Thread: A function to return a string

You're still making the same error quzah pointed out above.

Originally Posted by quzah

A char can NEVER contain the EOF marker.

Also, how does GetWord know that it won't overrun the string buffer?

Originally Posted by pianorain

Something you may want to add is a buffer length to your function; you don't want to be running off the end of your buffer.

What if the file you open is an empty file?

Code:

int GetWord(FILE *inp, char *string)
{
	int i=0;
	char ch;

	ch = fgetc ( inp ); //might be EOF

	do
	{
		 string[i] = ch; //whoops, EOF in the string
		 //snip

And how are you null-terminating your string?

See what you can make of this pseudo-code:

Code:

//returns true if string contains a word
//returns false if hit EOF and string does not contain a word
int GetWord(FILE *inp, char *string, int len)
{
	//start index at 0
	//while we have room in the string
		//get the character from the file
		//if at the end of file, break
		//if found a space, break
		//put the character into the string
		//increment the index into the string
	//end while
	//null-terminate the string
	//return a meaningful value
}

Code:

if (strcmp(string, "EOF") == 0)

Unless you're initalizing your buffer to 0 every time, this is going to do some rather weird things. strcmp is expecting a pair of null-terminated strings. "string" is not null-terminated yet...that happens later in your function.

Originally Posted by earth_angel

I'm not sure how to test for EOF other then the -1 int value it returns

You could read the character into an int, test it for EOF, and then put the int into the string.

Originally Posted by earth_angel

I'm not sure how to test for EOF other then the -1 int value it returns, how to compare it to the char that I read in.

FAQ > Explanations of... > Definition of EOF and how to use it effectively