----------------------------------- Srlancelot39 Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:35 pm Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- This is a program I have written for a question in a lab. It gets a character from the user, displays it, passes it to a function that displays it, the function then returns the character after the user's character and this is printed from main(). My issue is that no matter what character I enter, it displays it as a space (except for the returned value from the function which is always some unexpected symbol). After some hours of testing, I think I have confirmed that it is an issue to do with scanf() (scanf_s() in my case specifically). Output: Enter a character: a You entered ' ', printing it now from main(). You entered ' ', printing it now from function(). You entered ' ', printing it now from function(). The following ASCII character is '☺', printing it now from main(). Thanks in advance! ----------------------------------- Insectoid Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:05 pm RE:Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- Odd, it works fine for me (after commenting out _getch() and #include , since they don't exist on osx). ----------------------------------- nullptr Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:29 pm Re: Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- I'm not sure what could be causing your issue, but you could try this as a solution: [code] char chr; //get character from user printf("Enter a character: "); char buf[2]; scanf_s("%1s", buf); chr = buf[0]; [/code] ----------------------------------- Srlancelot39 Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:56 pm RE:Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- @Insectoid Half of me feared that would be the case, the other half hoped it would be lol I hope it works for my prof lol @nullptr thanks for the help, but same output :s wtf is going on lol Anyone got Bill Gates' cell number on hand?... EDIT: Ok, I am 99.9% sure that the user input is not being read correctly. If I insert [code]chr = 'x';[/code] after the user input is read, the program will display 'x' and then 'y', as it should. I have tried using [code]getch(chr);[/code][code]getch(&chr);[/code][code]_getch(chr);[/code]and[code]_getch(&chr);[/code]...none of which work either. I am using _getch() because conio.h is requiring me to for some reason. EDIT2: Yes, I have tried using pointers. Exact same result. EDIT3: (very sorry for all the edits lol) I am using Visual Studio - Professional 2013 ----------------------------------- Dreadnought Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:05 pm Re: Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- I'm pretty sure that _getch returns the character (rather than taking a reference). [code]int _getch( void );[/code] Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/078sfkak.aspx ----------------------------------- Insectoid Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:10 pm RE:Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- I am using _getch() because conio.h is requiring me to for some reason. Newer compilers (since 1989, so older compilers too) require this to comply with ANSI C standards. ----------------------------------- Srlancelot39 Fri Mar 14, 2014 12:17 pm Re: Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- I'm pretty sure that _getch returns the character (rather than taking a reference). According to the rest of the document, it seems like it takes input without echo. Gets a character from the console without echo. Example // crt_getch.c // compile with: /c // This program reads characters from // the keyboard until it receives a 'Y' or 'y'. #include #include int main( void ) { int ch; _cputs( "Type 'Y' when finished typing keys: " ); do { ch = _getch(); ch = toupper( ch ); } while( ch != 'Y' ); _putch( ch ); _putch( '\r' ); // Carriage return _putch( '\n' ); // Line feed } ...I don't know, I'm confused as hell as to why I'm having this problem lol Thanks for the help! I know this isn't the easiest of things to troubleshoot :P ----------------------------------- btiffin Thu Apr 03, 2014 1:26 am Re: Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- A little late perhaps, but from the original listing I think that's because people that work for Microsoft believe that wchar was a good idea. Or ... avoid MS non-standard crap and try Live free and die trying or Live easy and die pwned Cheers ----------------------------------- Srlancelot39 Thu Apr 03, 2014 2:14 pm RE:Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- Thanks for your solution! I no longer need this solved, but thanks anyways! Much appreciated :P As for scanf_s, my compiler will not let me use scanf. I tried using it initially (as that is what we were taught), but my compiler gives me an error about security and suggests that I use scanf_s. ----------------------------------- btiffin Sun Apr 06, 2014 12:20 pm Re: Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- Realizing that the immediate need is over, but, being old and crusty... As far as I know, only Microsoft has deprecated the scanf function. It's still very much alive in C land. If you ever need to do this again, try [code] #define _CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE [/code] at the top of the sources, then wield scanf like the big boys (hmm, or is that bug boys?). Is scanf dangerous? Can be, but scanf_s isn't implemented very often outside Windows, so scanf_s is far less portable. The MS tactic of embrace, enhance, extinguish is HIGHLY UNLIKELY to ever succeed when it comes to C. Cheers ----------------------------------- Srlancelot39 Tue Apr 08, 2014 6:59 am RE:Characters not read correctly by scanf() ----------------------------------- Sounds like a plan! Thanks! I've heard of using #define _CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE before, so I'm sure I won't forget to try it out next chance I get.