n00b help

[Christo]

borland c++ 5.01

character constant must be one or two characters long

get this when compiling my first c++ program can anyone out there help?

it is highlighting this line as the problem

cout << "Please Enter First number: ";

that is correct isnt it though?

here is the code i have used...

#include <iostream.h>
void main (void)
{
int iFirst, iSecond, iAnswer;
char cOperator, cCmd;
cout << endl;
cout << endl;
cout << "Press any key to start the program or type help to view help: ";
cin >> cCmd; endl;
if (cCmd == 'help')
cout << "Help File" endl;
cout << endl;
cout << "Using this calculator is simple below is the key for the
operators"; endl;
cout << "+ = Add \n - = Subtract \n / = Divide \n * = Multiply";
cout << endl;
cout << "Please restart to program to continue"; endl;
else
cout << "Please select which operator would would like to use +/-: ";
cin >> cOperator; endl;
cout << "Please Enter First number: ";
cin >> iFirst; endl;
cout << "Please Enter Second Number: ";
cin >> iSecond;
if (cOperator == '+')
iAnswer = iFirst+iSecond;
else if
(cOperator == '/')
iAnswer = iFirst/iSecond;
else if
(cOperator == '-')
iAnswer = iFirst-iSecond;
else if
(cOperator == '*')
iAnswer = iFirst*iSecond;
else
cout << endl;
cout << "****Please Input A Correct Operator****" endl;
cout << "The Answer To your Sum is: ";
cout << iAnswer;
}
i know it is probably not the easiest way to create a simple calculator but
i know this way will work but i dont know what is casusing the failure when
i try to compile

any help would be much appreciated
--
Thanks,

Chris.

[Ron Natalie]

Howard wrote:

<rant>

Ever used CodeWarrior? In order to maintain compatibility with OS9, they
sttill give you a void main() function when creating a project. It's not a
matter of someone "telling you" it's right, it's just what you get when
starting a project. Granted, it's non-standard, and ought to be changed
(both by the user and by Metrowerks), but in the context in which it was
used, it's correct, in that it compiles and executes without error

<RANT> Who the hell cares. If you have to bend over to support a non-standard
compiler, that's fine. Howevever, we recommend the standard language
here. Frankly, it's got nothing to do with OS9 but everything to do
with CodeWarriors poor implementation. Whether nor not the OS has a
return value, main still needs to be an int-returning function.

Simmilarly for your other issues. The idea is people come here for
instruction. Telling them to do non-standard things just because some
compilers support it isn't productive.

[Christo]

"John Harrison" <jo************ *@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2u******** *****@uni-berlin.de...

"Christo" <ch***@juststuf f.co.uk> wrote in message
news:2u******** *****@uni-berlin.de...

"John Harrison" <jo************ *@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2u******** *****@uni-berlin.de...

>
> "Christo" <ch***@juststuf f.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:2u******** *****@uni-berlin.de...
>>
>>
>> we have not covered strings in the intro to c++ course yet at uni,
>> just
> int,
>> float and char, so i havent used them, i dont want to get confused early > on,
>> even though i have programmed before with vb and used php i think c++ is >> going to be a step up for me.
>>
>> I got the program working with one minor problem... whenever i get my
> answer
>> it prints this line regardless if i input the correct operator (+ - * /) >>
>
> It doesn't when I run it. And nor can I see any reason that it would. I
> think you must be mistaken, probably the code you have posted and the code > you are running are not the same.
>
> And please drop all those silly endl
>
> cin >> cCmd; endl;
>
> This endl is doing NOTHING.
>
> And replace all the other endl with \n
>
> cout << "Help File" << endl;
>
> should be
>
> cout << "Help File\n";
>
> john
>
>

ok thank you, i have just been taught that i thought endl; took you onto
a
new line, i am not using a GUI for this just the console, at the minute i

am

a begginner

endl does take you to a new line on output (it does nothing on input) but
so
does '\n'. The difference is that \n is easier to type and that endl as
well
as taking you to a newline also flushes the output stream. Almost all the
time you don't care about flushing the output stream, maybe you don't even
know what it means.

cin >> cCmd; endl;

is just plain wrong, endl has no meaning on input, and if this exercise is
being marked you'll lose marks for that.

cout << "Help File" << endl;

is OK, but it flushes the output stream for no obviously good reason. To
me
it just seems like one of those things that gets copied (or taught) for no
discernable reason but everyone ends up doing it anyway.

But anyway, the main thing is that you got your program working. Did you
sort out why that extra line was always appearing?

john

oh damn i am stupid i didnt realize i had it on the cin

haha

not yet no, i am thining it might just be my machine, stuck it on my account
at uni so i check it out on friday and ask me lecturer about it.

Thanks for the info

[Howard]

"Ron Natalie" <ro*@sensor.com > wrote in message
news:41******** *************** @news.newshosti ng.com...

Howard wrote:

<rant>

Ever used CodeWarrior? In order to maintain compatibility with OS9, they
sttill give you a void main() function when creating a project. It's not
a matter of someone "telling you" it's right, it's just what you get when
starting a project. Granted, it's non-standard, and ought to be changed
(both by the user and by Metrowerks), but in the context in which it was
used, it's correct, in that it compiles and executes without error
<RANT> Who the hell cares. If you have to bend over to support a
non-standard
compiler, that's fine. Howevever, we recommend the standard language
here. Frankly, it's got nothing to do with OS9 but everything to do
with CodeWarriors poor implementation. Whether nor not the OS has a
return value, main still needs to be an int-returning function.

(Just going by CWRon's response when I asked why their main returns void.)

Simmilarly for your other issues. The idea is people come here for
instruction. Telling them to do non-standard things just because some
compilers support it isn't productive.

I'm not advocating telling them to do the wrong thing, just not to
concentrate *so much* on those two items when responding to a post that's
about something else. And to respond in a kindler, gentler manner, not jump
on them for making a mistake that their IDE may actually have made for them.
That's all.

-Howard