Get the last string printed in C/C++

Question

I am trying to create a tester using googletest. the problem is that the function that I am testing is returning void and printing a result instead. I want to get the last string printed into the console so I can test the output. the string may include \n.

so I have the function itself:

void f_sequence(char sequenceStr[])
{
   //logic...
    if(condotion1)
        printf("somthing1");
    else if(condotion2)
        printf("somthing2")
(...)
}

and then the tester:

TEST(TesterGroup, TesterName)
{
    f_sequence("input");
    EXPECT_EQ("somthing1", /*how do i get the output?*/);
}

Is it possible?

The functions I test are in c, while the Test function itself (the tester) is in c++. the output is printed using printf. I cannot change the function itself. I am using CLion latest version.

Answer 1

Redirect the standard output to a buffer.

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#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>

#define BUFFER_SIZE 1024
int stdoutSave;
char outputBuffer[BUFFER_SIZE];

void replaceStdout()
{
    fflush(stdout); //clean everything first
    stdoutSave = dup(STDOUT_FILENO); //save the stdout state
    freopen("NUL", "a", stdout); //redirect stdout to null pointer
    setvbuf(stdout, outputBuffer, _IOFBF, 1024); //set buffer to stdout
}

void restoreStdout()
{
    freopen("NUL", "a", stdout); //redirect stdout to null again
    dup2(stdoutSave, STDOUT_FILENO); //restore the previous state of stdout
    setvbuf(stdout, NULL, _IONBF, BUFFER_SIZE); //disable buffer to print to screen instantly
}

void printHelloWorld()
{
    printf("hello\n");
    printf("world");
}

int main()
{
    replaceStdout();
    printHelloWorld();
    restoreStdout();
    // Use outputBuffer to test EXPECT_EQ("somthing1", outputBuffer);
    printf("Fetched output: (%s)", outputBuffer);
    return 0;
}

References: http://kaskavalci.com/redirecting-stdout-to-array-and-restoring-it-back-in-c/