Functions that return strings? (help)

I'm currently trying to make a program that gets the name of 4 different people, but a function gets the names and returns them... Well, that's where I'm stumped. I'm pretty sure I have to use a global pointer and some how pass the address and recieve the value???

here's the structure I'm using to hold the name (and other info):

Code:

---

struct stats
{
  char name[12]; //person's name in string.
};

---

Then, I have this in the main function to get the names:

Code:

---

  stats member[NUMBER_OF_MEMBERS]; //declaration
 
  for (i = 0; i <= NUMBER_OF_MEMBERS; i++)
    member[i].name = getName(i); //function call...

---

NUMBER_OF_MEMBERS is defined under the include statements as 3. Also, the program does more, but I've simplified it for posting purposes.

So, how do you use a function to return a string? I've searched the boards and online.. but it's hard to search when you have such a specific question... :)

Oh yeah, while I'm posting, how do you fill the background of the screen with one color? I know how to fill the background of a character with a color, but not the whole screen... Do I just have to use a loop and fill the screen with "\t"'s to fill it???

Thanks.

As it is, you have to use some method of copying the string into your name structure member. If it were simply a char pointer you could allocate memory in the function and return it.

Code:

---

// No error checking done
char* getName(size_t length)
{
    char* mem = new char[length];

    cout<<"Enter a name: "<<flush;
    cin.getline(mem, length, '\n');

    return mem;
}

...

member[i].name = getName(12); // Don't forget to delete later

---

As it is you need to do something more like this:

Code:

---

void getName(char* mem, size_t length)
{
    cout<<"Enter a name: "<<flush;
    cin.getline(mem, length, '\n');
}

...

getName(member[i].name, 12);

---

If you haven't noticed, to return a C string or pass one to a function, you use char*. Of course in C++ it's much better to use the std::string class instead. :)

Yeah, I'm using C++ to create this program (dev-C++ to be exact). I've been learning and learned most of what I know from a C programming book. I've yet to delve into a lot of the things C++ has to offer. :)

Thanks for your help. It worked great!