getting a headache

i have been working on this code forever now, i tried taking a break and coming back, that didn't work im getting very frusturated with it here's the code

Code:

---

#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <stdlib.h>

using namespace std;

int Login();
int Ability();
int Magic();
int Weapons();
int SkillsMenu();
int AbilityMenu();
int Player();
int RaceMenu();
int CreateFinal();
//declare functions


string PlayerFullName, CharacterName, Class, Race, stop = "yes", Password, Skills, SpecialAbilitys, Racials, whattheytype, endloop;
int hp, xp, sp = 20, mana, SwitchRace, done, SwitchAbility, WeaponSwitch, MagicSwitch, AblilitySwitch;
//declare variables
int skillmenuchoice;


int CreateFinal()

{
    cout<<"\nyour player is.... \n \n \n\n\n\n\n";
    cout<<"Player Name: "<<PlayerFullName<<"\nCharacter Name: "<<CharacterName<<"\nclass: "<<Class<<"\nRace: "<<Race<<"\nRacials: "<<Racials<<"\nSkill Points: "<<sp<<"\nSkills\n _______________________________________________\n "<<Skills<<"\nSpecial ablilitys\n _______________________________________________\n"<<SpecialAbilitys<<"\nHitpoints: "<<hp<<"\nmana: "<<mana<<"\nExperience: "<<xp;
   
    string filename = PlayerFullName + ".txt";
    ofstream Playerfile ( filename.c_str() );


    Playerfile<<"Player Name: "<<PlayerFullName<<"\nCharacter Name: "<<CharacterName<<"\nclass: "<<Class<<"\nRace: "<<Race<<"\nRacials: "<<Racials<<"\nSkill Points: "<<sp<<"\nSkills\n _______________________________________________\n "<<Skills<<"\nSpecial ablilitys\n _______________________________________________\n"<<SpecialAbilitys<<"\nHitpoints: "<<hp<<"\nmana: "<<mana<<"\nExperience: "<<xp;

    Playerfile.close();
cin.get();
return Login();
}
//create player text file and print stats to screen



int Login()
{
        sp = 20;
        cout<<"\nEnter the DM Password or you shall be smited: ";
        cin>>Password;
    cin.ignore();
        if (Password == "god") {
                stop = "";
                cout<<"\n\nyou truly are an evil gm\n\n Would you like to create a Player?(yes or no): ";
                cin>>stop;
            cin.ignore();
                if (stop == "yes")
                        return Player();


            cout<<"WITH DARKNESS I CAUSE DEATH!!!!!!!!\n\n\n\n (this is where you die)\n";
            system("exit");
}
//log in to use prog.


int Player()
{
system("cls");
    cout<<"\nEnter Player Full Name: ";
    cin>>PlayerFullName;
    cin.ignore();   
    //player name
 
    cout<<"\nEnter Character Name: ";
    cin>>CharacterName;
    cin.ignore(); 
    //character name
   
    cout<<"\nEnter Class: ";
    cin>>Class;
    cin.ignore();   
    //class name
   
    cout<<"\nHow much Experience?: ";
    cin>>xp;
    cin.ignore(); 
   
    //experience
   
    cout<<"\nplayable races\n Good Aligned\n________\n(1)Human\n(2)Gnome\n(3)Halfling\n(4)Dwarf\n(5)Elf\n(6)Animal Folk\n(7)Seelie Fae\n\nEvil Aligned\n________\n(1)Human\n(8)Kobold\n(9)Goblin\n(10)Orc\n(11)Dark Elf\n(6)Animal Folk\n(12)Unseelie Fae \ntype the numbers that are next to the race name, to select that race.\n";           
    cout<<"\nEnter Race: ";
    cin>>SwitchRace;
    cin.ignore();
return RaceMenu();
}

int RaceMenu()
{

    switch ( SwitchRace )
    {
        case 1:
        cout<<"\n you chose Human +2 ability points";
        Race = "Human";
        sp = sp + 2;
        break;
       
    case 2:
    cout<<"\n you chose Gnome 1/2 cost craft";
    Race = "Gnome";
    Racials = "1/2 cost craft";
    break;
   
        case 3:
        cout<<"\n you chose Halfling 1/2 cost thrown weapons";
        Race = "Halfling";
        Racials = "1/2 cost thrown weapons";
        break;
           
    case 4:
    cout<<"\n you chose Dwarf +2 hp";
    Race = "Dwarf";
    hp = hp + 2;
    sp = 12;
    break;
   
        case 5:
        cout<<"\n you chose Elf +2 mana";
        Race = "Elf";
        mana += 2;
        sp = 12;
        break;
   
    case 6:
    cout<<"\n you chose Animal Folk";
    Race = "Animal Folk";
    Racials = "See Dm";
    break;
 
      case 7:
      cout<<"\n you chose Seelie Fae +2 mana";
      Race = "Seelie Fae";
      mana += 2;
      sp = 12;
      break;
 
    case 8:
    cout<<"\n you chose Kobold 1/2 cost trap making";
    Race = "Kobold";
    Racials = "1/2 cost trap making";
    break;
   
        case 9:
        cout<<"\n you chose Goblin 1/2 Cost Spear";
        Race = "Goblin";
        Racials = "1/2 Cost Spear";
        break;
   
    case 10:
    cout<<"\n you chose Orc 1/2 Cost Two-Handed";
    Race = "Orc";
    Racials = "1/2 Cost Two-Handed";
    break;
   
        case 11:
        cout<<"\n you chose Dark Elf +2 mana";
        Race = "Dark Elf";
        mana += 2;
        sp = 12;
        break;
   
    case 12:
    cout<<"\n you chose Unseelie Fae +2 mana";
    Race = "Unseelie Fae";
    mana += 2;
    sp = 12;
    break;
 
  default:
  cout<<"\n that is not a Race! try again: ";
  cin>>SwitchRace;
  cin.ignore();
  break;
    }
return AbilityMenu();
}
//race selection


int AbilityMenu()
{
system("cls");
cout<<"\n You have "<<sp<<" skill points to spend on Skills, Abilitys, Mana, and hit points\n type (skills) to see a list of skills: ";
string checkifstring;
cin>>checkifstring;
if (checkifstring == "skills"){
return SkillsMenu();
}       


int SkillsMenu()
{
cout<<"\n(1)Weapon skills\n(2)Magic skills\n(3)Abilitys\nType the number to access the Skills menu of your choice, you have  "<<sp<<" Skill Points left: ";
cin>>skillmenuchoice;

        switch ( skillmenuchoice )
        {
        case 1:
                return Weapons();
        break;
        case 2:
                return Magic();
        break;
        case 3:
                return Ability();
        break;

        default:       
                cout<<"Wrong Choice, Try Again";

                return SkillsMenu();
        break;
       
