A buncha newbie questions

Hi, I am a newbie at C++, and kind of a newbie at C, so I am gonna ask some real simple questions now........

What do I need to include so that I can use string type? like this:
string TempString;

What do I need to include to read and write to a basic text file?
Any links with good examples would be cool as well.







I will ask more later.

I figured that out. Just #include <string.h>....but

What is the differance between these?:
string TempString;
char TempString;

Also, What is a good way to make the console stay open until the user closes it. I have been doing this:

PHP Code:

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void main()
{
    //do stuff........

    //endless loop (keeps main from terminating
    while(1)
    {
    }
} 


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Let's see...
:mad: don't start with bad practices now when there's still time!
j/k, you shouldn't include <string.h>, it's deprecated. In modern C++ apps the headers don't have a .h ending:
#include <string>
Since in the new headers all symbols are in the namespace std, you must either always reference the namespace:
std::string TempString;
or import some symbols from std:
using std::string;
or iport the whole namespace (what most people do, especially in simple apps):
using namespace std;
Stay with the last for now, just insert it after all your header includes.

The difference:
string is a class that handles memory management, operator overloading and all these nice things.
char is a single character.
char * TempString;
would mean a pointer to a character, usually the character is followed by others to make a C-style string. Don't use it, it's a real trap for newbies and string is so easy.
When you use string and need a char* for a function, call the c_str() method.

Hey thanks for the tip. I have heard that before (about the .h), but when I use this:

#include "stdafx.h"
#include <string>
#include <windows>
#include <winbase>
#include <stdio>
using namespace std;

It will give me the following error:"Cannot open include file: 'windows': No such file or directory"

and then if I put the .h back like this:
#include "stdafx.h"
#include <string.h>
#include <windows.h>
#include <winbase.h>
#include <stdio.h>

using namespace std;

I get this error:"'std' : does not exist or is not a namespace"


I think that it does not know where to look for "std". How can I tell it?

You hardly ever need to explicitly include <winbase.h>. Mostly, just <windows.h> is enough but for a console program you shouldn't use it -- stick to the standard headers.

OK. I am just seeing what is out there and how to use it thigs. I have only programmed C for PIC microcontrollers, so I am just getting used to talking to windows OS.

Can you tell me why my compiler doesn't recognize "using namespace std;"?

If you haven't included any headers that define the namespace, then the compiler won't be able to recognise the name.

Code:

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#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {
    cout << "Hello!" << endl;
}

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That should work. What compiler are you on?

Alright. Thanks for all the help and tips. Are there any other C forums that are more popular than this one? I Have lots of questions to ask, so I need lots of people to answer them for me.

I am trying to port some API calls from VB over to C. Here is one that I cannot get to work. It gets "'MakeSureDirectoryPathExists' : undeclared identifier" error, but MakeSureDirectoryPathExits shows up in List Members.

PHP Code:

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#include "stdafx.h"
#include <windows.h>


int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    int Result;

    Result = MakeSureDirectoryPathExists("c:\\test1\\test2\\");
    if (Result != 0)
    {
        MessageBox(0, "Path Created", "", MB_OK);
    }
    else
    {
        MessageBox(0, "Error Creating Path", "", MB_OK);
    }

    return 0;
} 


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thanks

I found the answer on another forum.
I had to add imagehlp.lib to the links path in project settings and also had to add #include <imagehlp.h>. How is someone supposed to find these things out? Why did I have to add all that stuff if the compiler knew what it was anyway (it was in the list members list)


here is what the code looks like now.

PHP Code:

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#include "stdafx.h"
#include <windows.h>
#include <imagehlp.h>    //also had to add imagehlp.lib in link path in project settings
#include <string>
using namespace std;



int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    int Result;

    Result = MakeSureDirectoryPathExists("c:\\test1\\test2\\");
    if (Result != 0)
    {
        MessageBox(0, "Path Created", "", MB_OK);
    }
    else
    {
        MessageBox(0, "Error Creating Path", "", MB_OK);
    }

    return 0;
} 


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