C++ In a Nutshell

Name

operator>> function template — Input operator for character arrays

Synopsis

template<typename charT, typename traits>
  basic_istream<charT,traits>& operator>>
   (basic_istream<charT,traits>& stream, charT* str);
   
template<typename traits> basic_istream<char,traits>&
  operator>>(basic_istream<char,traits>& stream, unsigned char* str);
template<typename traits> basic_istream<char,traits>&
  operator>>(basic_istream<char,traits>& stream, signed char* str);

The operator>> function reads characters from stream into str. As with any formatted input, a sentry object is created and initial whitespace is skipped. Characters are then read from the stream into str until an end-of-file is reached or the next character read would be a whitespace character (the space is not read from the stream).

To limit the number of characters read (always a good idea), set the stream’s width to n. At most, n - 1 characters will be read into s. The function resets the width to 0 after reading the stream. A null character is always appended to the end of the string.

If no characters are read from the stream, failbit is set.

Note that the first form of operator>> reads with the stream’s character type. If the stream’s character type is char, the second and third forms read signed char and unsigned char.

See Also

basic_istream class template