 }
//skill menu


int Weapons()
{
system("cls");
cout<<"\nweapon skills are\n___________________\n(1)Dagger cost = 2 sp\n(2)Short sword = 3 sp\n(3)Long Sword = 4 sp\n(4)Two Handed Sword = 5 sp\n(5)lub = 2 sp\n(6)Staff = 3 sp\n(7)Thrown = 2 sp\n(8)Shield = 2 sp\n(9)Ambidexterous = 3 sp\n(10)Strong = 5 sp\n(11)Sneak Attack = 4 sp\n(12)Sap(waylay) = 4 sp\n(13)Extra Damage = 12 sp\n(14)Archery = 3 sp\ntype the number of the skill you want: ";
    cin>>WeaponSwitch;
 
        switch ( WeaponSwitch )
        {
   
        case 1:
       
        sp -=  2;//dagger
        break;
       
       
        case 2:
       
        sp -=  3;//short sword
        break;
       
       
        case 3:
       
        sp -=  4;//long sword
        break;
       
       
        case 4:
       
        sp -=  5;//two handed sword
        break;
       
       
        case 5:
       
        sp -=  2;//club
        break;
       
       
        case 6:
       
        sp -=  3;//staff
        break;
       
       
        case 7:
        sp -=  2;//thrown
        break;
       
       
        case 8:
       
        sp -=  2;//shield
        break;
       
       
        case 9:
       
        sp -=  3;//ambidexturous
        break;
       
       
        case 10:
       
        sp -= 5;//strong
        break;
       
       
        case 11:
       
        sp -=4;//sneak attack
        break;
       
       
        case 12:
       
        sp -=4;//sap (waylay)
        break;
       
       
        case 13:
       
        sp -=12;//extra dammage
        break;
       
       
        case 14:
       
        sp -=2;//archery
        break;
       
        default:
        cout<<"That is not a Weapon skill, type a weapon skill: ";
            return Weapons();
        break;
        }
  //weapons skills     
int Magic()
{
system("cls");
}
//magic skills

int Ability()
{
system("cls");
}
//abilitys

if ( sp < 1)
{
return CreateFinal();
}



int main()
{
system("color 0a");
system("cls");

return Login();


}

---

I know posting all your code is frowned upon, but i dont know where the problem is i get crazy parse errors, and also i know the system commands are frowned upon also, but that was something my friend did when he tried to work on it, and i like the clear effect anyways anyways any help anyone can give me would be appreciated.... i know im gonna get flamed for this

Did you have a question?


Match your braces and use good indentation. Here's a freebie starter: int Login().

I don't feel like looking through it right now. But some advice I could give you would be to use the header #include <cstdlib> instead of #include<stdlib.h> (it's out of date). Also, another tip (too late for you now), would be to take the coding in steps. Code some stuff first, then compile, if it compiles fine, move on. That's about all I can give you, sorry.

my problem is i cant figure out where the braces are supposed to go i try and i just end up messing something else up

Beautification 1:

Code:

---

#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <stdlib.h>

using namespace std;

int Login();
int Ability();
int Magic();
int Weapons();
int SkillsMenu();
int AbilityMenu();
int Player();
int RaceMenu();
int CreateFinal();
//declare functions


string PlayerFullName, CharacterName, Class, Race, stop = "yes", Password, Skills, SpecialAbilitys, Racials, whattheytype, endloop;
int hp, xp, sp = 20, mana, SwitchRace, done, SwitchAbility, WeaponSwitch, MagicSwitch, AblilitySwitch;
//declare variables
int skillmenuchoice;


int CreateFinal()

{
  cout<<"\nyour player is.... \n \n \n\n\n\n\n";
  cout<<"Player Name: "<<PlayerFullName<<"\nCharacter Name: "<<CharacterName<<"\nclass: "<<Class<<"\nRace: "<<Race<<"\nRacials: "<<Racials<<"\nSkill Points: "<<sp<<"\nSkills\n _______________________________________________\n "<<Skills<<"\nSpecial ablilitys\n _______________________________________________\n"<<SpecialAbilitys<<"\nHitpoints: "<<hp<<"\nmana: "<<mana<<"\nExperience: "<<xp;

  string filename = PlayerFullName + ".txt";
  ofstream Playerfile ( filename.c_str() );


  Playerfile<<"Player Name: "<<PlayerFullName<<"\nCharacter Name: "<<CharacterName<<"\nclass: "<<Class<<"\nRace: "<<Race<<"\nRacials: "<<Racials<<"\nSkill Points: "<<sp<<"\nSkills\n _______________________________________________\n "<<Skills<<"\nSpecial ablilitys\n _______________________________________________\n"<<SpecialAbilitys<<"\nHitpoints: "<<hp<<"\nmana: "<<mana<<"\nExperience: "<<xp;

  Playerfile.close();
  cin.get();
  return Login();
}
//create player text file and print stats to screen



int Login()
{
  sp = 20;
  cout<<"\nEnter the DM Password or you shall be smited: ";
  cin>>Password;
  cin.ignore();
  if ( Password == "god" )
  {
      stop = "";
      cout<<"\n\nyou truly are an evil gm\n\n Would you like to create a Player?(yes or no): ";
      cin>>stop;
      cin.ignore();
      if ( stop == "yes" )
        return Player();


      cout<<"WITH DARKNESS I CAUSE DEATH!!!!!!!!\n\n\n\n (this is where you die)\n";
      system("exit");
  }
//log in to use prog.


  int Player()
  {
      system("cls");
      cout<<"\nEnter Player Full Name: ";
      cin>>PlayerFullName;
      cin.ignore();   
    //player name

      cout<<"\nEnter Character Name: ";
      cin>>CharacterName;
      cin.ignore(); 
    //character name

      cout<<"\nEnter Class: ";
      cin>>Class;
      cin.ignore();   
    //class name

      cout<<"\nHow much Experience?: ";
      cin>>xp;
      cin.ignore(); 

    //experience

      cout<<"\nplayable races\n Good Aligned\n________\n(1)Human\n(2)Gnome\n(3)Halfling  \n(4)Dwarf\n(5)Elf\n(6)Animal Folk\n(7)Seelie Fae\n\nEvil Aligned\n________\n(1)Human\n(8)Kobold\n(9)Goblin\  n(10)Orc\n(11)Dark Elf\n(6)Animal Folk\n(12)Unseelie Fae \ntype the numbers that are next to the race name, to select that race.\n";           
      cout<<"\nEnter Race: ";
      cin>>SwitchRace;
      cin.ignore();
      return RaceMenu();
  }

  int RaceMenu()
  {

      switch ( SwitchRace )
      {
      case 1:
        cout<<"\n you chose Human +2 ability points";
        Race = "Human";
        sp = sp + 2;
        break;

      case 2:
        cout<<"\n you chose Gnome 1/2 cost craft";
        Race = "Gnome";
        Racials = "1/2 cost craft";
        break;

      case 3:
        cout<<"\n you chose Halfling 1/2 cost thrown weapons";
        Race = "Halfling";
        Racials = "1/2 cost thrown weapons";
        break;

      case 4:
        cout<<"\n you chose Dwarf +2 hp";
        Race = "Dwarf";
        hp = hp + 2;
        sp = 12;
        break;

      case 5:
        cout<<"\n you chose Elf +2 mana";
        Race = "Elf";
        mana += 2;
        sp = 12;
        break;

      case 6:
        cout<<"\n you chose Animal Folk";
        Race = "Animal Folk";
        Racials = "See Dm";
        break;

