partially checking a string against a dictionary

hey guys, any suggestions on how to check a strings against a dictionary. To check the whole string I got, but lets say that the string has five characters (T O A D N) and is ended with a '\0', only the first four make a word. The code that I'm in the process of figuring out is below. It returns the word fine, as long as it is a value of the total string. Also, there are a maximum of characters in each string.

Code:

void matchWord(char word1[], char word2[], char dictionary[][MAX_LENGTH + 1])
{
	int i;
	int j;
	if ( word1[2] == '\0')
	{
		for ( i=0; i<7000; i++) 
		{
			if ( strcmp( word1, dictionary[i]) == 0 )
			{
				 cout << endl << word1 << endl;
				 break;      // quit looking
			}
		}
	}
	else if( word1[3] == '\0')
	{
		for ( i=0; i<7000; i++) 
		{
			if ( strcmp( word1, dictionary[i]) == 0 )
			{
				 cout << endl << word1 << endl;
				 break;      // quit looking
			}
		}
	}
	else if ( word1[4] == '\0')
	{
		for ( i=0; i<7000; i++) 
		{
			if ( strcmp( word1, dictionary[i]) == 0 )
			{
				 cout << endl << word1 << endl;
				 break;      // quit looking
			}
		}
	}
	else if ( word1[5] == '\0')
	{
		for ( i=0; i<7000; i++) 
		{
			if ( strcmp( word1, dictionary[i]) == 0 )
			{
				 cout << endl << word1 << endl;
				 break;      // quit looking
			}
			word1[4] == '\0';
			if ( strcmp( word1, dictionary[i]) == 0 )
			{
				 cout << endl << word1 << endl;
				 break;      // quit looking
			}

		}
	}
}

the dictionary is stored in a 2D array. any suggestions?

axon

I would pass my strings into your function as std::string types. If you store your dictionary as an array of strings (rather than as a 2D array of chars) it will simplify memory management and avoid the need for a maximum word length.

I'm not sure what the word2 argument in function is for, but I presume it is to return the result. If you were to use the string class, you could return the result directly. So your function prototype may look like this:

Code:

std::string matchWord(const std::string& word1, std::string* dictionary)

In order to compare partial string against those in the dictionary, you could use the find method of string. Something like (DICT_SIZE is the number of strings in the dictionary array):

Code:

for(int n =0; n < DICT_SIZE; n++)
  if (word1.find( dictionary[n]) == 0)
    return dictionary[n];

// Nothing found
return "";

I believe that .find has something to do with classes, and I haven't got that far yet in c++. I bet it will makes sense to me in a couple of weeks, for now I have to do it just like I have it there. I think I figured out how to get a partial word...just got back from school so after I type it up, I'll post,

thanks for the help,

axon