Why Does getline() Terminate Input Prematurely in C ?

Troubleshooting getline() Function in C

While utilizing the getline() method to retrieve user-entered messages, some developers encounter an issue where the method prematurely terminates input.

Issue: The program fails to wait for user input after prompting with "Type your message: " using the code:

string messageVar;
cout << "Type your message: ";
getline(cin, messageVar);

Underlying Problem:

When cin >> is employed prior to getline(), a newline character is left in the input buffer. This newline remains in the buffer when getline() attempts to read input, resulting in immediate termination.

Solution:

To address this problem, it is essential to remove the newline character from the input buffer before using getline(). This can be accomplished using the cin.ignore() function. The modified code:

string messageVar;
cout << "Type your message: ";
cin.ignore(); // Flushes the newline character
getline(cin, messageVar);

By flushing the newline character, getline() can correctly read input until the user enters a newline, allowing for the retrieval of the intended message.

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