      case 7:
        cout<<"\n you chose Seelie Fae +2 mana";
        Race = "Seelie Fae";
        mana += 2;
        sp = 12;
        break;

      case 8:
        cout<<"\n you chose Kobold 1/2 cost trap making";
        Race = "Kobold";
        Racials = "1/2 cost trap making";
        break;

      case 9:
        cout<<"\n you chose Goblin 1/2 Cost Spear";
        Race = "Goblin";
        Racials = "1/2 Cost Spear";
        break;

      case 10:
        cout<<"\n you chose Orc 1/2 Cost Two-Handed";
        Race = "Orc";
        Racials = "1/2 Cost Two-Handed";
        break;

      case 11:
        cout<<"\n you chose Dark Elf +2 mana";
        Race = "Dark Elf";
        mana += 2;
        sp = 12;
        break;

      case 12:
        cout<<"\n you chose Unseelie Fae +2 mana";
        Race = "Unseelie Fae";
        mana += 2;
        sp = 12;
        break;

      default:
        cout<<"\n that is not a Race! try again: ";
        cin>>SwitchRace;
        cin.ignore();
        break;
      }
      return AbilityMenu();
  }
//race selection


  int AbilityMenu()
  {
      system("cls");
      cout<<"\n You have "<<sp<<" skill points to spend on Skills, Abilitys, Mana, and hit points\n type (skills) to see a list of skills: ";
      string checkifstring;
      cin>>checkifstring;
      if ( checkifstring == "skills" )
      {
        return SkillsMenu();
      }


      int SkillsMenu()
      {
        cout<<"\n(1)Weapon skills\n(2)Magic skills\n(3)Abilitys\nType the number to access the Skills menu of your choice, you have  "<<sp<<" Skill Points left: ";
        cin>>skillmenuchoice;

        switch ( skillmenuchoice )
        {
        case 1:
            return Weapons();
            break;
        case 2:
            return Magic();
            break;
        case 3:
            return Ability();
            break;

        default:
            cout<<"Wrong Choice, Try Again";

            return SkillsMenu();
            break;

        }
//skill menu


        int Weapons()
        {
            system("cls");
            cout<<"\nweapon skills are\n___________________\n(1)Dagger cost = 2 sp\n(2)Short sword = 3 sp\n(3)Long Sword = 4 sp\n(4)Two Handed Sword = 5 sp\n(5)lub = 2 sp\n(6)Staff = 3 sp\n(7)Thrown = 2 sp\n(8)Shield = 2 sp\n(9)Ambidexterous = 3 sp\n(10)Strong = 5 sp\n(11)Sneak Attack = 4 sp\n(12)Sap(waylay) = 4 sp\n(13)Extra Damage = 12 sp\n(14)Archery = 3 sp\ntype the number of the skill you want: ";
            cin>>WeaponSwitch;

            switch ( WeaponSwitch )
            {
           
            case 1:

              sp -=  2;//dagger
              break;


            case 2:

              sp -=  3;//short sword
              break;


            case 3:

              sp -=  4;//long sword
              break;


            case 4:

              sp -=  5;//two handed sword
              break;


            case 5:

              sp -=  2;//club
              break;


            case 6:

              sp -=  3;//staff
              break;


            case 7:
              sp -=  2;//thrown
              break;


            case 8:

              sp -=  2;//shield
              break;


            case 9:

              sp -=  3;//ambidexturous
              break;


            case 10:

              sp -= 5;//strong
              break;


            case 11:

              sp -=4;//sneak attack
              break;


            case 12:

              sp -=4;//sap (waylay)
              break;


            case 13:

              sp -=12;//extra dammage
              break;


            case 14:

              sp -=2;//archery
              break;

            default:
              cout<<"That is not a Weapon skill, type a weapon skill: ";
              return Weapons();
              break;
            }
  //weapons skills     
            int Magic()
            {
              system("cls");
            }
//magic skills

            int Ability()
            {
              system("cls");
            }
//abilitys

            if ( sp < 1 )
            {
              return CreateFinal();
            }



            int main()
            {
              system("color 0a");
              system("cls");

              return Login();


            }

---

ok, yeah thats much clearer code and it looks like it should run fine to me, but i still get a bunch of parse errors

Code:

---

int SkillsMenu()
{
cout<<"\n(1)Weapon skills\n(2)Magic skills\n(3)Abilitys\n
Type the number to access the Skills menu of your choice, you have  "<<sp<<" Skill Points left: ";
cin>>skillmenuchoice;

        switch ( skillmenuchoice )
        {
        case 1:
                return Weapons();
        break;
        case 2:
                return Magic();
        break;
        case 3:
                return Ability();
        break;

        default:       
                cout<<"Wrong Choice, Try Again";

                return SkillsMenu();
        break;
       
 }

---

Where is the closing bracket? Parse errors are usually caused by missing brackets or semi-colons (as far as I'm aware). The error window will usually help you locate a general area where you should be looking (specific lines), though sometimes these errors carry on to some later line and it's not much help.

A little tip: As dave_sinkula mentioned, indentation is great in helping you identify these problems

Code:

---

int SkillsMenu()
{
        cout<<"\n(1)Weapon skills\n(2)Magic skills\n(3)Abilitys\n
                Type the number to access the Skills menu of your choice, you have  "<<sp<<" Skill Points left: ";
        cin>>skillmenuchoice;

        switch ( skillmenuchoice )
        {
        case 1:
                return Weapons();
                break;
        case 2:
                return Magic();
                break;
        case 3:
                return Ability();
                break;
        default:       
                cout<<"Wrong Choice, Try Again";
                return SkillsMenu();
                break;
        //Obvious to see you're missing the bracket here...
}

---

Also, when you post code, it'll make the window as wide as your longest line...it makes your posts a touch easier to read if you break up long code lines into smaller lines (I.e. what I did with that first cout).

EDIT:
Sadly, most of your debugging time won't be coding, it'll be trying to find where you missed the damn semi-colon.

EDIT2:
Oh yeah, and you want to be careful with global variables, generally it's best to use them as little as possible (none is best). I'm talking about something like your "Password" variable, which is used only in one of your functions; Login(). It would be a good idea to just make that a member variable of that function.

i know, stupid semi-colons , and brackets...... grrr
EDIT: woot down to one parse error.... thanks, but im sure there will be more questions to follow

Take a close look towards the middle-end of your code here...

