How to loop back to the beginning of the function?

Hello, I am writing another program and I cannot find for the life of me how to loop the program back to the start of a function.

Code:

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#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>


int main(void)
{
    int choice;
    char band1, band2, band3, band4;


    printf ("This program calculates the resistor value based on the colours of the wire.\n(enter the integer near the command)\n");
    printf ("What would you like to do?\n1. Calculate resistance value.\n2. Help.\n3. Exit.\n");
    scanf ("%d", &choice);


    switch (choice)
    {
    case 1:
        printf ("B=Black\nN=Brown\nO=Orange\nY=Yellow\nG=Green\n");
        printf ("L=Blue\nV=Violet\n\A=Gray\nW=White\nD=Gold\nS=Silver\n");
        printf ("What is the colour of the first, second, third, and fourth bands?\n");
        scanf ("%c", &band1);
        scanf ("%c", &band2);
        scanf ("%c", &band3);
        scanf ("%c", &band4);
        return main;
    case 2:
        printf ("This program takes the four colours of the bands of a resistor and uses them to\ncalculate the resistance of the resistor. ");
        printf ("When first entering the program, you\nare displayed with three functions: calculate the value of the resistance,\n");
        printf ("help, and exit. Help leads here, while exit exits the program. Calculating the\nfunction leads to the main part ");
        printf ("of the program. In there, you will be given a\ntable of different colours and the letter corresponding to each colour. ");
        printf ("You are instructed to enter the colours of the first, second, third (M), and fourth (T) bands. MAKE SURE to enter the ");
        printf ("capital of the letter that corresponds to each\ncolour if you want the program to work. The program will calculate ");
        printf ("the\nresistance with the allowed tolerance. Happy using the program!\n");
        return main;
    case 3:
        exit(main);
    default:
        printf ("ERROR! THIS VALUE DOES NOT CORRESPOND TO A FUNCTION! BOMBING THE HOUSE NOW!\n");
        return main;
    }
    system("pause");
    return 0;
}

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This is my current iteration of the program. Obviously, I haven't finished writing the case 1 of the first switch, but for the other ones, I need help. I thought that return main would cause the program to loop back to the beginning after executing the case, but I see that it is not the case (pun not intended). Anyways, what would I have to insert to cause the program to loop again (other than for case 3)? And another question, why is it that in scanf in the first case, the program only accepts two characters before finishing?

Thanks to anyone who helps.

Quote:

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I thought that return main would cause the program to loop back to the beginning after executing the case

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"return" is an end, not a beginning.

If you want to play by the right rules, then simply use the loop constructs provided by the language: For, While and Do While Loops in C - Cprogramming.com

Quote:

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...but I see that it is not the case (pun not intended).

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:p

Quote:

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And another question, why is it that in scanf in the first case, the program only accepts two characters before finishing?

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Reading individual characters from stdin can be tricky. See here for an explanation: FAQ > How do I avoid a "dangling" newline when reading single character user input? - Cprogramming.com

OK, fixed the scanf problem. I implemented the for loop in this manner:

Code:

---

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>


int main(void)
{
    int choice;
    char band1, band2, band3, band4;


    for (choice=0;choice!=3;choice)
    {


    printf ("\nThis program calculates the resistor value based on the colours of the wire.\n(enter the integer near the command)\n");
    printf ("What would you like to do?\n1. Calculate resistance value.\n2. Help.\n3. Exit.\n");
    scanf ("%d", &choice);


    switch (choice)
    {
    case 1:
        printf ("B=Black\nN=Brown\nO=Orange\nY=Yellow\nG=Green\n");
        printf ("L=Blue\nV=Violet\n\A=Gray\nW=White\nD=Gold\nS=Silver\n");
        printf ("What is the colour of the first, second, third, and fourth bands?\n");
        scanf (" %c\n", &band1);
        scanf (" %c\n", &band2);
        scanf (" %c\n", &band3);
        scanf (" %c", &band4);
        printf ("%c %c %c %c", band1,band2,band3,band4);
        break;
    case 2:
        printf ("This program takes the four colours of the bands of a resistor and uses them to\ncalculate the resistance of the resistor. ");
        printf ("When first entering the program, you\nare displayed with three functions: calculate the value of the resistance,\n");
        printf ("help, and exit. Help leads here, while exit exits the program. Calculating the\nfunction leads to the main part ");
        printf ("of the program. In there, you will be given a\ntable of different colours and the letter corresponding to each colour. ");
        printf ("You are instructed to enter the colours of the first, second, third (M), and fourth (T) bands. MAKE SURE to enter the ");
        printf ("capital of the letter that corresponds to each\ncolour if you want the program to work. The program will calculate ");
        printf ("the\nresistance with the allowed tolerance. Happy using the program!\n");
        break;
    case 3:
        exit(main);
    default:
        printf ("ERROR! THIS VALUE DOES NOT CORRESPOND TO A FUNCTION! BOMBING THE HOUSE NOW!\n");
        break;
    }
    }
    system("pause");
    return 0;
}

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However, the code breaks when at the starting menu, you enter a letter instead of a number (it keeps looping). How do I fix this?

Use getchar() to get your input and then you can evaluate it to make sure it is the correct type of input.

Scanf() requires a defined type or it goes into "error mode". Most of the time it just exits the program all together leaving you wondering what you did wrong.

I would use fgets followed by sscanf; but, your problem would be easier to solve by changing the input to all chars.
So, '1' instead of 1.

Edit: Could NOT find a FAQ that does it fgets/sscanf but here one that should help.
http://faq.cprogramming.com/cgi-bin/...wer=1043372399

Tim S.