if (parkingSticker != tempNum)
            {
                input >> name >> tempNum;
             
            } 
    }

    if (returnValue == "")
    {
        returnValue = "NOT FOUND";             
    }

    return returnValue;

}

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ruined Embrace

You guys see any corrections I could make to this?

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Not corrections, but a misunderstanding of what a double means:

Code:

---

    const double SENTINEL = 000000;

---

Those extra 0's do nothing except wear out your keyboard. This is exactly the same as this:

Code:

---

const double SENTINEL = 0.0;

---

Why is SENTINEL a double anyway? Since target is an int, then SENTINEL should be an int.

Regards,

Paul McKenzie

I'm not sure man. My professor is kind of strange. He demands we use const double SENTINEL = 000000

Code:

---

    input >> name >> tempNum;
    while (!input.eof())
    {
            if (parkingSticker == tempNum)
            {
                      returnValue = name;
                      break;
            }               
            else if (parkingSticker != tempNum)
            {
                input >> name >> tempNum;
             
            } 
    }

---

A better way to write this would be:

Code:

---

    while (input >> name >> tempNum)
    {
            if (parkingSticker == tempNum)
            {
                      returnValue = name;
                      break;
            }               
    }

---

Another improvement I could think of would be to initialize returnValue with "NOT FOUND" and not with an empty string. This would save the check after the loop.

I suppose that if you were not concerned about trying for a single point of return, the returnValue variable could be easily eliminated:

Code:

---

while (input >> name >> tempNum)
{
    if (parkingSticker == tempNum)
    {
        return name;
    }
}
return "NOT FOUND";

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