Writing a function to get a string input

Question

I need a function to get a string input from the user. I don't want to to use cin because I only want return (\r) to mark the end of input. I've done the following:

std::string GetInput()
{
  std::string str = "\0";
  char ch;
  do
  {
    ch = getch();
    if(ch) str += ch;
    putch(ch);
  }
  while (ch!='\r');
  return str;
}

It works but I'm not quite satisfied with it as it doesn't fully support Backspace and Right/Left Arrow keyboard buttons. My question is, how can I get input from the user, without the use of cin, while giving the user a cin-like feeling (full keyboard support)?

Do you need this particular function or do you just want to get user input? If second, consider using getline, cin and so on. — tkroman
– tkroman, Commented Jun 1, 2013 at 8:33
@cdshines Thanks. I didn't know I could use getline to do that. — Mo Sanei
– Mo Sanei, Commented Jun 1, 2013 at 8:52

Thomas · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-01 08:31:59Z

2

You can in fact use cin:

std::string GetInput()
{
  std::string input;
  if (!std::getline(cin, input)) {
    // handle error here
  }
  return input;
}

answered Jun 1, 2013 at 8:31

Thomas

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2 Comments

Mo Sanei Over a year ago

It works! Thanks! Is there a way to separate the getline and if lines? (to call getline first and then check if it is not empty?) I tried if(input) after calling getline but got an error message saying I can't convert input to a boolean value.

Thomas Over a year ago

if (input.empty()) { ... }

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