Code:

---

//weapons skills     
            int Magic()
            {
              system("cls");
            }
//magic skills

            int Ability()
            {
              system("cls");
            }
//abilitys

            if ( sp < 1 )
            {
              return CreateFinal();
            }



            int main()
            {
              system("color 0a");
              system("cls");

              return Login();


            }

---

What does that bolded code belong to? (There is no closing bracket before main(). It looks to me like those last functions (AbilityMenu(), SkillsMenu(), and Weapons()) are all missing closing braces...

ok thanks i got that all running the right way but now i am stuck with another problem.... i want to have the choices made in the skill selections to be saved, and printed both to the screen and the text files, i have talked to a few of my friends and they said the switch case isn't the best way to acheive this, so i guess my code will change a lot more now. I was just wondering if anyone could explain a way to do this, or point me to a good tutorial on the subject. thanks for all the help this far

There's nothing wrong with a switch statement...here's a small example:

Code:

---

typedef enum UserChoice
{
        Sword = 1;
        Armor = 2;
}UserChoice;

void ChooseSkill(void)
{
        cout<<"\n(1)Sword\n(2)Armor\n
                Type the number to access the Skills menu of your choice, you have  "<<sp<<" Skill Points left: ";
        cin>>Choice;

        switch(Choice)
        {
        case Sword:
                //Throw in code that displays to the screen here

                //Throw in code that opens/writes/closes a file here

                break;

        case Armor:
                //Throw in code that displays to the screen here

                //Throw in code that opens/writes/closes a file here

                break;

        default:

                //Throw in an error message to pick another choice.
                //Based on your mood, you can use a loop here to
                //go back to the start, or just return with nothing.

        }

---

There's a small starter...the rest is for you to fill in. Like I said, a switch statement is the way to go (unless I'm missing something...)

but i wanted it to print it all in one text file and print it on the screen at the end, i could append to the file, but i wnated the skills printed in the skills part of the file and i wanted it to print the skills selection in the end also, so i guess im asking is there anyway to save the selection and print it in CreateFinal()?

Okay, I see now

My first idea would be to create a class for the player

Code:

---

class CPlayer
{
public:
        CPlayer();
        virtual ~CPlayer();

        //Abilities - Should be initially set to 0 in constructor, and increase values as
        //skill improves
        int Heal, Regeneration; //etc.

        //Spells - Should be initially set to false in constructor, and true during creation
        bool KnowsFireball, KnowsFrostyball; //etc.
        //Alternatively, make them ints, set to 0 in constructor, and increase value as
        //skill improves

        //Weapons - Should be initially set to 0 in constructor, and adjusted during creation
        int Longsword, Shield, Armour; //Etc.
};

---

Then, based on this class, you can extract the proper information during your CreateFinal() function. This way, you can store the player's stats during the game too, and you're not required to open a text file each time you want to find out whether the player knows Fireball or not.

And of course, you can throw in your own ways of measuring/keeping track of skills, but classes are generally the way to go whenever you want to store information about an object.

I understand what your saying, and i get the general idea, but classes were never my strong point, so i guess ill have to read the tutorial on this site to understand them i think ill do that now

It took me a while to get into the habit of classes (oh, about 3 years), but then once I did, everything became a lot easier to manage. It'll probably take a couple of tries of "This is useless, I'm gonna do it without classes", then trying them again in a week, then quitting, then trying again, until you finally realize how it's all actually not as complicated as it seems (well, it did for me anyways).

Classes are very good (if you're familiar with structs, they're practically the same thing, with minor changes) and the sooner you get your head around them, the easier you'll find writing code to be for projects such as this.

ok i have a question, what are the constructor and destructor for? i mean i know it free's up memory, but whats the point wont it all be freed up when the program exits..... i guesse in a large program if you didn' need the class anymore then freeing the memory would be good.... did i just answer my own question? lol :p

>i guesse in a large program if you didn' need the class anymore then freeing the memory would be good

you're absolutly right, a constructor and deconstructor are not necissary becasue you can initialize/free memory in any function you want. But they help you organize your large amount of classes..Say you make a function for clearing up memory....but you forget to call that function...then you have BIG program where you have a memory leak cus you forgot to free memory....well freeing up memory in your deconstructor means you dont have to worry about it later.

same thing with constructors.. once you declare somthing like...eg. Cclassname classvariable; then members (variables, structs, subclasses etc..) in that class will be initialized and you dont have to seperately initliaze them like this...eg. classvaiable.number= 0;

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Epo

Code:

---

class CPlayer
{
public:
        CPlayer();
        virtual ~CPlayer();

        //Abilities - Should be initially set to 0 in constructor, and increase values as
        //skill improves
        int Heal, Regeneration; //etc.

        //Spells - Should be initially set to false in constructor, and true during creation
        bool KnowsFireball, KnowsFrostyball; //etc.
        //Alternatively, make them ints, set to 0 in constructor, and increase value as
        //skill improves

        //Weapons - Should be initially set to 0 in constructor, and adjusted during creation
        int Longsword, Shield, Armour; //Etc.
};

---

---

what do you mean set to 0 in the constructor? do i need to make a class for abilities also or is abilities just a function within the class CPlayer?

I assume Epo intended the data members Heal and Rgeneration, which are of type int, to be what he called an Ability attribute of each CPlayer object. He intends to set the values to zero in the constructor and then presumably will increase their value during the process of a "game" as a "reward" for a CPlayer object successfully completed a variety of tasks, and decrease their value if an opponent is successful at achieving their goals.

Code:

---

//CPlayer.h
class CPlayer
{
        //data member with private access
        int Heal;
       
        public:
          //initialize data member in default constructor to 0
          CPlayer() : Heal(0) {}
 
        //provide public methods to change/retrieve value of Heal
          void changeHeal(int n) {Heal += n;}
          int getHeal() {return Heal;} const;         
};

---

i see.... well maybe it would help if i explained exactly what this program is. What i want it to do is save all the skill selelctions in a file and create sort of a charcter file with everything in it, its not for a computer game or anything like that, just for a charcter guide, maybe that will help a little?

If you overload the << operator you can write all the attributes you want for each CPlayer object you want to whatever file you want.

Overloading the >> will allow you to read the data in the file back to a CPlayer object.

Overloading the << and >> are common topics of discussion/tutorials and I would encourage you to look into the process further on your own.

Here's a very simple version for a simple CPlayer class.

CAUTION: the following code has not been compiled or tested (no compiler available). You will need to test it and adjust the techniques demonstrated by it for your own use.

Code:

---


#include <iostream>
#include <ifstream>

class CPlayer
{
  int Heal;

  public:
    CPlayer () : Heal(0) {};
    void changeHeal(int n) {Heal += n;}
    int getHeal() {return Heal;} const;

    friend ostream & operator << (ostream & os, const CPlayer & p)
    {
        os << Heal << std::endl;
        return os;
    }

    friend istream & operator >> (istream & is, CPlayer & p)
      {
        is >> Heal;
        return is;
      }
};


int main()
{
  //use default constructor to declare CPlayer object
  CPlayer cp1;

  //use accessor method to display default value of Heal
  std::cout << cp1.getHeal() << std::endl;

  //use mutator function to change value of Heal
  cp1.changeHeal(11);

  //use << operator to display CPlayer, which in this case is just value of Heal
  std::cout << cp1 << std::endl;

  //declare ofstream
  std::ofstream fout("CPlayer1.dat");

  //use ofstream to write CPlayer object data to file
  fout << cp1;

  fout.close();

  //declare  ifstream
  std::ifstream fin("CPlayer1.dat");

  //declare second CPlayer object
  CPlayer cp2;

  //use fin to read into cp2.Heal directly
  fin >> cp2;

  //show value of cp1.Heal correctly written to and read from file
  std::cout << cp2;
};

---

sorry elad, i dont understand your code, like i said i need to read a good tutorial on classes

hmmm.... i have read several tutorials on classes now, and still have no idea on how to go about making this program.... should i put everything into a class and then in createfinal call up all the info? i still dont know how i can save all of the choices in the skills menu grrrr this is confusing me
edit: sorry meant to edit my last post, not make another :o

edit2: that doesn't look like an embarased face lol

DISCLAIMER:
I'm going to be mixing C code into this example. Classes are a C++ only thing (pretty much the reason behind C++), but I'm ridiculously more comfortable with C. So instead of using "cout" and the such, prepare to see some fancy "printf" action going on. I know this is the C++ board, but if you don't let this slide, well, I can't write a good example.

