conio.h functions in mingw?

I need to use a few conio.h functions - namely clrscr(), gotoxy() and most importantly delay() - for a console C++ program...A friend of mine says its only available in Borland Turbo C++ 2.x (the DOS one *gasp cough cough*), while I use Bloodshed Dev C++. Are there any replacement functions for the aforementioned three, or some other way to implement them in Bloodshed Dev C++?
-regards,
ultrabot90

DevC++ versions 4.80 and 4.992 do define conio.h in the compiler library. Although clrscr() is more of a Borland compiler function.

You can use system("cls") to clear the screen if you get desperate but thats not really good advise as system commands are bad and unsafe, There are windows funtions that clear the screen... dev does use the windows.h header library so a windows function is a much safer way to do this

Here's a few functions that I've cobbled together.

Code:

---

void GotoXY(int x, int y)
{
  COORD coord;
  coord.X = x;
  coord.Y = y;
  SetConsoleCursorPosition(GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE), coord);
}

void GetXY(int *x, int *y)
{
  CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO  csbInfo;
  GetConsoleScreenBufferInfo(GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE), &csbInfo);
  *x = csbInfo.dwCursorPosition.X;
  *y = csbInfo.dwCursorPosition.Y;
}
...
void ClrEol()
{
        int i;
        int x, y;
        COORD a = { 80, 1 };
        COORD b;
        SMALL_RECT r;
        DWORD len;
        CHAR_INFO str[81];
        for(i = 0; i < 80; i++) {
                str[i].Char.AsciiChar = ' ';
                str[i].Attributes    = 0x07;
        }
        GetXY(&x, &y);
        len = 80 - x;
        b.X = 0;
        b.Y = 0;
        r.Top = y;
        r.Left = x;
        r.Bottom = y+1;
        r.Right = (SHORT)(x + len);
        WriteConsoleOutput(GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE), str, a, b, &r);
}

void ClrLine(int y)
{
        GotoXY(0, y);
        ClrEol();
}

void ClrScr(void)
{
        COORD a = {0,0};
        DWORD nwrite;
        FillConsoleOutputAttribute(GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE), 0x07, 2000, a, &nwrite);
}

---

Not saying that these are the best way to do things, but as far as I can tell, it works.
Obviously, it's an ugly hack to use constant 2000 in ClrScr.

--
Mats

Quote:

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Originally Posted by swgh

DevC++ versions 4.80 and 4.992 do define conio.h in the compiler library. Although clrscr() is more of a Borland compiler function.

You can use system("cls") to clear the screen if you get desperate but thats not really good advise as system commands are bad and unsafe, There are windows funtions that clear the screen... dev does use the windows.h header library so a windows function is a much safer way to do this

---

o_o Thanks a lot, I guess the answer to delay() would also lie in windows.h, then.
It seems like this is a frequently asked question, seeing that one out of 11 people viewing this thread replied...
Thanks again.

If I remember right, delay is a "sleep for x ms", which is what Windows Sleep does:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms686298.aspx

--
Mats

Eh, I tried using #include<windows> and used sleep(100), but it says that
" 'sleep' undeclared (first use this function)"
Bummer...Now what?
@matsp - Im quite the C++ noob, didnt get a word of your indegenious functions...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ultrabot90

Eh, I tried using #include<windows> and used sleep(100), but it says that
" 'sleep' undeclared (first use this function)"
Bummer...Now what?
@matsp - Im quite the C++ noob, didnt get a word of your indegenious functions...

---

Try Sleep instead of sleep - remember, C (and thus C++) is a case-sensitive language, so upper and lower case names aren't the same.

My "indegenious" functions are just calls to various Windows system calls - you can look up the system calls in MSDN if you like. If there's anything in the calls you find unclear, please ask.

--
Mats

Errors, but atleast it wasnt with the Sleep()...yeah it works! O_O So does the system("cls") XD Dunno how system() functions are supposed to be bad, I use system("PAUSE") for all the new compilers, coz they close the window as soon as they detect that there are only output lines left - though I could just as well write getch(); -_-
Thanks a lot for the help ^_^

System calls are unsafe and hackable. You can use cin.get() in C++ or in C use getchar()

The main problems with system() are that it is unportable and unsafe.

It's unportable because you don't know if a given system has the command that you're invoking. For example, there's no such command as PAUSE on UNIX systems, so if a system("PAUSE") call was executed on such a system, at best, nothing would happen.

It's unsafe because you don't know exactly what it is that you're executing. If you used system("ls"), and someone created an executable called ls in a location in the path before the real ls, their ls would be executed. This ls could do anything. It could create a security hole.

There are other problems with system(): for example, it uses the user's default shell. If this shell is customized or incompatible with the shell you were expecting, there could be problems.

It's best to simply avoid system() if possible, and in the case of keeping a Windows console open it's certainly possible.

Quote:

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It's unsafe because you don't know exactly what it is that you're executing. If you used system("ls"), and someone created an executable called ls in a location in the path before the real ls, their ls would be executed. This ls could do anything. It could create a security hole.

---

I think this is rather theoretical though. If the user's system has been compromised so badly, chances are you cannot really make it very much worse. After all, the user himself/herself might have invoked a planted executable on their way to using your program.

Writing safe code is a habit, not an afterthought based on the supposed runtime environment.

If you avoid risky constructs from the outset, then your code will be better when it matters.

I've always preferred using this simple function:

Code:

---

void pause()
{
    std::cout << "Press [Enter] to continue...";
    std::cin.ignore( 256, '\n' );
}

---

as far as clearing the screen...

I guess whatever OS you're using should decide the best way to handle that.

If you're looking for a universal solution, one could use PDCurses...

But if you're writing simple console programs for school or whatever, use system(), who cares, it's not like you're deploying multi-million dollar software.

If you're using a "pausing" feature to debug a program, (this might be OK for simple tings) but start using gcc/g++ (DevC++ is old and MinGW has its limitations) and its built-in debugging features.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by entropyrexor

If you're looking for a universal solution, one could use PDCurses...

---

Whats PDCurses? o.o

Quote:

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Originally Posted by entropyrexor

If you're using a "pausing" feature to debug a program, (this might be OK for simple tings) but start using gcc/g++ (DevC++ is old and MinGW has its limitations) and its built-in debugging features.

---

And whats gcc/g++?

Quote:

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Whats PDCurses?

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Public Domain Curses

Quote:

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And whats gcc/g++?

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gcc is a C compiler, g++ is its C++ counterpart, and both are part of GCC. I am not entirely sure what entropyrexor means though, since on Windows gcc and g++ are available mainly either by the MinGW port, or Cygwin.

you can install the full gcc on cygwin (not mingw) if one so chooses.
but laserlight is right, if you're a windows user, [assume mingw when you hear gcc.

i rarely distinguish between the two, although there are differences...