MSVC Signed/Unsigned Warning

I got this warning for a while now and it's starting to ANGER me! Here is the code that produces the warning:

Code:

---

for(int i=0;i < text.size();i++)  //warning here
        {
                cout << text[i];
                Sleep(interval);
        }

---

Here is the warning:

Code:

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1>c:\documents and settings\tony\my documents\visual studio 2005\projects\darkastarrpg\darkastarrpg\utility.cpp(8) : warning C4018: '<' : signed/unsigned mismatch

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Is using size() valid for finding the length of a string?

Try changing the type of i from int to unsigned int.

Method size returns a size_t, which is unsigned.

>Is using size() valid for finding the length of a string?
Yes, but it doesn't return an int. It returns a string::size_type. So you could use:

Code:

---

for (string::size_type i=0; i<text.size(); i++)

---

Or:

Code:

---

for (std::string::size_type i=0; i<text.size(); i++)

---

That worked. I never would've figured this out. Is their a reference for these 'keywords', where it tells the return type, etc.?

>Is their a reference for these 'keywords', where it tells the return type, etc.?
Here are two references:
http://www.cppreference.com
http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/

Note the second one (sgi) use the name basic_string for string.

MSDN is a third.

And they're not keywords. They're just functions.

The compiler gives you a warning when comparing signed and unsigned values because the signed value will be converted to an unsigned one. This could cause problems if the signed value is negative (among other situations); if(unsign < -1) turns into if(unsign < -1u). -1u is the largest unsigned value, so the if would always be false.

In general, you should use the same variable type on both side of the equation.

It would make sense it would be unsigned, because you can't have a negative size. I understand now, thanks!