Thread: Standard way to clear the console (?)

>Unless you are making a game.
I disagree. Text mode games that cannot be more easily written using a graphics API do not need the screen cleared. IMO there's no real reason to clear a console screen unless you're using some form of graphical interface that users won't use with the expectation of keeping their old output. But because text is "easier" to work with than graphics (that's total BS in practice), beginners will continue to ask this question.

Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but why avoid a feature just because it's not portable? By that rationale, you'd never ever use a graphics library. Or you'd never use any other library either, if it didn't run on every computer.

I can see striving for portable code, but for something like a game, is it possible? Perhaps the best you can hope for is to choose a library which runs on more than one machine, like OpenGL.

>>If what I was making wasn't a game, I wouldn't even touch the console.
I find consoles very useful, especially for whipping up quick test or utility applications. In fact, if what I was making WAS a game, I wouldn't even touch the console... but if it wasn't, there'd be a pretty good chance I would

>but why avoid a feature just because it's not portable?
You don't, that's stupid. What you do is program as portably as possible by isolating the non-portable parts so that they're easier to replace. I think the point is not whether clearing the screen is portable, but whether it is prudent in a console mode program. I don't think it is, but that's obviously my own opinion.

i think it's important to learn.. and practice good programming habits right from the beginning. Self-documenting code, compliance to the standard and modern coding conventions, initializing newly created objects to avoid garbage, proper formating, commenting... program portability.. optimization techniques... i think by doing all these things your code will be realiable, robust, secure, and scalable amoung all OS platforms. Taking cheap and easy shortcuts like system("cls") i think is good for new students.. or for homework purposes i guess.. but why not hold yourself to a higher standard. We are not spending our friday nights at home in front of the computer learning complex high-level programming languages for nothing.. if you like what you do.. then why not do the best you can. Yes.. there may be different schools of thought on some issues.. but if you think you have a better solution.. then offer your perspective.. and be prepared to back up your argument.

Let the c++ standard, big-o notation, and modern coding conventions be the final determinant on how to implement a particular function or algorithm.

Yeah, I googled Big-O notation...

Does anyone have a site that will automatically make me smarter...

>Does anyone have a site that will automatically make me smarter...
www.google.com

Originally Posted by Prelude

"Crushing dreams at the speed of sarcasm."

Isnt that the truth...