Think of a class as an object. In this case, you're creating an object for your player, we'll call this object cPlayer.

Now, cPlayer has a bunch of attributes:
Health, Stamina, Mana.
These are known as member variables of our object and are used to describe our object.

But, in our case, our cPlayer can do more than just store info about itself, it can also perform actions. In this case, they are known as member functions. In the case of our cPlayer, he will be able to do three things for now:
SayHi(), ReturnMana(), WriteMyStatsToFile().

Here is a sample header file. The point of the header file is to outline what our object will look like (prototypes). The rest of the code will come in an actual .cpp file.

cPlayer.h

Code:

---

//This line eliminates the chance of including our header twice
#ifndef CPLAYER_H //If CPLAYER_H isn't defined yet...
                                        //Note, if CPLAYER_H has already been defined
                                        //by you, or by another header already, then
                                        //nothing below will be executed until the #endif.
                                        //It is good to keep this as unique as possible.
                                        //Here I used the name of the actual file, all in
                                        //capitals. Very slim chance it will have already
                                        //been defined.
#define CPLAYER_H  //Note, it's okay that we don't actually give it
                                        //a value. We've defined it now, and that's the
                                        //important part.

#include <stdio.h> //C header used for printf(), fscanf() functions.

//Our class for the player object
class cPlayer
{
//"public" means that the members (functions and variables) can be accessed
//from functions outside of the class. This will be more apparent in main.cpp
public:
        //FUNCTIONS
        cPlayer(void);        //The Constructor. The Constructor is called automatically
                        //upon the creation of our variable. Explained more in the
                        //cPlayer.cpp file. This is a great place to initialize
                        //our member variables.
       
        virtual ~cPlayer(void);        //The Destructor. The Destructor is called automatically
                                //whenever our variable is being destroyed. Usually
                                //when the program is ending. Although if the user
                                //manually destroys the variable pre-emptively, this
                                //will still be called. The "virtual" will ensure that
                                //our Destructor fires, regardless of the type of exit.

        //Note: Every class inherently has a Constructor and Destructor.

        void SayHi(void);                //A nifty function that will display a message in our console window
        long ReturnMana(void);                //Returns the object's current Mana (variable defined below)
        void WriteMyStatsToFile(void);        //Writes Health, Stamina, and Mana to a text file
       
        //VARIABLES
        long Health, Stamina;        //Public variables to store our object's Health and Stamina, respectively.

//"private" means that the members (functions and variables) can NOT be
//accessed from functions outside of the class. This will be more apparent in main.cpp
private:
        //FUNCTIONS
        //None in this example, but private functions are useful to aid your public functions.
        //If there's a function you need to call from within a public function, but will never
        //be necessary to give the programmer to call it whenever they like, then you would
        //define it as "private".
                       

        //VARIABLES
        long Mana;
};

//Note: As of now, none of our variables are actually initialized

#endif

---

There is the prototype for our player object. Now, onto the actual definitions.

cPlayer.cpp

Code:

---

#include "cPlayer.h"        //Necessary so our compiler knows which prototypes
                        //we're talking about

//Note: The generic way to declare a function for a class is as follows
//ReturnValue ClassName::FunctionName(Parameters)

//Our CONSTRUCTOR
cPlayer::cPlayer(void)
{
        Health = 0;
        Stamina = 0;
        Mana = 0;
}

//Our DESTRUCTOR
virtual cPlayer::~cPlayer(void)
{
        //There is nothing to clean up, so this can
        //stay empty. If you were to allocate memory
        //through malloc(), new, or anything else, for
        //your class, this would be a great place to
        //clean it up.
}

void cPlayer::SayHi(void)
{
        printf("Hello, this is your Class talking\n");
}

//Sometimes we'll need to know what our Mana is. However, since that
//is a private variable, we can not access it. Therefore we use
//our public class to return the contents of Mana. Another public
//class would be necessary I.e. ChangeMana(long Value) to
//change the value of Mana to "Value". But I'll leave that up to you.
long cPlayer::ReturnMana(void)
{
        return Mana; //Return our Mana value
}

//This function writes all the current variables (public and private) which
//describe the player into a text file.
void WriteMyStatsToFile(void)
{
        //Note: As mentioned this is C code. I do not know the C++ equivalent.

        FILE *OutputFile; //A pointer to a FILE type variable.

        //FILE *fopen(const char *FileName, const char *Mode);
        OutputFile = fopen("PlayerStats.txt", "w");        //"w" denotes "write"

        if(OutputFile != NULL) //Make sure fopen() succeeded
        {
                fprintf(OutputFile, "Health: %d\n Stamina: %d\n Mana: %d", Health, Stamina, Mana);
               
                printf("Success\n");
        }
        else
        {
                printf("Could Not Open File\n");
        }
}

---

And finally, an example of how to use our class:

main.cpp

Code:

---

#include "cPlayer.h"//Quotations are used when including user-created headers.
                //<> signs are used when including official headers.

int main(void)
{
        cPlayer MyPlayer; //Upon this creation, the Constructor is called.

        MyPlayer.SayHi();

        printf("Current Mana: &d", MyPlayer.ReturnMana());
        //Note: MyPlayer.Mana is not valid because it is a private variable
        //and can NOT be accessed outside of member functions.

        MyPlayer.Health = 100;        //This is okay because Health is a public
                                //variable and CAN be accessed outside of member functions

        MyPlayer.WriteMyStatsToFile();

        return 0;
}

---

Expected Output in Console Window

Code:

---

Hello, this is your Class talking
Current Mana: 0
Success

---

Expected Output in PlayerStats.txt

Code:

---

Health: 100
Stamina: 0
Mana: 0

---

DISCLAIMER 2:
This is not the best generic tutorial on classes. It is aimed more towards solving this specific problem. While it does show the basic uses/implementation of a class, there are many more things you can do with classes and further reading should be done to fully understand classes.

DISCLAIMER 3:
This code has not been tested.

If you have any questions about this, feel free to just fire away. If I find anything I've missed since posting I'll edit and inform you of it. I recommend copying/pasting the code into your standard programming environment. It may be easier to read. And I know that it looks like there's a lot to read, well, that's cause there is. I did my best to comment it all, and that's the biggest bulk of it. Code-wise, it's actually relatively small.

