Trying to read a file into a char array

Question

I am trying to read all the characters in a file into an array. Assuming all variables are declared, why are all the characters not being read into my array. When I output some of the characters in the "storeCharacters[]" array, garbage is being returned. Please help.

This is my function:

void countChars(ifstream& input, char storeCharacters[])
{
int i = 0;
    while( !input.eof() )
    {
        input.get(storeCharacters[i]);
        i++;
    }
}

You could eliminate the function by using the `input.read` method. — Thomas Matthews, Apr 24 '13 at 19:50
try using while( input.good() && !input.eof() ) as eof is not only the attribute saying stream is unreadable. However, "Assuming all variables are declared ..." :-) — Valentin H, Apr 24 '13 at 20:55

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 24 '13 at 18:35

2

After the while loop try adding storeCharacters[i] = '\0' to null terminate the string.

answered Apr 24 '13 at 18:35

Kara

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I am not sure if that did anything... I do not know how to allocate space for characters. – thomann061 Apr 24 '13 at 19:34

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:28

The easy fix to your problem if you know the maximum size of your file, then just set your array to have that size and initialize it with \0.

let's say the maximum characters count in your file is 10000.

#define DEFAULT_SIZE 10000
char  storeCharacters[DEFAULT_SIZE];
memset (storeCharacters,'\0',DEFAULT_SIZE) ;

The below post should be the correct way to read a file using a buffer it has memory allocation and all what you need to know :

Correct way to read a text file into a buffer in C?

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 26 '13 at 00:10

#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
#include <iomanip>
#include <string>
#include <cstdlib>


using namespace std;


void getFileName(ifstream& input, ofstream& output)  //gets filename
{
string fileName;

cout << "Enter the file name: ";
cin >> fileName;
input.open(fileName.c_str());   
if( !input )
    {
        cout << "Incorrect File Path" << endl;
        exit (0);
    }
output.open("c:\\users\\jacob\\desktop\\thomannProj3Results.txt");
}

void countWords(ifstream& input)  //counts words
{
bool notTrue = false;
string words;
int i = 0;

while( notTrue == false )
{
    if( input >> words )
    {
        i++;
    }
    else if( !(input >> words) )
        notTrue = true;
}
cout << "There are " << i << " words in the file." << endl;
}

void countChars(ifstream& input, char storeCharacters[], ofstream& output)  // counts characters
{
int i = 0;

        while( input.good() && !input.eof() )
        {
                input.get(storeCharacters[i]);
                i++;
        }
        output << storeCharacters[0];
}

void sortChars()  //sorts characters
{
}

void printCount()  //prints characters
{
}

int main()
{

ifstream input;
ofstream output;

char storeCharacters[1000] = {0};

getFileName(input, output);
countWords(input);
countChars(input, storeCharacters, output);

return 0;
}

im sure its something simple.... why can't I store characters from the file into the storeCharacters[] array under the countChars function? — thomann061, Apr 26 '13 at 00:17

Trying to read a file into a char array

3 Answers3