How can this print function be formatted properly?

Question

When my print function is called multiple times, the formatting of the list being printed gets changed.

I've tried researching ways to use the setw and other ostream modifiers, but cannot find the issue that is causing the list to be changed after the first iteration.

Here is the function I am using to print my arrays:

void printArray(Car array[], int n)
{
    cout << "Make" << setw(10) << "Model" << setw(13) << "Horsepower"
         << setw(8) << "Price\n\n";

    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
    {
        cout << setw(12) << left << array[i].make << setw(12) << left 
             << array[i].model << setw(6) << left <<  array[i].horsepower 
             << setw(9) << left <<  array[i].price;
        cout << endl;
    }
}

I was expecting the function to print something like this every iteration:

Make        Model   Horsepower Price

Lamborghini Diablo      550   290000
Honda       Civic       180   9000
Chevy       Silverado   300   30000

And here is the output that I get:

Make     Model   Horsepower Price

Lamborghini Diablo      550   290000
Honda       Civic       180   9000
Chevy       Silverado   300   30000


Sorted (ascending) by price:

MakeModel     Horsepower   Price

 Honda       Civic       180   9000
Chevy       Silverado   300   30000
Lamborghini Diablo      550   290000


Sorted (descending) by horsepower:

MakeModel     Horsepower   Price

 Lamborghini Diablo      550   290000
Chevy       Silverado   300   30000
Honda       Civic       180   9000

I think [this](https://stackoverflow.com/a/20924887/6059586) should help you. — Pradeep Kumar, Jul 10 '19 at 05:40
should use `setw` first for your headers, e.g. `cout << setw(10) << "Make" ...` — Arne, Jul 10 '19 at 05:41
Would you know any reason for the "Make" and "Model" to become attached after the first iteration? — Stanky-kun, Jul 10 '19 at 05:56
@Stanky-kun because no width is set for your first cout and since the first header is right aligned it looks as if there's setw in place — Arne, Jul 10 '19 at 06:01
BTW, you should consider `right` allignment for the numbers. — Bob__, Jul 10 '19 at 09:31

Shubham Vernekar · Answer 1 · 2019-07-10T05:54:04.567

0

You have to set the constant width using setw() method

Eg.
cout<<setw(20)<<"text";

edited Jul 10 '19 at 05:54

answered Jul 10 '19 at 05:48

Shubham Vernekar

39
4

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 10 '19 at 06:15

As I mentioned in the comments, your first field was not set by setw, another thing to note is the use of endl instead of \n in the headers.

What you should be doing

void printArray(Car array[], int n)
{
    cout << left << setw(12) << "Make" << setw(10) << "Model" << setw(13) << "Horsepower"
         << setw(10) << "Price" << endl << endl;

    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
    {
        cout << setw(12) << left << array[i].make << setw(12) << left 
             << array[i].model << setw(6) << left <<  array[i].horsepower 
             << setw(9) << left <<  array[i].price;
        cout << endl;
    }
}

How can this print function be formatted properly?

2 Answers2