Thread: EOF (End Of File) Loop help

My assignment is to use an input file of names, and have a program break the names down in first-last, and last-first-initial format. And to use an End Of File loop to terminate. My proglem is that Sara-Jessica Parker doesn't have a middle name and so ruins the outputs for the final 2 names. In fact the last name in my file doesn't output. Is there a way that I can use the "/n" to input data? Will that solve the problem?

Code:

//******************************************************************
// PrintName program
// This program prints a name in two different formats
//******************************************************************
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <fstream>

using namespace std;

string FIRST;    // Person's first name
string LAST;      // Person's last name
char   MIDDLE;        // Person's middle initial
ifstream inPut;       // Data File
ofstream outPut;
int main()
{
	inPut.open("names.dat");
	outPut.open ("output.dat");
	if ( !inPut )
	{
         cout << "Can't open the input file.";
         return 1;
    }
 
    inPut >> FIRST >> LAST >> MIDDLE;
    while (inPut)
    {
          string firstLast;    // Name in first-last format
          string lastFirst;    // Name in last-first format

          firstLast = FIRST + " " + LAST;
    
          outPut << "Name in first-last format is " << firstLast << endl;
    
          lastFirst = LAST + ", " + FIRST + ", ";
          outPut << "Name in last-first-initial format is ";
          outPut << lastFirst << MIDDLE << '.' << endl;
          
          inPut >> FIRST >> LAST >> MIDDLE;
}
    inPut.close();
    
    return 0;
}

Names.dat file:
George Bush W
Madhavi Gandhi D
Dan Berk G
Ameka Johnson P
Rita Hayward C
Clint Eastwood B
Sara-Jessica Parker
Larry Kind L
Rani Mukharji

Originally Posted by SlyMaelstrom

Why don't you use a get() for the middle initial. Extract the last and first name normally, then do a loop to get(MIDDLE) while middle doesn't equal a space. In other words, you'll end up with the middle initial or a newline character. Also you might as well do a check and just dump the initial if it is a newline character.

Would you mind showing me an example?

I'm sorry, I'm still confused.

we were always taught to use eof by reading the first value in before the eof loop. You can always use eof and in the loop check for if(var.fail()) break;