From: Hans-Bernhard Broeker <broeker AT acp3bf DOT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de>
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Re: Question about the puts command in C++
Date: 15 Feb 2000 13:17:57 GMT
Organization: Aachen University of Technology (RWTH)
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To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
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Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com

Harry Hiratos <harrydhh AT ozemail DOT com DOT au> wrote:
> I have written a program which includes the following lines:

> Employee Sarah;
>     cout << "Her salary is : " << Sarah.getMessage();

> where Sarah is an object of class Employee. The function getMessage is
> defined inline as follows:

> char getMessage() { puts( message ); }

At the very base of your problem, this routine is incorrect. It does
not do what its name and usage suggests it will. A routine to be used
in the way you use 'Sara.getMessage()' above would have to return a
string or char *, which in turn contains the message string. It should
definitely *not* generate any direct output, itself. I.e. the correct
definition of 'getMessage()' would probably have been:

   char *getMessage() { return message; }

> When I run this program, it prints the words "Her salary is : " on the line
> immediately after the output of getMessage, instead of before it on the same
> line.

That's a second-order consequence. puts() and cout come from two
separate families of output functions, that don't mix well. But as I
said, the real problem is that getMessage shouldn't have called puts()
at all, in the first place.
-- 
Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de)
Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.