I believe I've covered and said everything I've wanted to. If you read it all from the start, it should be appropriately explained as you travel through the example. Any feedback from the community would be great, especially if you catch an error. (I wrote this in one sitting).

well, i understand how that works even though it is in c and i dont know c, but there is no way to know what selections they will make for skills, i suppose i could make a variable for every skill, set it to 0 and if they choose a skill it sets that to 1 , but i would like it to only show the skills they choose. could i make it just not print it if the skill = 0? hmmm maybe thats the solution... am i right?

Sounds like it should work.

That's a great idea.

Code:

---

if (MyPlayer.KnowsFireball == true)
{
//Insert Code Here To Write to File
}

---

However, this may quickly increase the size of your source code if you need a check for every skill.

Another attempt could be to do something like:

Code:

---

definitions.h
#define MAX_NUM_SKILLS 100

#define FIREBALL        100
#define SNOW_EXPLOSION        101
#define NOVA                102
//etc...

---

Then, using an array, vector, or linked list, keep track of what the user knows (example done with array):

Code:

---

cPlayer.h
#include "definitions.h"
...
class cPlayer
{
public:
...
        //FUNCTIONS
        void AddSkill(int SkillID);
        void WriteMyStatsToFile(void);

private:
        //FUNCTIONS
        char* ConvertSkillToString(int SkillID);

        //VARIABLES
        int Skills[MAX_NUM_SKILLS]; //Player can have maximum of 100 skills in this example
...
};

---

Code:

---

cPlayer.cpp
//Initializes all Skill IDs in the array to 0
void cPlayer::cPlayer() //Constructor
{
        int X;

        for(X = 0; X<MAX_NUM_SKILLS; X++)
        {
                Skills[X] = 0;
        }
}
...
//Adds a SkillID to an empty spot in the array.
//Does nothing if array is full.
void cPlayer::AddSkill(int SkillID)
{
        int X = 0;

        while((Skills[X] != 0) && (X < MAX_NUM_SKILLS))
        {
                X++;
        }

        if(X == MAX_NUM_SKILLS)
        {
        //PLAYER CAN'T LEARN ANY MORE SKILLS
        }
        else
        {
                Skills[X] = SkillID;
        }
}

//I'm unsure about whether or not this function actually works
//Converts an integer to it's programmer defined string version
char* cPlayer::ConvertSkillToString(int SkillID)
{
        switch SkillID
        {
        case FIREBALL:
                return "Fireball";
        case SNOW_EXPLOSION:
                return "Snow Explosion";
        case NOVA:
                return "Nova";
        ...
        //Insert All Other Skills Here
        }

        return NULL;
}

void cPlayer::WriteMyStatsToFile(void)
{
        //Note: As mentioned this is C code. I do not know the C++ equivalent.

        FILE *OutputFile; //A pointer to a FILE type variable.

        //FILE *fopen(const char *FileName, const char *Mode);
        OutputFile = fopen("PlayerStats.txt", "w");        //"w" denotes "write"

        if(OutputFile != NULL) //Make sure fopen() succeeded
        {
                int X = 0;

                fprintf(OutPutFile, "Skills Known:\n");

                while((Skills[X] != 0) && (X < NAX_NUM_SKILLS))
                {
                        fprintf(OutPutFile, "%s\n", ConvertSkillToString(Skills[X]));
                }
               
                printf("Success\n");
        }
        else
        {
                printf("Could Not Open File\n");
        }
}
...

---

And, the usage of said functions would look like:

Code:

---

main.cpp

#include "cPlayer.h"

int main(void)
{
        cPlayer MyPlayer;

        MyPlayer.AddSkill(FIREBALL);
        MyPlayer.WriteMyStatsToFile();

        return 0;
}

---

Code:

---

Expected output in PlayerStats.txt
Skills Known:
Fireball

---

You could also just plain leave out the conversion when writing to a file (write the integer code directly), because as long as you know the definitions in definitions.h, you know which integer stands for which skill.

To Sum Up
You store the ID numbers of all known skills in an array (if you want to keep a set amount of skills), linked list (to have an infinitely long amount of skills with efficient memory usage), array (infinitely long amount of skills with possible memory being wasted, but that's another topic). Then, when writing to your file, you merely convert the ID numbers (or just write the ID numbers) to the file to keep track of which skills are known. Anything not written, well, isn't known.

know whats funny? i have all these dif. methods of doing what i want, but when it comes down to actually making it work in my source file i just cant make it stick.... maybe i been working too long at this and need a break, that usually works..... grrrrr school tomorrow.... only thing im looking forward to is my java class (there are no other programming classes in my school :( ) ah well ill keep working on it...

EDIT: oh! and i dont know how to make my own header files, only reason im bringing this up is because it would be easy just to make the class and include it in my source, or should i just put it in one cpp file?

epo can you elaborate? im not very familiar with vectors and links lists, anyway this is the class i was starting, is this the right way to go about this?

Code:

---

#define Cplayer
class Cplayer
      {
            public:

/*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 get*/                   
                    //weaponskills
                    int getDagger();
                    int getClub();
                    int getThrown();
                    int getShield();
                    int getUnarmed();
                    int getShortSword();
                    int getStaff();
                    int getAmbidextrous();
                    int getArchery();
                    int getAxe();
                    int getLongSword();
                    int getTwoHandedWeapons();
                    int getStrong();
                    int getSap();
                    int getParry();
                    int getSneakAttack();
                    int getFavoredEnemy();
                    int getRiposte();
                    int getExtraDamage();
                    int getSlay();

/*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 set*/                   
                    void setDagger();
                    void setClub();
                    void setThrown();
                    void setShield();
                    void setUnarmed();
                    void setShortSword();
                    void setStaff();
                    void setAmbidextrous();
                    void setArchery();
                    void setAxe();
                    void setLongSword();
                    void setTwoHandedWeapons();
                    void setStrong();
                    void setSap();
                    void setParry();
                    void setSneakAttack();
                    void setFavoredEnemy();
                    void setRiposte();
                    void setExtraDamage();
                    void setSlay();
 
 /*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 get*/                   
                    //magic skills
                    int getBardicLearning();
                    int getDruidLearning();
                    int getPaladinLearning();
                    int getRangerLearning();
                    int getSorcererLearning();
                    int getWizardLearning();
                    int getManaPoints();
                    int getRead Magic();
                    int getRitual();
                    int getMass Heal();
                    int getTurn/Rebuke Undead();
                    int getInspire Courage();
                    int getWild Shape();
                    int getEmpty Body();
                    int getDetect Evil/Good();
                    int getLay on Hands();
                    //single spells
                    int getsingleSpelllvlonetothree();
                    int getsingleSpelllvlfourtosix();
                    int getsingleSpelllvlseventonine();
                    int getsingleSpelllvlten();
                    //full spell level
                    int getSpelllvlonetothree();
                    int getSpelllvlfourtosix();
                    int getSpelllvlseventonine();
                    int getSpelllvlten();

