Need help with a tiny program

Hi.
I am trying to make a simple program, that receives two values from the user, and then prints a comment concerning the difference between these two values.

I was thinking something like this:

Code:

---

Please input name 1: ok
Please input name 2: sure
Enter the value of ok: 3
Enter the value of sure: 5

sure is larger than ok, by 2.

---

To add more dimension, I was thinking that the program would react if the difference was very big between the two variables.

I.e.

Code:

---

Please input name 1: first
Please input name 2: second
Enter the value of first: 500
Enter the value of second: 3

first is much larger than second, by 497

---

Any idea or tips how to achieve this? I reason that a couple of 'if' would do the trick, but is there any other way that you could think of?
I am a beginner in C++, so if you would avoid too complicated solutions it would be greatly appreciated. I've read 300 pages in Stephen Prata's third edition though, so I'm not completely ignorant, but more advanced things I have no knowledge of.

Thanks in advance

Sure, you could just read four variables in -- two strings and two numbers. Then use something like

Code:

---

if difference > 100 print "over a hundred"
if difference > 1000 print "over a thousand"
if difference > 1000000 print "over a million"

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Have you tried to do this, or is it still in the planning stage? Also, why not have the user input a number followed by its name at the same time?

Code:

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Enter the first number followed by its name: 3 first
Enter the second number followed by its name: 6 second
...

---

Or the other way around, of course. Just a thought.

Thanks for your reply.

Good idea to merge strings and numbers, that way I can reduce the number of lines a bit at least.

Concerning the if-sentences I am more curious in alternate ways of solving this. This is a question in a basic C++ course I am reading at the moment, we are supposed to solve this without any if's. It's not part of an exam, but rather a "test yourself" question that I'm stuck at, therefore I am of course not asking for a complete code, but rather some tips or ideas that might help.

Oh, I see. Well, there are several ways to do conditional code without using if statements.

The first way is to use the short-circuting feature of boolean logic. As you may be aware, with x && y, first x is tested. If it's false, the whole expression is false, no matter what the value of y, so y isn't even evaluated and the expression is given a value of false. If x is true, then y is evaluated. The expression is given a true value if y is true.

Usually one uses the value of the expression, like this:

Code:

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if(x && y) do_something();

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But you can use it just like this:

Code:

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cout << "the difference is";
difference > 100 && cout << "much ";
cout << "greater than...";

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The easier way is to use the conditional operator, which is actually designed for this sort of thing. It's C and C++'s only tertiary operator, which means it takes not one or two but three expressions. ! takes one: if(!x). && takes two: if(x && y). But ?: takes three.

The syntax for the conditional operator is this:

Code:

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(test) ? (true-expression) : (false-expression);

---

First, test is evaluated. If it's true, true-expression is evaluated; otherwise, it's false, and false-expression is evaluated.

Usually the ?: operator is used in place of code like this:

Code:

---

if(x > 100) y = 100;
else y = x;

---

where it's actually simpler to go

Code:

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y = x > 100 ? 100 : x;

---

But you can use it like this:

Code:

---

cout << "difference is " << (difference > 100 ? "much " : "") << "greater than ...";

---

As you can see, the conditional operator works best when you have both a true-expression and a false-expression. If you don't you might as well use a boolean operator like && or ||.

Thank you very much for your reply. I will read it more thoroughly tomorrow.

Have a look at switch statements

dwks:
That was a very informative reply and I understand how it works. We are not allowed to use this yet in the course though, since we must stick to what we've learned up to this point.

If anyone wants to help me with this, I can write down the things that we've read in the course up until now:
Basic functions
Basic data-types
Arithmetic operators
Vectors
Strings
Structures
Enumerations
for, while, do while

Where should I begin when making this program?
I figure that both the names and their values should be stored in structures, and that's about as far as I've come.
I also see the need of something that works like an 'if', but as I said we are not allowed to use 'if', conditional operator nor switch statements. Is it maybe possible to make a loop that works like 'if'?

Any help is appreciated ;-)

After some consideration, it strikes me that a for-loop could be used as an 'if'.
For example:

Code:

---

for (;x>y;;)
{cout << "x is bigger than y"}

for (;x<y;;)
{cout << "y is bigger than x"}

for (;x==y;;)
{cout << "x and y are even"}

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Shouldn't this be possible, or will it end in neverending loops?

You would end up with an infinite loop unless you used a break:

Code:

---

for (; x > y ;)
{
    cout << "x is bigger than y";
    break;
}

---

Of course, the same trick can be used with a while loop.

Well in the absence of anything inside the loop to modify the variables in question, either nothing will happen or it will loop forever.

Try it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by laserlight

You would end up with an infinite loop unless you used a break:

Code:

---

for (; x > y ;)
{
    cout << "x is bigger than y";
    break;
}

---

Of course, the same trick can be used with a while loop.

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I see. Well, we are not allowed to use break yet. ;-)
Any other ideas how to solve this?

I dunno, maybe you can post a summary of what you've learnt so far...

Quote:

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I see. Well, we are not allowed to use break yet. ;-)
Any other ideas how to solve this?

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Make a for loop that runs no more than one iteration.

