Keeping a DOS Window Open

[DavidP]

I have a small program to help my son practice multiplication.

At the end, I want it to print a report on how he went, giving number of correct answers as a percentage.

I want the program to operate as a stand alone app and not through the VC++ IDE (he's only 8 yrs old.) My problem is that the DOS window closes too quickly at the end of the program and you cannot see the results.

I have looked at some texts which suggest using:

cout << "Press enter to continue";
cin.get();

which I tested on a "Hello World" app and was OK.

The code is:

#include <iostream>

using std::cout;
using std::cin;
using std::endl;
using std::ios;
using std::flush;

#include <cmath>

#include <cstdlib>

#include <ctime>

#include <iomanip>
#include <cstdio>

using std::setprecision;
using std::setiosflags;

int main()
{
int num1, num2, answer, selection;
double right, wrong, total;
char name[20];

right = 0;
wrong = 0;
total = 0;

srand(time(0));
cout << "What is your name?\n";
cin >> name;

cout << "What times table do you want to practice "
<< name << "? (Press '0' to exit)\n\n";

cout << "\nEnter the number you wish to practice here->";
cin >> selection;

while (selection != 0 && answer != 0)
{
while (answer != 0)
{
num1 = selection;
num2 = 1 + rand() % 12;

cout << "\nWhat is " << num1 << " x " << num2 << " ?";
cin >> answer;

while (answer != num1 * num2 && answer != 0)
{
cout << "Sorry " << name << ", wrong answer - try again\n";
wrong++;
cout << "\nWhat is " << num1 << " x " << num2 << " ?";
cin >> answer;
}

if (answer == num1 * num2)
right++;

if(answer == 0) //Exit and goodbye
{
double percent;
total = right + wrong;
percent = (right/total) * 100;

cout << "\n\nBye " << name <<
" and thanks for practicing your times tables!!\n\n";

cout << "You got " << right << " out of " << total
<< setiosflags(ios::fixed) <<
" (" << setprecision(0) << percent << "%)\n\n";

cout << flush;
cout << "\n\nPress enter to continue........";
cin.get();

}
else //Next Question??
cout << "Well Done " << name << "\n";

}


}


return 0;

}

I know this is simple (almost foolish - I'm still learining!) code, but I'd like to find out why the window will not stay open long enough to read the results.

Any help is appreciated.

[denniswrenn]

Use:

//includes:
#include <stdlib.h>
//...
//...

system("pause");

It brings up the message "Press any key to continue..." and when you push a key, the program ends(unless you place more code after the call).

-D

[Yonatan]

A more common (and more platform-independent) solution:

#include <conio.h>

...

cout << "Press a key..." << endl;
getch();

Oh, and by the way:

// Instead of this:
using std::cout;
using std::cin;
using std::endl;
// etc.

// You can do this:
using namespace std;

Enjoy