convert 03 May 2012 format to 03-05-2012

[ethan86]

I saved 3 May 2012 inside a text file and i want to convert it to 03-05-2012 format.. so far i can only think of structure and thinking about function....
struct Date{
int date;
char month;
int year;
};

please can some1 help me?

[Script Coder]

You would have to take the string and parse it getting the day, and if it is below 10, add an '0' and then take the Month and use a switch to convert it to a number and then the year you have.

[ethan86]

thank you i got the roughly meaning of what you mean but i can't figure out how to break down 03 may 2012 into date month year format after extracting out from text file.

[Cubbi]

You could use boost.date_time library I/O (works on any compiler) or C++11 I/O (works on new compilers), if you're willing to use this opportunity to learn how to work with dates in C++.

boost:
http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/release/doc/html/date_time/date_time_io.html

C++:
http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/io/manip/get_time
http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/io/manip/put_time

(personally, I think boost approach is much better)

[S G H]

The main idea is to:
1. Get a line of text like: "03 May 2012"
2. Create three variables, a int, a char* and another int
3. Get the first int
4. Get the Text representing the month
5. Get the last int

#include <cctype> // tolower
char Text[] = "03 May 2012";
char Temp[256] = {0};
const char * p = Text;
int Day = 0;
int Month = 0;
int Year = 0;
unsigned int Length = strlen(p);
bool strccmp(const char * First, const char * Second) // Like strcmp, but will work with case-different words
{
    unsigned int i = 0;
    while(1)
    {
        if(tolower(First[i]) != tolower(Second[i]))
            return 1;
        if(First[i] <= 0)
            break;
        ++i;
    }
    return 0;
}
for(unsigned int i = 0; i < Length; ++i)
{
    Temp[i] = p[i]; // Copy until you find a space
    if(Temp[i] == ' ') // If you 'meet' a space, remove it and stop
    {
        p += i+1; // Next time continue parsing from here
        Temp[i] = 0; break;
    }
}
Day = _atoi(Temp); // Here, you've got the day!
unsigned int Length = strlen(p);
for(unsigned int i = 0; i < Length; ++i)
{
    Temp[i] = p[i]; // Copy until you find a space
    if(Temp[i] == ' ') // If you 'meet' a space, remove it and stop
    {
        p += i+1; // Next time continue parsing from here
        Temp[i] = 0; break;
    }
}
Month = 1;
do {
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"January"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"February"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"March"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"April"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"May"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"June"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"July"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"August"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"September"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"October"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"November"))
        break;
    ++Month;
    if(!strccmp(Temp,"December"))
        break;
    ++Month;
} while(0);
if(Month == 13) { /* Error, invalid month */ }
unsigned int Length = strlen(p);
for(unsigned int i = 0; i < Length; ++i)
{
    Temp[i] = p[i]; // Copy until you find a space
    if(Temp[i] == ' ') // If you 'meet' a space, remove it and stop
    {
        p += i+1; // Next time continue parsing from here
        Temp[i] = 0; break;
    }
}
Year = _atoi(Temp); // Here, you've got the Year! 

This is the "way" to do it. It will only gather the integer. You should complete it.

[ethan86]

Thank you for your help.. i'm still trying.. i got the idea from your reply but i think strcpy will be more easier for me now. i need to read more books. :)

[S G H]

No, sorry, what I'm doing is NOT a strcpy. What i did will copy the text until a space is found. Strcpy will copy a entire string - also will copy spaces.
So if you extend it to the Month and Year, you will be fully-abled to use it. Want me to complete it? I'm gonna edit that post, check it out within minutes.

EDIT: Finished. Will recognize strings like this:

25 May 2012
5 OctOBeR 1922
1922 jANUARY 5 (1922 will still be the day, and 5 will be the year!!)