/*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 set*/                   
                    void setBardicLearning();
                    void setDruidLearning();
                    void setPaladinLearning();
                    void setRangerLearning();
                    void setSorcererLearning();
                    void setWizardLearning();
                    void setManaPoints();
                    void setRead Magic();
                    void setRitual();
                    void setMass Heal();
                    void setTurn/Rebuke Undead();
                    void setInspire Courage();
                    void setWild Shape();
                    void setEmpty Body();
                    void setDetect Evil/Good();
                    void setLay on Hands();
                    //single spells
                    void setsingleSpelllvlonetothree();
                    void setsingleSpelllvlfourtosix();
                    void setsingleSpelllvlseventonine();
                    void setsingleSpelllvlten();
                    //full spell level
                    void setSpelllvlonetothree();
                    void setSpelllvlfourtosix();
                    void setSpelllvlseventonine();
                    void setSpelllvlten();
                   
/*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 get*/                   
                    //special abilitys
   
                   
            private:
                    //weapon skills
                    int Dagger = 0;
                    int Club = 0;
                    int Thrown = 0;
                    int Shield = 0;
                    int Unarmed = 0;
                    int ShortSword = 0;
                    int Staff = 0;
                    int Ambidextrous = 0;
                    int Archery = 0;
                    int Axe = 0;
                    int LongSword = 0;
                    int TwoHandedWeapons = 0;
                    int Strong = 0;
                    int Sap = 0;
                    int Parry = 0;
                    int SneakAttack = 0;
                    int FavoredEnemy = 0;
                    int Riposte = 0;
                    int ExtraDamage = 0;
                    int Slay = 0;
                   
                    //magic skills
                   
                    int BardicLearning = 0;
                    int DruidLearning = 0;
                    int PaladinLearning = 0;
                    int RangerLearning = 0;
                    int SorcererLearning = 0;
                    int WizardLearning = 0;
                    int ManaPoints = 0;
                    int Read Magic = 0;
                    int Ritual = 0;
                    int Mass Heal = 0;
                    int Turn/Rebuke Undead = 0;
                    int Inspire Courage = 0;
                    int Wild Shape = 0;
                    int Empty Body = 0;
                    int Detect Evil/Good = 0;
                    int Lay on Hands = 0;
                    //single spells
                    int singleSpelllvlonetothree = 0;
                    int singleSpelllvlfourtosix = 0;
                    int singleSpelllvlseventonine = 0;
                    int singleSpelllvlten = 0;
                    //full spell level
                    int Spelllvlonetothree = 0;
                    int Spelllvlfourtosix = 0;
                    int Spelllvlseventonine = 0;
                    int Spelllvlten = 0;
                    //special abilitys
      }

---

but, as you can see thats a lot of skills and will GREATLY increase my source size, so i should read up on vectors, or linked lists? or something like that?

It's a good start

Just something quick that I noticed. In these examples, and a few other places:

Code:

---

int Mass Heal = 0;
int Turn/Rebuke Undead = 0;

---

These will cause your compiler to throw errors at you.

Spaces and, as far as I know, slashes (forward or backward) are not permitted in variable names. It's usually just convention to stick with letters, numbers, and underscores. I'm not sure about the slash (if underscores are allowed, why not), but just a heads up.

Along the same lines (in your Class Definition):

Quote:

---

private:
//weapon skills
int Dagger = 0;

---

You're not allowed to initialize variables within your actual class. It's best to stick these kinds of things into the constructor.

Now, I'm not saying what I show you here is the right way to do it. You've got a method there that will work. However, to perhaps reduce the size of your class, something along the lines of this may be handy...

Code:

---

//MyDefinitions.cpp
#define DAGGER                100
#define CLUB                101
#define THROWN                102
//Define the rest of your Skills/Spells

---

Code:

---

//cPlayer.h
#include "MyDefinitions.cpp"

class cPlayer
{
public:
        cPlayer(void); //The Constructor
        int GetValue(int ID); //This is only possible because I noticed all
                your get...() functions returned the same type

private:
        int DaggerSkill;
        int ClubSkill;
        int ThrownSkill;
};

---

Code:

---

//cPlayer.cpp
#include "cPlayer.h"

cPlayer::cPlayer(void) //The Constructor
{
//Initializing to my own random values
        Dagger = 10;
        Club = 20;
        Thrown = 30;
}

int cPlayer::GetValue(int ID)
{
        switch(ID)
        {
        case DAGGER:
                return DaggerSkill;
        case CLUB:
                return ClubSkill;
        case THROWN:
                return ThrownSkill;
        }
}

---

And then it would be a matter of expanding those functions to include all of your Skills and Spells:

It's use would be as follows:

Code:

---

main.cpp

#include <stdio.h> //Again, for the printf() C function
#include "cPlayer.h"

int main(void)
{
        cPlayer MyPlayer; //Constructor is called on creation, values are initialized

        //%d represents that the programming will be inserting an integer in that position
        printf("Dagger Skill: %d", MyPlayer.GetValue(DAGGER); //Note, DAGGER is defined as 100 in MyDefinitions.h,
                //and since we included cPlayer.h, we can use it here too.

        printf("\n"); //\n represents a New Line

        printf("Club Skill: %d", MyPlayer.GetValue(CLUB);

        printf("\n");

        printf("Thrown Skill: %d", MyPlayer.GetValue(THROWN);

        return 0;
}

---

Expected Output:

Quote:

---

Dagger Skill: 10
Club Skill: 20
Thrown Skill: 30

---

That's one path you could take that I believe would structure the code a little more nicely. I'll post one more method next, similar to the one above, that I believe would further reduce the size of your code and make it very easy to Set/Get values...

Of course, variable naming is completely up to you, but I just wanted to use the most descriptive name possible so that I could get my idea across as easily as possible

Code:

---

//MyDefinitions.h


//This next line will set a cap on the number of Skills and Spells you,
//as a programmer, will be able to incorporate into your game. You'll
//have to adjust this number each time you add more Skills or Spells,
//otherwise your program will crash. Should this number be BIGGER than
//your actual number, then it won't crash, but you will be wasting memory

//This line would not be enough
//#define NUMBER_OF_SKILLS_AND_SPELLS 1

//This line would waste space
//#define NUMBER_OF_SKILLS_AND_SPELLS 100

//This line is just right
#define NUMBER_OF_SKILLS_AND_SPELLS 5
//Now, we will have enough room for the following Skills/Spells

//It's important that the numbering goes from 0 to (NUMBER_OF_SKILLS_AND_SPELLS - 1)
#define DAGGER_SKILL 0
#define CLUB_SKILL 1
#define SHIELD_SKILL 2
#define BARDIC_LEARNING_SPELL 3
#define MASS_HEAL 4


//Note:
//With this method, the most setup will come from
//ensuring this file is setup properly. Following that, the
//rest of your functions will remain small and take up very little
//space

---

Now that we have THAT setup, our Class is about to look much smaller

Code:

---

//cPlayer.h

#ifndef CPLAYER_H
#define CPLAYER_H

#include "MyDefinitions.h"

class cPlayer
{
public:
        cPlayer(void); //Our Constructor

        void SetValue(int SkillOrSpellID, int Value); //Sets the current value
        int GetValue(int SkillOrSpellID); //Returns the current value
private:
        int SkillAndSpellValues[NUMBER_OF_SKILLS_AND_SPELLS];
        //Now you hopefully see why the number must be defined properly
        //in MyDefinitions.h

