I need to do a proyect that calculates me the molar mass of any molecule entered by the user. For example if the user types CO2, my program needs to identify C (that is associated with a matrix with its mass), then identify O (associated with its mass) and multiply it by two, and add them up.
I was thinking of using strings of character for the each element.
Im very new in programing and I have learned just the basics pretty much.
how would you guys recommend me to do it? Im pretty lost
Thank you very much
It seems like the big challenge here is parsing the text, so you can pass full elements to a function to do your counting. You'll need a string to take the input, but I would strongly caution you away from the std string for this.
Instead, try an array of char.
Some things to consider:
How big does the array need to be?
What kind of characters will I accept? (spaces?)
How do I know when the user is done with input? (something something null-terminated...)
How will I move through the array?
What defines an element? (If it's capital letters, take a look at ASCII values for comparing them)
What do I do with an element when I find it?
You asked for a starting place, so I'm reluctant to give out any specific code. Take a look at Jongware's comment for a good outline of what your program needs to do. Tackle it a piece at a time (answer the questions in this post and you'll be fine with input) and check it off your outline when you're done. Good luck!