Feb 10, 2008

End-Of-File (EOF) when reading from cin

End-Of-File (EOF) when reading from cin

When a program is reading from a disk file, the system "knows" when it gets to the end. This condition is called End-Of-File (EOF). All systems also provide some way of indicating an EOF when reading from the keyboard. This varies from system to system.

Dev-C++
Type: Enter Control-z Enter
MS Visual C++
Type: Enter Control-z Enter Enter
Reportedly there is a Microsoft patch that can be applied so that only one Enter is required after the Control-z. I wouldn't bother.
Other systems
Some may use other characters: control-D then Enter, or control-D followed by a control-Z, or ... .

You can just provide bad data to make cin fail in many cases. A student once claimed that typing "EOF" was the way to indicate and end-of-file from the console. Yes, it stops reading (because of an error) if you're reading numbers, but not when reading characters or strings!
Resetting after EOF

Altho it doesn't make sense to read after an EOF on a file, it is reasonable to read again from the console after an EOF has been entered. The clear function allows this.

while (cin >> x) {
... // loop reading until EOF (or bad input)
}

cin.clear(); // allows more reading
cin >> n;
...

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