Thread: Searching strings

Hi

I have a particular problem where I need to feed two types of inputs into my program, a hex number and a binary number.

Example of input:

Binary
Bi = 1100100
Bi = 0110101
Bi = 0101100

Hexadecimal
3A001341
CA095815
1A596317

How would I be able to distinguish the two?

I usually do:

Code:

while(scanf("Bi = %d", &binary) == 1) {

       //blah
}

But obviously it wouldn't work since the loop would be broken at the string "Binary" since it's not in the correct format as the input in scanf. So basically I need some kind of method where the program will know whether the inputs are in binary or hex form, after reading in the headings, or if there's a simpler way.

thanks

Actually my bad, I changed the question slightly, didn't know it would make a difference.

Say the binary is really a hex number i.e Bi = 1A596317. So they all have 8 bits.

OK, but if you put a scanf in a while loop to read the "binary" values, the first input would be the character string "Binary". Wouldn't this break the while loop since it's not in the form "Bi = %d"? I hope you get what I mean. Basically I want to ignore the "binary" and read in the following values of correct form.

So read in the word "Binary".

Code:

scanf("Binary ");

Could you be more specific? Maybe a sample code...

The bits in the boxes are sample code.

can you explain how that line addresses my problem? how does it work?

i'd prefer someone else answer.

Originally Posted by nasser

Hi

I have a particular problem where I need to feed two types of inputs into my program, a hex number and a binary number.

Example of input:

Binary
Bi = 1100100
Bi = 0110101
Bi = 0101100

Hexadecimal
3A001341
CA095815
1A596317

How would I be able to distinguish the two?

I usually do:

Code:

while(scanf("Bi = %d", &binary) == 1) {

       //blah
}

But obviously it wouldn't work since the loop would be broken at the string "Binary" since it's not in the correct format as the input in scanf. So basically I need some kind of method where the program will know whether the inputs are in binary or hex form, after reading in the headings, or if there's a simpler way.

thanks

Ok... you want someone else to answer... can do!

Look up the formatting strings for fscanf() in your C library documentation...
Seriously... that's where your answer lies... in understanding what it can and cannot do.

What you are going to discover is that it *cannot* directly convert a binary value from a file... You're going to have to read it as a string and convert it yourself.

Actually I think I figured it out. I think I'll use a scanf inside an If statement to see if the input is in the form I want. Scanf will return 1 if the input is in correct form, or 0 if its a character. I'll try that.