cin.get() Not working

Ok I'm writing a program. The program works and all but the cin.get() is not keeping the console window open. I've been looking at this program for a while and have talked with others but we can not figure out what is wrong. I am using Code Blocks for my compiler. If anyone can point the obvious out for me it would be much appreciated.

Code:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

float width;
float length;
float perimeter;
float area;
int main()
{
    cout << "Please input the length of the rectangle in centimeters\n";
    cin >> length;
    cout << "Please input the width of the rectangle in centimeters\n";
    cin >> width;
    perimeter = 2 * (width + length);
    area = width * length;
    cout << "The perimeter is " << perimeter << " centimeters\n";
    cout << "The area is " << area << " square centimeters\n";
    cin.get();
    return(0);
}

When the user enters a value to be stored in width, the newline from that enter is left in the buffer. This newline is then consumed by cin.get().

A simple solution is to forget about the cin.get() and just run your program via the command prompt. If you really do want to use it, then ignore the characters left on the buffer before using cin.get(), e.g., change cin.get() to:

Code:

cin.ignore(numeric_limits<streamsize>::max(), '\n');
cin.get();

You would need to #include <limits> for std::numeric_limits. std::streamsize should already be available via <iostream>, but if you want to be safe then #include <iosfwd>. The net result is that you ignore as much as the stream can hold, and then wait for the input of a single character.

Doesn't Code::Blocks have a feature to keep the console window open after the program quits, though?

Originally Posted by Elysia

Doesn't Code::Blocks have a feature to keep the console window open after the program quits, though?

Yes. I suppose it could be disabled, although I haven't seen where you would do such a thing.