Question

Does it matter if I use a string or char for a simple input function? (aka y/n)

This is what I’m using at the moment:

using namespace std;

string somestr;

getline(cin,somestr);

if(somestr.empty())
{ //do something }
else if (somestr == "y"){
//do something else
}
else{}

And if it makes more sense to user char what would be the equivalent char code to this?

Answer 1

Yes, it matters, because std::string cannot be compared with a char using ==. You can compare it with a string literal:

if (somestr == "y")

or you can test the initial element of the std::string:

if (somestr[0] == 'y')

In the latter case, you might want to check the length as well, otherwise you would accept such inputs as “yacht” and “yellow.” Comparing with a string literal containing the expected text is probably a better choice for most use cases.