        //And THAT'S IT for our class
};

#endif

---

Now, we have an array that will hold all of our skill and spell values. So, on to the actual functions:

Code:

---

//cPlayer.cpp

#include "cPlayer.h"

cPlayer::cPlayer(void)
{
        int X;

        for(X = 0; X < NUMBER_OF_SKILLS_AND_SPELLS; X++)
        {
                SkillAndSpellValues[X] = 0;
        }
        //Now all our values have been initialized to 0
}

void cPlayer::SetValue(int SkillOrSpellID, int Value)
{
        SkillAndSpellValues[SkillOrSpellID] = Value;
}

int cPlayer::GetValue(int SkillOrSpellID)
{
        return SkillAndSpellValues[SkillOrSpellID];
}

---

And that's it. Now, to use our class:

Code:

---

//Main.cpp

#include <stdio.h> //Again, for C functions
#include "cPlayer.h"

int main(void)
{
        cPlayer MyPlayer;

        printf("Dagger Skill: %d", MyPlayer.GetValue(DAGGER_SKILL));

        printf("\n"); //Prints a New Line

        MyPlayer.SetValue(DAGGER_SKILL, 50);

        printf("Dagger Skill: %d", MyPlayer.GetValue(DAGGER_SKILL));

        return 0;
}

---

And the expected output would be:

Quote:

---

Dagger Skill: 0
Dagger Skill: 50

---

As you can see, aside from a bigger Definitions file, the rest is relatively compact and clean. Again, this is just another idea, I'm sure there are many more, and better, ways out there. But this is probably the best one that I could think of at the moment.

now, to save definitions.h and such would i just save those as a seperate file then just include them?

Quote:

---

now, to save definitions.h and such would i just save those as a seperate file then just include them?

---

Exactly

ok i think i understand, do i need to save it as a .h as opposed to a .cpp? and are they seperate files entirely or should they be in the same project? cause ill usually get an error that says cplayer.h no such file or directory, but i noticed you included

Code:

---

# include "definitions.h"

---

the way i did it was

Code:

---

# include <definitions.h>

---

and im in school right now so i cant really edit my code lol

Quote:

---

Code:

---

//This line is just right
#define NUMBER_OF_SKILLS_AND_SPELLS 5
//Now, we will have enough room for the following Skills/Spells

---

---

does the 5 at the end say how many "skills" are in the array? so if i made it 50 i could define 50 dif. skills? and you made a cPlayer.cpp file, but never use it in main.cpp

Each file (whether it ends in .cpp, or .h) is it's own file. Basically, each is a seperate text file, with different extensions.

.h denotes a Header file. A place where you write prototypes and kind of outline/blueprint your functions.

.cpp denotes a Source Code file. A place where you actually write what the functions are doing, step by step.

Now, all of the files above are in the same project. They are all created by you.

Difference between #include <definitions.h> and #include "definitions.h"

Using <> signs represents that you wish to include a file that is a part of the standard library included with your programming language. Header files such as Stdio.h or String.h come with C, and are located in their own special directory. By using <> signs, the compiler knows where to look when including that file.

Using " " signs represents that you wish to include a file created by you, which is a part of your project. So whenever you create a header file (such as in this case, definitions.h) you will need the " " signs to signify, look in this project (this directory). Using the <> signs will cause the compiler to look elsewhere, and in most cases, not find the necessary header file.

Quote:

---

so if i made it 50 i could define 50 dif. skills?

---

Yes, that number represents how many skills you, as a programmer, will be incorporating into your program. And it directly affects the size of your array (how many skills you can store). This is why I recommend setting up your definitions.h file with all your definitions first, then counting how many skills you have, and adjusting the 50 (or whatever number it is) to the appropriate one.

Quote:

---

and you made a cPlayer.cpp file, but never use it in main.cpp

---

For a very good reason. As I mentioned, header files are the outlines/blueprints for functions, etc. So, in this case, cPlayer.h gives the outline for the cPlayer class, and as you noticed, the functions within cPlayer.h are just prototypes, without any actual code to carry out. Whenever the compiler finds prototypes, it will search through the files which are a part of your program for the actual code.

In this case, it finds all its definitions in cPlayer.cpp. It does this all on its own, and you don't actually have to "include" it anywhere. Classes are generally defined in this way. A .h file for the prototypes/layout. And a .cpp file for the actual code. It just helps to keep it all a little more readable. Of course, in the end, it's up to you, and you can write the full functions within the class, but I find it makes it a bit harder to read.

thanks, that makes it much clearer im sure there will be more questions following, there always is

ok, how do i make it so what they choose gets printed at the end? i mean how can i encorporate that into my previous code?
edit: i've been thinking, and should i put

Code:

---

        MyPlayer.SetValue(Dagger, "dagger");

---

in the switch case, then check each skill id if they are 0 and only print the non 0 ones?
edit2: grrr this is so frusturationg, im gonna go watch tv

Well, it's up to you.

At the beginning, each element in the array is being initialized to 0. So, you know if it's still at 0, then they do not possess that skill.

You could either write ALL the contents of the array with something like:

Code:

---

//C Code Again

//Open a file for writing

for(int X = 0; X < NUMBER_OF_SKILLS_AND_SPELLS; X++)
{
        if(SkillAndSpellValues[X] == 0) //Player hasn't learned anything new
        {
                //%s denotes "Place a String Here", i.e. the one returned by our function
                fprintf(MyFile, "%s: Not Learned Yet", ReturnSkillString(X));
        }
        else //Player HAS learned something about this skill
        {
                //%d denotes "Place an Integer Here", i.e. the SkillAndSpellValues[X] value
                fprintf(MyFile, "%s: %d", ReturnSkillString(X), SkillAndSpellValues[X]);
        }
}
//Close the file

---

This would display EACH skill, and of course it can be modified to meet your needs (I.e. leave out the fprintf(), or C++ equivalent, if you don't want to print the unknown skills.

The above code would have to be in a Public Member Function of your cPlayer class. SkillAndSpellValues[] is a Private Member Variable Array. And ReturnSkillString() would be a Private Member Function of your class, resembling something like:

Code:

---

char * cPlayer::ReturnSkillString(int SkillID)
{
        switch(SkillID)
        {
        case DAGGER_SKILL:
                return "Dagger Skill"
        . . .
        }
       
        //If SkillID wasn't found
        return "Unknown Skill";
}

---

Hope that gets ya started.

Code:

---

fprintf(MyFile, "%s: %d", ReturnSkillString(X), SkillAndSpellValues[X]);

---

is that file i/o?

Quote:

---

is that file i/o?

---

Sorry, I should've been more specific. Yes it is. You can use whichever File I/O method you wish to use, if you need any help adapting it from my fprintf() way, to yours, just ask, but (I believe) it is pretty straight-forward, and a slight headache at most is all it'll take to figure it out.

do i put that code into my class declaration, or the actual code?

Quote:

---

The above code would have to be in a Public Member Function of your cPlayer class

---

As with all other Member Functions, you would write a prototype in your header file (.h) and actually write the whole function in your source file (.cpp). Hope that clears it up.