Thread: input/output file stream variables as function parameters?

This is my main function for a program with two subfunctions (one to get user input of numbers that need to be averaged and another that averages the numbers):

Code:

#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
#include <string>
#include <fstream>


using namespace std;


void getNumbers (double num, int& count, char yn, ofstream outData);
double averageNumbers (double num1, double sum, double average, int counter, ifstream userData);


int main ()
{
    string sentinel;
    double number, sum, average;
    int counter;
    char yn;
    ofstream outData;
    ifstream userData;


    cout << "To continue with the program enter 'continue'. Otherwise enter 'STOP'";
    cin >> sentinel;


    if (sentinel != "STOP")
        {
        getNumbers (number, counter, yn, outData);
        
        averageNumbers (number, sum, average, counter, userData);
        cout << "The numbers you entered are: " << userData <<endl;
        cout << "The average of the numbers is: " << average <<endl;


        cout << "To continue with the program enter 'continue'. Otherwise enter 'STOP': ";
        cin >> sentinel;
    }


    return 0;
}

The problem is, my compiler is not letting me use input/output file stream variables as parameters for my functions. It is not 100% necessary that I use functions in this program but I want to impress the teacher and having all these operations enclosed in the function main is like just meeting expectations..not exceeding them like I want to. Is there a way to get around this?

Yeah, I removed some of the uninitialized variables shortly after I copied that code onto here. But I'm still not sure how to pass the files by reference into the functions.

What have you tried?

Show some code where you are trying to send these parameters by reference. You already seem to know about passing by reference since you are already doing it in one of your functions.

You may want to study the following tutorials for more hints: Functions I and Functions II

Jim

this is the entire code so far. everything seems to be working except the file stream variables.

Code:

#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
#include <string>
#include <fstream>


using namespace std;


void getNumbers (double num, int& count, char yn, ofstream& outData);
double averageNumbers (double num, double sum, double average, int count, ifstream userData);


int main ()
{
	string sentinel;
	double num, sum, average;
	int count;
	char yn;
	ofstream outData;
	ifstream userData;


	cout << "To continue with the program enter 'continue'. Otherwise enter 'STOP'";
	cin >> sentinel;


	if (sentinel != "STOP")
		void getNumbers (double num, int& count, char yn, ofstream& outData);
		double getAverage (double num, double sum, double average, int count, ifstream userData);


		cout << "The numbers you entered are: " << userData <<endl;
		cout << "The average of the numbers is: " << average <<endl;


		cout << "To continue with the program enter 'continue'. Otherwise enter 'STOP': ";
		cin >> sentinel;
	}


	return 0;
}






void getNumbers (double num, int& count, char yn, ofstream& outData)
{
	ofstream outData;
		outData.open("numbers.txt");


	count = 0;
	 
	cout << "Would you like to average some numbers? ";
	cout << "Enter Y for yes or N for no." <<endl;
	cin >> yn;
	
	do 
	{
		cout << "Enter a number you wish to average: ";
		cin >> num;
		outData << num << " ";
		count++;
		
		cout << "Would you like to enter another number? " ;
		cout << "Enter Y for yes or N for no." <<endl;
		cin >> yn;
	}
	while (yn != 'N');
	outData.close();
}


double averageNumbers (double num1, double sum, double average, int count, ifstream userData)
{
	ifstream userData;
	userData.open("numbers.txt");
	sum = 0;


	while (!userData.eof())
	{ 
		cin >> num;
		sum = sum + num;
	}


	average = sum/count;
	return average;
}

Code:

 
    if (sentinel != "STOP")
        void getNumbers (double num, int& count, char yn, ofstream& outData);
        double getAverage (double num, double sum, double average, int count, ifstream userData);

Is that really the way you try to call functions? Read the links I posted in my last post!

this is the entire code so far. everything seems to be working except the file stream variables.

And what seems to be wrong with the stream variables? Other than you never use the stream variables you passed into your functions.

Code:

void getNumbers (double num, int& count, char yn, ofstream& outData)
{
    ofstream outData;  // This creates a new local instance of your stream.
        outData.open("numbers.txt");

Jim

Originally Posted by jimblumberg

Is that really the way you try to call functions? Read the links I posted in my last post!


And what seems to be wrong with the stream variables? Other than you never use the stream variables you passed into your functions.

Code:

void getNumbers (double num, int& count, char yn, ofstream& outData)
{
    ofstream outData;  // This creates a new local instance of your stream.
        outData.open("numbers.txt");

Jim

Okay, I see whats wrong with the function calls. I thought I was following the textbook but I forgot that we dont need the data type of the function listed before the function calls. I'm probably doing something else wrong too but I dont have visual studio on this particular computer so I can't check and see if it compiles once I remove the data types from the function calls.

Actually, I originally had tried to call the functions without putting the data types of the functions in front of the function calls. (See first post). I dont know how those data types snuck back in there. But that means something else IS still wrong and I dont know what it is