String Input

Part of the Fundamentals section of Coddy's C++ journey — lesson 35 of 74.

Strings behave a bit differently then other types. There are several ways to get input into a string in C++. Here are the most common methods:

1. Using cin:

std::string str;
std::cin >> str;

Note: This only reads until the first whitespace

2. Using getline() (recommended for sentences with spaces):

std::string str;
std::getline(std::cin, str);

This reads entire line including spaces.

3. Using both cin and getline (when reading after cin):

int n;
std::string str;
std::cin >> n;
std::cin.ignore();  // Clear the newline from input buffer
std::getline(cin, str);

Without cin.ignore(), getline would read the leftover newline instead of waiting for input

Cheat sheet

There are several ways to get string input in C++:

Using cin (reads until first whitespace):

std::string str;
std::cin >> str;

Using getline() (reads entire line including spaces):

std::string str;
std::getline(std::cin, str);

Using both cin and getline (when reading after cin):

int n;
std::string str;
std::cin >> n;
std::cin.ignore();  // Clear the newline from input buffer
std::getline(cin, str);

Use cin.ignore() to clear the newline from the input buffer when switching from cin to getline().

Try it yourself

This lesson doesn't include a code challenge.

Test yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

1Introduction

4Operators Part 1

7Input/Output Basics

10Functions

13Final Challenges