Thread: masked with asterisk(*)?

This is a program I made with C. Check it out.

Code:

#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>

int main()
{
	char name[20], passcode[20], option;
	int x=0;

	codesegment_start:
	clrscr();

	printf("\n\n\tEnter your name: ");
	gets(name);

	printf("\n\tEnter the passcode: ");
	gets(passcode);

	printf("\n\n\n\tPress \"Enter\" to proceed...");

	clrscr();

	printf("\n\n\n\tPlease wait. Analyzing data...");

	while(x < 5)
	{
		gotoxy(42,4); printf("|");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
		gotoxy(42,4); printf("/");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
		gotoxy(42,4); printf("-");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
		gotoxy(42,4); printf("\\");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
		gotoxy(42,4); printf("|");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
	}

	clrscr();

	printf("\n\n\n\tYour name is: ");
	textcolor(LIGHTBLUE); cprintf("%s", name);
	printf("\n\n\t");
	textcolor(LIGHTGRAY); cprintf("Verifying passcode");
	x=0;

	while(x < 7)
	{
		printf(".");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
		printf(".");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
		printf(".");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
                printf(".");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
                printf(".");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
                printf(".");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
                printf(".");
		sleep(1);
		x++;
	}

	pcode:
	clrscr();

	printf("\n\n\n\tThe passcode that you have entered is: ");

	if(!strcmp(passcode, "XMod749"))
	{
		textcolor(LIGHTBLUE+128); cprintf("ACCEPTED.");
		getch();
		return 0;
	}
	else
	{
		textcolor(LIGHTRED+128); cprintf("INVALID!");
		getch();
		printf("\n\n\t");
		textcolor(LIGHTGRAY); cprintf("What do you want to do?");
		printf("\n\n\t\tExit [E] or Retry [R]? ");
		option = getche();
		option = toupper(option);

		switch(option)
		{
			case 'E':
			return 0;

			case 'R':
			goto codesegment_start;

			default:
			printf("\n\t\tInvalid command entered. Please try again.");
			getch();
			goto pcode;
		}
	}

	return 0;
}

..as you can see from the above source-code, the program will ask the user to enter his/her name, then the passcode... The question is, how can I make the program echo asterisks(*) as he/she types in the passcode? Also, is there any way that I can make the sleep() function work in milliseconds? I mean, I want to make it faster, so that when I try to animate something, it won't be so slow... Thanks in advance... -_+

Originally Posted by IceDane

Goto is bad - never use it. Everything you could possibly do with goto could be done without it.
Conio.h is not standard C. Use the current operating system's API to do the same thing.

..uhmm, what's wrong with goto? What would be the risk if it became my habit to use goto? And why is it that some people discourage me to use conio.h?

...some people are curious why am I using the clrscr( ) function which I believe, is part of conio.h??(correct me if I'm wrong)..

....well, anyways, thanks for the response, but still, my questions haven't been answered yet... I guess that I should check it up later.... -_+

And I'm surprised no one mentioned gets! Gets is very, very evil and should never be used. Under no circumstance.

Woah! And why is that? Oh, it's a good thing that I've joined this forum, I am learning lots of things here,, lol.. xD

..so uhmm, what makes it evil? And what can I use to let my program input strings with spaces?

...I've read the details about gets and fgets on cpwiki from the link you've provided, thanks.. -_+

...how do I use fgets? Can I use like I do with gets?

Goto is the easy way out. It can create spaghetti code which will be way too hard to follow, edit and debug. Everything you can do with goto can be done another way, that's more friendly to debug(A loop, for example).

Goto is bad in a sense that it creates code mess. Code can jump back and forth and you'll lose track.
Loops are much more easier to follow, and therefore recommended over goto.

...well, I used to use loops all the times, but I'm not so good at it, so I used goto instead.. And, if goto is bad in a sense that it creates code mess, can I say that it's not bad at all if I'm comfortable with it and that I can follow or be in track with the flow of the program? I mean, ofcourse I agree with you guys, loops are better... but this is a small program, so therefore, we can actually follow the code easily, right?

No, you need to learn how to write proper code with loops, otherwise you're just hurting yourself in the long run (and annoying other people that will eventually work with you and use your spagetti code). When I first taught myself Basic a long time ago, I used GOTO's all over the place. Thankfully I learned a better way with loops.

oh, I see... nice one... thanks man... I better start learning more about loops... but uhmmm, how can I use loops with this one?

Code:

. . .
		switch(option)
		{
			case 'E':
			return 0;

			case 'R':
			goto codesegment_start;

			default:
			printf("\n\t\tInvalid command entered. Please try again.");
			getch();
			goto pcode;
		}
. . .

...how can I make the program let the user to "try again" using loops and not goto? thanks.. ^.^

....uhmmm,, my questions are still, unanswered yet.... still hoping from you guys... thanks in advance... -_+

One possibility is to change your code into something like this:
Code:

Code:

/* ... include headers ... */

void readCredentials(char *name, size_t name_maxlen, char *passcode, size_t passcode_maxlen);
void analyzeCredentials(const char *name, const char *passcode);
char readOption();

int main()
{
    do
    {
        char name[20] = "";
        char passcode[20] = "";
        readCredentials(name, sizeof(name) - 1, passcode, sizeof(passcode) - 1);
        analyzeCredentials(name, passcode);
    }
    while (readOption() == 'R');

    return 0;
}

/* ... define functions ... */

There would be another loop in readOption() that performs what your current goto pcode does. You might also notice that in your current code the pcode label is probably a little too early: if the user entered an invalid command, you would likely want to print "What do you want to do?" again, not "INVALID!", which really refers to the passcode.

..still confused, but I'm going to learn more about it soon... thanks... ^.^

....btw, I think we're getting off-topic here, so I guess I should make another thread regarding loops... -_+


...and uhmmm, my questions,, please... This is the only place for me that could give an easy-to-understand answers and not-so-confusing answers to my questions.. So I'm still hoping some answers from you guys... thanks in advance.... ^.^