problem with getline

[Fallout]

void set_characterNameAgeSex()
{
	char setName[ 50 ];
	char *sTransfer;
	short setSex;
	short setAge;

	// set name
	cout << "Enter a name for your character(50 char. max): ";
	cin.getline( setName, 49 );

	sTransfer = setName;
	sName[ 0 ] = sTransfer;

The problem I'm having is that cin.getline is being skipped. It skips user input and goes to the next line of code.

I have no idea what is wrong with getline. If I do this:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

char *hstring[ 1 ];

void whatever();

int main()
{
	char *s1;
	char name[ 50 ];

	cout << "Enter a string: ";
	cin.getline( name, 49 );

	s1 = name;
	hstring[ 0 ] = s1;

	cout << "\n" << hstring[ 0 ] << endl;

	return 0;
}

It works fine. User input works and hstring[0] outputs the entered string.

What to do? I'm clueless!

One thing I noticed: In the first example, (I'm using MSVC++6.0 btw) if I put my mouse over sName[ 0 ], a tooltip pops up showing "char sName[ 50 ]" but if I put my mouse over hstring[0] in the first example, the tooltip reads, "char *hstring[0]".

Why does it show two different things when both the code is exactly the same except with different named variables?

Thanks in advance for replies

[prog-bman]

Try cin.ignore() before you cin.getline()
eg:

char setName[ 50 ];
	char *sTransfer;
	short setSex;
	short setAge;

	// set name
	cout << "Enter a name for your character(50 char. max): ";
        cin.ignore(80, '\n');//Should Solve The Problem
	cin.getline( setName, 49 );

	sTransfer = setName;
	sName[ 0 ] = sTransfer;

[swoopy]

Did you get input from the user prior to this? Something like:
cin >> something;

If so, you probably have a newline left in the input buffer, which you need to remove. Try something like:

	cout << "Enter a name for your character(50 char. max): ";
	cin.ignore(std::numeric_limits < streamsize >::max(), '\n');
	cin.getline( setName, 50 );

Or simpler:

	cout << "Enter a name for your character(50 char. max): ";
	cin.ignore(80, '\n');
	cin.getline( setName, 50 );

And it would probably be better to put the ignore() where you received input from the user previously.
cin >> something;
cin.ignore(std::numeric_limits < streamsize >::max(), '\n');

Also, your getline should probably match the size of your array, so:
> cin.getline( name, 49 );
would instead be:
cin.getline( name, 50 );

[Fallout]

Yeah, I have the user enter input before that line. And cin.ignore works, but I was wondering what you mean by saying I have a /newline in the input buffer.

Thanks.

[Hammer]

>>I was wondering what you mean by saying I have a /newline in the input buffer
If you did something like this:
cin >>mynumber;
to get a number from the user, they would have had to type something like this on the command line:
1234<enter>
The <enter> would be a newline character, and wouldn't be read into your program by the cin function, as you only asked for a number. Using cin.ignore() clears all characters from the input buffer, up to and including the newline character, or up to the length specified.