Thread: Do C++ output streams need a better interface?

Do you ever get the feeling when you're working with std ostreams that there's just way too much typing going on? I do. Never quite understood why the left-shift operator was chosen either.

So thinking about it for a bit and wondering just how much time and effort it would take to put a better output interface together. Started coding and then something like twelve lines of code later, I'm done!

Code:

/* osprint.hpp */

#include <iostream>

struct osprint
{
 std::ostream& stream;

 osprint()
 : stream(std::cout)
 { }

 osprint(std::ostream& stream)
 : stream(stream)
 { }

 template <typename V>
 osprint& operator = (const V& rhs)
 {
  stream << rhs; 
  return *this;
 }
};

template <typename V>
inline osprint& operator , (osprint& lhs, const V& rhs)
{
 return lhs = rhs; 
}

#include <string>

const std::string eol = "\n";

/* Usage */

#include <cmath>

using namespace std;

osprint out;

int main()
{
 out = "Euler's number is ", exp(double(1)), eol;
}

If that isn't a testament to the power of C++, I don't know what is!

Anyway, I just like the interface better. Plus it's about half as much typing. Kind of doesn't work for those who use commas a lot to separate statements of course. But who really does that anyway?