Read file and print in specific format. C++

Question

I have to write a program in C++ and I haven't used this laugauge before.

I know how to write it in Java or C#, but I should write it in C++!

The code should read a text file (I do this step) and then print the output in a specific format using the array (I don't now how to do this step)

For example: The file has the following:

Task          distribution             duration              dependence
A              Normal                  2,10                     -
B              UNIF                    2,7                      A

The code will print the following:

The task A is a normal distribution and it is duration between 2 and 10. It doesn't depend on any task. Task B is unif distribution, etc.

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I want to mention that it is not a homework or an assignment to be submitted to the teacher, but I work in a research project (something extra to learn something new before leaving the University) and they ask us to use C++ which I found to be difficult to learn (I have other courses with grades which I should consider rather than doing the research).

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I write the code in C# and I searched for utilities to convert from C# to C++, but it doesn't work!

http://www.tangiblesoftwaresolutions.com/Product_Details/Instant_CPlusPlus_CSharp_Edition.html

This is my code in C# and it works correctly.

class Program
{
    static List<string []> allTasks = new List<string []>();
    static List<TaskInfo> Tasks = new List<TaskInfo>();

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        string line;
        string[] info = null;
        StreamReader sr = new StreamReader("C:\\Users\\7bah Jno0ney\\Documents\\Visual Studio 2008\\Projects\\Example1_C++\\Tasks.txt");
        string fLine = sr.ReadLine();
        while ((line = sr.ReadLine()) != null)
        {
            line = line.Replace("\r", "");
            info = line.Split(' ');
            allTasks.Add(info);
        }
        for (int i = 0; i < allTasks.Count; i++)
        {
            for (int j = 0; j < allTasks[i].Length; j++)
            {
                allTasks[i][j] = allTasks[i][j].Replace("\r", "");
                allTasks[i][j] = allTasks[i][j].Replace("   ", "");
            }
            TaskInfo task = new TaskInfo(allTasks[i][0], allTasks[i][1], allTasks[i][2], allTasks[i][3]);
            Tasks.Add(task);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("You have " + Tasks.Count + " Tasks.");
        Console.WriteLine();
        for (int i = 0; i < Tasks.Count; i++)
        {
            if (Tasks[i].getTaskDep() == null || Tasks[i].getTaskDep() == "-")
            {
                Console.WriteLine("The first task in the project is the task " + Tasks[i].getTaskName() +". " +
                    "The task distribution is " + Tasks[i].getTaskDis() + " and its duration is " + Tasks[i].getTaskDur() + "." + " Finally, it doesn't has any dependence");
                Console.WriteLine();
            }
            else
            {
                string name = Tasks[i].getTaskName();
                string dep = Tasks[i].getTaskDep();
                if(dep.Contains(","))
                {
                    string[] depends = dep.Split(',');
                    Console.Write("Task " + Tasks[i].getTaskName() + " has " + Tasks[i].getTaskDis() + 
                        " distribution and its duration is " + Tasks[i].getTaskDur() + ". ");
                    Console.Write("This task depends on " + depends.Length + " tasks.");
                    for (int d = 0; d < depends.Length; d++)
                    {
                        int num = d + 1;
                        Console.Write(" The " + num + " depended task is " + depends[d] + ". ");
                    }
                    Console.WriteLine();
                    Console.WriteLine();
                }
                else
                {
                    foreach (TaskInfo ti in Tasks)
                    {
                        if((ti.getTaskName() == name) && (ti.getTaskDep() == dep)){
                            Console.WriteLine("This Task is the " + i + 
                                " task and its distribution is " + Tasks[i].getTaskDis() + 
                                ". It is duration is " + Tasks[i].getTaskDur() +
                                " and it depends on the task " + ti.getTaskDep());
                            Console.WriteLine();
                        }
                    }
                }
            }   
        }
    }
}

What are some utilities or programs to help to converting the code?

Answer 1

For C++ probably what you should be looking at is using a file stream (std::ifstream most likely) for the reading, and the standard output stream (std::cout) for writing. Given the lack of detail, the best I can tell you after that is to go read up on C++ file streams and stream formatting. Here's a tutorial I found online for file streams, and here's one for stream formatting.

Answer 2

I recommend using one of two routes, C++ streams or printf of C fame.

For C++ streams, have a look at the I/O Manipulators library, especially these functions:
setw
setprecision
left
right

For the printf technique, look at the format specifiers:
%d
%c
%s

I highly recommend using spaces instead of tabs. There is no standard tab size for consoles.

If you are dealing with a GUI, I recommend either using a table widget or using font metrics to get accurate alignment. You could cheat and use a fixed pitch font, but the correct and laborious method is to calculate the width of each character, then determine the spacing necessary. Or just put the text a fixed horizontal location.