Thread: advice on why this wont run... pointers.. any advice appreciated! :)

  1. #1
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    advice on why this wont run... pointers.. any advice appreciated! :)

    Hi there. This program is to count the number of digits in each string. I'm really not sure if I am using pointers correctly, and not sure if i can compare them to ints like that in the if condition. Currently it wont run and gives errors:C2220: warning treated as error - no 'object' file generated, warning C4702: unreachable code

    Any tips appreciated!
    Code:
    #include <stdio.h>
    int count_digits(char* text);
    
    
    int main(void)
    {
    	char* test[] =
    	{
    	"H3ll0", // 2 digits
    	"Qu3sti0n 3...", // 3 digits
    	"0ld Pr4ctic4l T3st", // 4 digits
    	"is", // 0 digits
    	"e4sy!" // 1 digit
    	};
    	for (int k = 0; k < 5; ++k)
    	{
    		printf("%s : ", test[k]);
    		printf("%d digits\n", count_digits(test[k]));
    	}
    	return 0;
    }
    
    
    int count_digits(char* text)
    {
    	int count = 0;
    	for (int i = 0; i < 20; i++)
    	{
    		if (text[i] > 47 && text[i] < 58)
    		{
    			count++;
    		}
    	}
    	return count;
    	// TODO: Insert your code here...
    	// TODO: Temporary stub return...
    	
    	
    	
    	return 0;
    }

  2. #2
    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    Delete the return 0; in count_digits
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

  3. #3
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    > for (int i = 0; i < 20; i++)
    You should stop when you reach the end of the string, not keep roaming through memory.

    > if (text[i] > 47 && text[i] < 58)
    Saying this would be more readable.
    if (text[i] >= '0' && text[i] <= '9' )
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

  4. #4
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    Strings are terminated with nulls in C. So to step through a string character by character, you don't stop at a set length. The most efficient way to do it is

    Code:
    int stringfunction(char *text)
    {
        int i;
    
        for ( i = 0; text[i] != 0; i++)
        {
             /* do something with text[i] */
        }
    }
    I'm the author of MiniBasic: How to write a script interpreter and Basic Algorithms
    Visit my website for lots of associated C programming resources.
    https://github.com/MalcolmMcLean


  5. #5
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    Code:
    int count_digits( char *s )
    {
      int counter = 0;
    
      for (; *s; s++ )
        if ( isdigit( *s ) )
          counter++;
    
      return counter;
    }

  6. #6
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    Thanks all, was the help i needed

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