Pythagorean Theorem Program Help?

[DEyAqMoL]

Hi guys, before I post the code, I want to give you some background. I'm a programmer/ gamer guy and I have been for a long time now. It's just that I am now just getting back to using C++ after a long vacation in Python- land, and so I decided to write something, procedurally, elementary, like a program that uses the Pythagorean Theorem. However, my 1337 coder skills prove rusty and there seems to be a couple bugs in here I can't find. Apart from some missing semi- colons- which I know there are are some- can you here in the C++ forums help me try to find bugs? Is there something big and obvious that I'm missing here just because I'm a little rusty? Do I look stupid? Well, I always look stupid, but..

#include <iostream>
#include <math.h>
#include <string>

//pyth.cpp
//a^2+b^2=c^2 -- The Pythagorean Theorem
//This C++ program takes information inputted about a triangle, and using the Pythagorean Theorem:
//Either solves for a, b, or c, and displays properties about a simulated triangle with those variables
//For example, we would find and output the area, perimeter, etc. of that triangle
//I would say to credit this if you used it in your schoolwork, but you probably won't anyway
//I do accept payment, donations,  and gifts of appreciation in the form of money and women
//(c)2012 Ty K.

using namespace std;

string AskIfGoAgain(){
	int loop = 1;
	string answer = "y";
	while (loop == 1){
		answer = "y";
		cout << "\nWould you like to calculate another triangle? [y]/[n]";
		cin >> answer;
		if (answer == "y"){return answer;}
		else if (answer == "n"){return answer;}
		else {
			cout << "\n That wasn't even an option. Seriously?";
		}
	}
}

int SolveForA(){
	float b, c, bSquared, cSquared, a;
	//Initializes the variables
	float area, perimeter;
	//Initializes the other properties we are going to find when we simulate the triangle
	cout << "What is b?";
	cin >> b;
	//Prompts user to input b
	cout << "\nWhat is c?";
	cin >> c;
	//Promts user to input c
	bSquared = b*b;
	cSquared = c*c;
	//Finds each variable's square.. if that makes grammatical/syntactical sense
	a = cSquared - bSquared;
	//Finds a
	cout << "\na = ";
	cout << a;
	//Tells you what A is
	area = (a + b) / 2;
	perimeter = a + b + c;
	cout << "\n Perimeter: ";
	cout << perimeter;
	cout << "\n Area: ";
	cout << area;
	//Simulates the triangle and outputs the area and the perimeter
	cout << "\n\nThank you for using one of my programs! And remember, thanks can be expressed in money and women!";
	return 0;
}

int  SolveForB(){
        float b, c, bSquared, cSquared, a;
        //Initializes the variables
        float area, perimeter;
        //Initializes the other properties we are going to find when we simulate the triangle
        cout << "What is a?";
        cin >> a;
        //Prompts user to input a
        cout << "\nWhat is c?";
        cin >> c;
        //Promts user to input c
        aSquared = a*a;
        cSquared = c*c;
        //Finds each variable's square.. if that makes grammatical/syntactical sense
        b = cSquared - aSquared;
        //Finds a
        cout << "\nb = ";
        cout << b;
        //Tells you what A is
        area = (a + b) / 2;
        perimeter = a + b + c;
        cout << "\n Perimeter: ";
        cout << perimeter;
        cout << "\n Area: ";
        cout << area;
        //Simulates the triangle and outputs the area and the perimeter
        cout << "\n\nThank you for using one of my programs! And remember, thanks can be expressed in money and women!";
        return 0;
}
int SolveForC(){
	float a, b, c, aSquared, bSquared, cSquared;
	//Initialize the variables we will be using in this function
	float area, perimeter;
	//Initialize the variables of the properties of the triangle we will simulate
	cout >> "\nWhat is a?: ";
	cin << a;
	cout >> "\nWhat is b?: ";
	cin << b;
	//Prompts for and gets input for a and b
	aSquared = a*a;
	bSquared = b*b;
	//Finds the squares of a and b
	cSquared = aSquared + bSquared;
	c = sqrt(cSquared);
	//Finds c
	cout << "\nc: ";
	cout c;
	//outputs c
	area = (a*b)/2;
	perimeter = a + b + c;
	cout << "\nPerimeter: ";
	cout perimeter;
	cout << "\nArea: ";
	cout area;
	//Simulates the triangle and finds the value of those properties
}	
int main(answer){
	answer = "y"
	while (answer == "y"){
		float choice;
		cout << "Would you like to solve for [a], [b], or [c]?: ";
		cin >> choice;
		if (choice == "a"){
			SolveForA();
			AskIfGoAgain();
		}
		else if (choice == "b"){
			SolveForB();
			AskIfGoAgain();
		}
		else if (choice == "c"){
			SolveForC();
			AskIfGoAgain();
		else {
			cout << "That wasn't even an option. Seriously?";
		}
	}
	return 0;
}			

[Disch]

I think you are confusing terms. A "bug" is something different from a compiler error. Programs with bugs compile okay, but do not work as expected. Since you seem to be asking about compiler errors and not about bugs, I just felt I should clarify.

Also, when posting about compiler errors, it helps if you actually tell us what the error is and what line it's on, so we're not searching for a needle in a haystack.


That said, I see this:

int main(answer){
	answer = "y"

main can take zero parameters, or it can take the "argc/argv" parameters (which hold commandline options). That's it. You can't make it take 'answer'. And even if you could, you'd have to specify a type for answer (is it an int? a string?)

Make main parameterless, and instead make answer a variable inside the function:

int main(){
    string answer = "y";

As for logic errors / bugs:

1) 'answer' in main is always "y" (you never change it), so your program will never exit. I'm assuming you meant to set answer to whatever AskIfGoAgain returns:

answer = AskIfGoAgain();

2) You are calculating a and b incorrectly. You need to sqrt to calculate any one of the missing values. Strangely, you remembered to do this when calculating c, but forgot when calculating a and b.