Thread: Basic Troubleshooting

I currently have an assignment to troubleshoot a simple C++ program. According to the problem, it has three separate errors that cause infinite loops. I have been trying to identify them, but I've only come up with braces for the while statement. Here is the original with all the errors:

Code:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;


void increment(int);


int main()
{
    int count = 1;
    
    while(count < 10)
    cout << " The number after " << count;
    increment(count);
    cout << " is " << count << endl;
    
    return 0;
}


void increment (int nextNumber)
{
    nextNumber++;
}

Personally, I wouldn't even use the function for something this basic, but they want me to find errors, not make the program more efficient.

Okay, now show how you modified the program to "fix" the while.

Personally, I wouldn't even use the function for something this basic, but they want me to find errors, not make the program more efficient.

That's nice, but part of the problem may well be because of the use/improper use of the function so it's good that you're leaving the function as part of the program.

I suggest you break out your debugger and single step through the program watching the values of the variables as you step.

Here's the program with the added braces:

Code:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;


void increment(int);


int main()
{
	int count = 1;
	
	while(count < 10)
	{
		cout << " The number after " << count;
		increment(count);
		cout << " is " << count << endl;
	}
	
	return 0;
}


void increment (int nextNumber)
{
	nextNumber++;
}

I also had a thought that maybe the function should return an integer value, but I'm not sure if that's the right track.

So I've implemented braces on the while loop, changed the return data type on increment() from void to int, and returned a value to main. However, it's still in a loop, and I can't seem to find a solution without scrapping the function.

Code:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;


int increment(int);


int main()
{
	int count = 1;
	
	while(count < 10)
	{
		cout << " The number after " << count;
		increment(count);
		cout << " is " << count << endl;
	}
	
	return 0;
}


int increment (int nextNumber)
{
	nextNumber++;
	return nextNumber;
}

Ah, but you're not really "returning" the value to main(), you're just returning the value but never actually using that returned value in main().

By the way I really suggest you pass the variable by reference instead of by value, then you won't need to actually "return" the value to the calling function.

I suggest you don't just get rid of the function. Part of this assignment is about learning how to properly pass variables to and from functions.