Quote:

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I dunno, maybe you can post a summary of what you've learnt so far...

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Rahiiyja already did that, actually ;)

Wait, are you saying that you cannot use boolean operators at all? If so, I think what I suggested also does not work.

Code:

---

do {
  // stuff
} while (false);

---

Edit: Never mind. I forgot about the condition.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Salem

I dunno, maybe you can post a summary of what you've learnt so far...

---

Here's a longer list of what I've learnt (roughly):
using header-files
functions
namespaces
cin
cout
using variables
data-types
member functions
const keyword
arithmetic operands
vectors
using strings (c-string and string-class)
structures
union datatype
enum
for, while, do while and related operands

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by laserlight

Make a for loop that runs no more than one iteration.


Wait, are you saying that you cannot use boolean operators at all? If so, I think what I suggested also does not work.

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Sounds reasonable.
Concerning the usage of boolean operators though, I am not certain if that is allowed. We've read about the bool datatype at least, maybe you can give an example of using boolean operators in this case?

Okay, I just came back from a quick shower, and the idea came to me just as I started showering :)

Basically, I was trying to find a way to loop 0 or 1 times, without having to use a control variable other than x and y. For example, this works:

Code:

---

while (x > y)
{
    cout << "x is bigger than y";
    x = 0;
    y = 1;
}

---

Unfortunately, as soon as it hits the while (x < y) loop, it will print again, erroneously. So I tried to think of some swapping method that could avert this. However, there appears to be a simpler solution: do not reuse x and y. We could write something like:

Code:

---

void printGreaterThan(int x, int y)
{
    while (x > y)
    {
        cout << "x is bigger than y";
        x = 0;
        y = 1;
    }
}

void printEqualTo(int x, int y)
{
    // ...
}

void printLessThan(int x, int y)
{
    // ...
}

// ...

printGreaterThan(x, y);
printEqualTo(x, y);
printLessThan(x, y);

---

Since x and y within each function is local to that functions, the assignment that ends the loop does not affect the x and y from the caller (e.g., the main() function). As such, only one of the functions when called actually prints something, and only once. This is equivalent to the if - else if - else structure that we would normally use.

I meant in terms of different ways of writing a conditional.

How about

Code:

---

for (bool cond=(x > y); cond; cond=false) {
  // stuff
}

---

laserlight:
Excellent touch breaking it up into functions and changing the values in the body. That solves my problem.

Thanks everyone for the help. Since I'm getting more and more interested in C++ don't be surprised to see me in other threads in the near future. ;-)

/Rahiiyja

You're welcome, though I suspect that robatino's suggestion may be even simpler and easier to use.

Here's an update of the situation, and some code I've written.

Code:

---

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int biggerThan(int, int);
int smallerThan (int, int);
int equal (int, int);

int main()
{
    cout << "Type in name of value one: ";
    string one;
    cin >> one;
    cout << endl << "Type in name of value two: ";
    string two;
    cin >> two;
    cout << endl << "Type in the value of " << one << ": ";
    int onevalue;
    cin >> onevalue;
    cout << endl << "Type in the value of " << two << ": ";
    int twovalue;
    cin >> twovalue;
    cout << endl << endl;
    biggerThan(onevalue, twovalue);
    smallerThan(onevalue, twovalue);
    equal(onevalue, twovalue);
    return 0;
}

int biggerThan(x,y)
{
    while(x>y)
    {
              cout << one << " is bigger than " << two << " with ";
              cout << x-y << ".";
              x=y;
    }
}

int smallerThan(x,y)
{
    while(x<y)
    {
              cout << two " is bigger than " << one << " with ";
              cout << y-x << ".";
              x=y;
    }
}

int equal(x, y)
{
    while(x==y)
    {
                cout << one << " & " << two;
                cout << " are equal ";
                x=y+1;
    }
}

---

I get a lot of messages from the compiler though. Can anyone tell me, or give me a hint as to what is wrong?

Here are some examples of the messages I get:

Code:

---

29 int biggerThan' redeclared as different kind of symbol
4  previous declaration of `int biggerThan(int, int)' 
29 'int biggerThan'
4 conflicts with previous declaration `int biggerThan(int, int)'
29 `x' was not declared in this scope
29 `y' was not declared in this scope
30 initializer expression list treated as compound expression
30 expected `,' or `;' before '{' token
39 `int smallerThan' redeclared as different kind of symbol
5  previous declaration of `int smallerThan(int, int)'
and it goes on...

---

I guess most of you experienced people already can see instantly what the problem is, but if you want I can post all the remaining compiler outputs.

Thanks for any help

/Rahiiyja

> int biggerThan(x,y)
You need some types in there as well, like
int biggerThan(int x, int y)
Specifically, they must match the prototype.

Thanks, that's something I should have tried, it solved most of it. The final problem I had was that the strings weren't declared globally, and therefore couldn't be used within the other functions, but I solved that.

The problem I have now though, is that the program closes after I've typed in all the names and values. I'm using Dev-C++ 5 beta, and have included 'cin.get()' before the 'return0;' in 'int main().' Any clues?

EDIT: When trying to run it again it suddenly worked. I must have forgotten to recompile it after using cin.get(). Thanks for your help.