sprintf with dynamic string

[Ducky]

I would need a dynamic pointer string at the end and i know that with sprinf and family i should use a char array.

Its compiling and working this way but i prefer to ask you if its ok to do it like this because i know that with pointers we can have undefined behaviour.

int main ()
{
    char * buffer = (char*) calloc (512, sizeof(char));
    char * str = "hello ";
    sprintf (buffer, "\n%s%s", str, "world\n");
    cout << buffer << endl;
    free(buffer);
    return 0;
}

[laserlight]

Why do you not use a std::string with its c_str() member function?

[Salem]

Find out how to do the whole thing in C++.

stringstream - C++ Reference

[kmdv]

Do you mean sprintf(s.c_str(), ...) ?!?!

[Ducky]

Yes that sounds more simple and i know how to do it with C++ strings but i think im still confused by
all the people defending C and saying that C++ is bloated and C is lower level than C++.

But just please tell me if its not true and i should choose C++.

[dwks]

If you're coding in C++, use C++'s features. Perhaps they are a little less efficient at a lower level, but the programming effort you save in the end is worth it. That's why people invented higher-level programming languages in the first place.

[Salem]

If you're going to use it, then use all of it properly.

Casual mix and match will just lead to trouble.

<yoda>
C or C++, there is no C/C++
</yoda>


> Do you mean sprintf(s.c_str(), ...) ?!?!
No, that will just blow up.
The c_str() method returns a CONST pointer, and sprintf will try to modify it.

[Ducky]

Yes this one is not working.

sprintf(Str.c_str(), "%s####  %s  ####...", str2, List[0]);

So a line like that in c++ would be much more lines.

"but the programming effort you save in the end is worth it. That's why people invented higher-level programming languages in the first place."

Yes that makes sense.

Thanks to all of you.

[Salem]

> So a line like that in c++ would be much more lines.
Probably, but look at how easy they are to write one you understand how to do it.

Now look at all the things that could go wrong with a terse C approach
- not allocating any memory at all
- not allocating enough of it
- not freeing it when you're done
- getting the format string wrong
- not passing enough parameters
All that book work, housekeeping and debugging time.

Is it still worth the tradeoff?

[Ducky]

You are 100% right and thanks for making that list.

But my only problem is that im writing a GUI problem and win32 api functions use C strings.

Now ive tried to rewrite the part of my program with c++ strings.

I need to "walk" a pointer like: char * str++ in a loop and that i cant do with strings.
So i used a vector like: myvector[0][vectorCounter++].

But that i cant pass to a function that takes a LPCTSTR.

[dwks]

You can take a std::string and "convert" it to a char* very easily. That's what .c_str() is supposed to be for. I'm assuming LPCTSTR is really just a glorified char* so that should work for you.

I need to "walk" a pointer like: char * str++ in a loop and that i cant do with strings.

You can do that with iterators, which std::strings support. For example:

std::string name = "anonymous";
for(std::string::iterator i = name.begin(); i != name.end(); ++ i) {
    char c = *i;
    std::cout << std::toupper(c);
}

[Ducky]

Awesome, thank you Dwks!

[Ducky]

Im sorry but this isnt working out.

If i use c_str and i use a pointer on it, it will give me only one letter not the whole string.
So its not like a char * str that i can inrement and i still always have the rest of the string.
Cause thats what im looking for.

And an iterator i cant pass as a char* in a function.

So its not that simple as one would think.

    string name = "anonymous";
    
    // this will give me only one letter
    cout <<  *name.c_str()+1;

[dwks]

I don't know what you're trying to do. Maybe you should elaborate.

c_str() gives you a pointer to the whole string. If you like you can assign it to another char* pointer and ++ that pointer to step through the string. And this char* can certainly be passed to a function expecting a C-style string.

for(char *p = str.c_str(); *p; p ++) {
    std::cout << *p;
}

std::printf("%s\n", str.c_str());

Are you trying to create a string, or an array of strings?

[Ducky]

Im using TextOut in a loop to create a ticker effect.

TextOut(hdc,88, 110, Str++, 23);

My C string has to be global so it must be dynamic.

Now if i have to reassign the c++ String to a C-string i came back where i started and
i just might as well start out with a C string.

Because the whole point of C++ strings was not to allocate and free memory.