Thread: put number in array

> If the only use of gets() you care about is code posted here, then that kind of makes you a hypocrite.
Well obviously because I have no way of controlling (or even commenting) on what you do in private.
Just so you know, I always use fgets(), no matter how trivial the program is.

> You rant and rave about it, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if people use it as long as you don't see.
People are free to read the arguments, but if the only way for you to discover gravity is by jumping off a cliff, then that is what you're going to have to experience for yourself.
Eventually, this "fast and loose" approach of yours will bite you one too many times, then you'll figure out the correct way to do things.

> How many legitimate functions do you ignore because of some imagined sense of right and wrong, Salem?
Lots of them - especially if I'm coding to MISRA standards.

Just to weight in on a heavy conflict. What does fgets() use or do differently then scanf() and gets(). Also back in the day when I was learning C at my old summer job, the book "C for dummies" quickly told the user after 1 page of using gets() that there is bug and not to use it. As I would like to say Noir has the upper hand in the debate based on his iambic pentatonic blank verse but Salem is right. Salem who does enjoying the coals of Satan behind the cynicism is really telling us (and those who agree with him) that well why would you want to be using something that will only cause you pain in the end, for an extra line of code you can achieve a higher understanding of C and prepare yourself for the future. Now I am not sure as to what the real issues here are about gets() and scanf() but if there is some form of error then I have no choice but to discontinue using them. I don't mind the extra line of code and if it going to make my life easer in 5 years then why waits 5 years to get comfortable with it? I must say it was comical how Noir attacked Salem but Noir who is new and has little to stand on VS the god of C in my book; it just isn't a fair fight! Now quzah VS Salem, that’s a fight I would pay to see.

If you don't know the problems or the solutions, Salem and friends want you to blindly use fgets() and not bother learning at all.

Here is the blind truth, I don't care why we have to do it a certain way. If you had a jigsaw skill saw, you don't use your hand to test the blade. Its common sense to lose the gets() (even though I never used it) and the scanf() (my favorite autistic friend) if there are issues. For the record in your quote are you saying that people can't learn another function or a better way?

What does fgets() use or do differently then scanf() and gets().

fgets vs gets
The basic idea is that with fgets you can specify how many characters you want to read, whereas with gets, you just send a buffer and it will stick everything from stdin into that buffer (even if it goes over the bound). As for scanf, I think Dave_Sinkula had started a thread a while back explaining what was wrong, but essentially you just can't be sure of how scanf will react to incorrect input (Don't quote me on that, it's from memory)

Case in point, through the year and a half (close to 2 years) I've been here, the board here has been commited to providing correct, professional solutions to problems people could have with C. It's not about making one hit wonders. I feel that if people who ask questions here aren't willing to take the time to learn fgets to get input properly, they shouldn't be learning C.

There's been tons of threads of people complaining about "but my teacher says use gets", which is fine. If your teacher tells you to use gets, sure, even if he's wrong, do it. But on the boards here, where things need to be correct no matter what, gets should never be suggested.

Salem and friends want you to blindly use fgets() and not bother learning at all.

I wouldn't even mind if people did this. In every book I've read they teach you gets, but then tell you to never use it. That's like teaching you to drive a car, then taking the car away. If the only easy way to get input in the eyes of the people who write books is through gets and scanf, then maybe they should leave input handling to where it is more appropriate (AKA, not at the beginning.)

Ok question about fgets(), I wanted to try it out in an old program of mine.

Code:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
unsigned long int x,y;
printf("welcome to the gfc:\n");
fgets(x, sizeof x, stdin);
printf("Second number:\n");
fgets(y,sizeof y, stdin);
}

ok in Dev C++ 4.9.9.2 I get the following errors
invalid conversion from "long unsigned int" to "char"

Anyone care to explain what I am doing wrong? Does fgets only work with chars?

I don't understand why flamers come to boards, its a question and an answer. Thanks Noir for the response.

It wasn't a flame. It was in my opinion, "a question and an answer" all rolled into one. It was a question, asking you if you even bother looking at what the functions you try to use expect for arguments. It was an answer, because if you had, you wouldn't have wasted time posting on the forum when you would have solved it yourself.


Quzah.