Assigning Variables from CSV files (or another format) in C++

Question

Hello Stack Overflow world :3 My name is Chris, I have a slight issue.. So I am going to present the issue in this format.. Part 1 I will present the materials & code snippets I am currently working with that IS working.. Part 2 I will explain in my best ability my desired new way of achieving my goal. Part 3 So you guys think I am not having you do all the work, I will go ahead and present my attempts at said goal, as well as possibly ways research has dug up that I did not fully understand.

Part 1

mobDB.csv Example:

ID      Sprite    kName     iName     LV  HP    SP  EXP JEXP Range1 ATK1 ATK2   DEF MDEF  STR   AGI VIT INT DEX LUK Range2  Range3  Scale   Race    Element Mode    Speed   aDelay  aMotion dMotion MEXP    ExpPer  MVP1id  MVP1per MVP2id  MVP2per MVP3id  MVP3per Drop1id Drop1per    Drop2id Drop2per    Drop3id Drop3per    Drop4id Drop4per    Drop5id Drop5per    Drop6id Drop6per    Drop7id Drop7per    Drop8id Drop8per    Drop9id Drop9per    DropCardid  DropCardper
1001    SCORPION  Scorpion  Scorpion  24  1109  0   287 176  1      80   135    30  0     1     24  24  5   52  5   10      12      0       4       23      12693   200     1564    864     576     0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       990     70          904     5500        757     57          943     210         7041    100         508     200         625     20          0       0           0       0           4068        1
1002    PORING    Poring    Poring    1   50    0   2   1    1      7    10     0   5     1     1   1   0   6   30  10      12      1       3       21      131     400     1872    672     480     0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       909     7000        1202    100         938     400         512     1000        713     1500        512     150         619     20          0       0           0       0           4001        1
1004    HORNET    Hornet    Hornet    8   169   0   19  15   1      22   27     5   5     6     20  8   10  17  5   10      12      0       4       24      4489    150     1292    792     216     0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       992     80          939     9000        909     3500        1208    15          511     350         518     150         0       0           0       0           0       0           4019        1
1005    FARMILIAR Familiar  Familiar  8   155   0   28  15   1      20   28     0   0     1     12  8   5   28  0   10      12      0       2       27      14469   150     1276    576     384     0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       913     5500        1105    20          2209    15          601     50          514     100         507     700         645     50          0       0           0       0           4020        1
1007    FABRE     Fabre     Fabre     2   63    0   3   2    1      8    11     0   0     1     2   4   0   7   5   10      12      0       4       22      385     400     1672    672     480     0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       914     6500        949     500         1502    80          721     5           511     700         705     1000        1501    200         0       0           0       0           4002        1
1008    PUPA      Pupa      Pupa      2   427   0   2   4    0      1    2      0   20    1     1   1   0   1   20  10      12      0       4       22      256     1000    1001    1       1       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       1010    80          915     5500        938     600         2102    2           935     1000        938     600         1002    200         0       0           0       0           4003        1
1009    CONDOR    Condor    Condor    5   92    0   6   5    1      11   14     0   0     1     13  5   0   13  10  10      12      1       2       24      4233    150     1148    648     480     0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       917     9000        1702    150         715     80          1750    5500        517     400         916     2000        582     600         0       0           0       0           4015        1
1010    WILOW     Willow    Willow    4   95    0   5   4    1      9    12     5   15    1     4   8   30  9   10  10      12      1       3       22      129     200     1672    672     432     0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       902     9000        1019    100         907     1500        516     700         1068    3500        1067    2000        1066    1000        0       0           0       0           4010        1
1011    CHONCHON  Chonchon  Chonchon  4   67    0   5   4    1      10   13     10  0     1     10  4   5   12  2   10      12      0       4       24      385     200     1076    576     480     0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       998     50          935     6500        909     1500        1205    55          601     100         742     5           1002    150         0       0           0       0           4009        1

So this is an example of the Spreadsheet I have.. This is what I wish to be using in my ideal goal. Not what I am using right now.. It was done in MS Excel 2010, using Columns A-BF and Row 1-993

Currently my format for working code, I am using manually implemented Arrays.. For example for the iName I have:

char iName[16][25] = {"Scorpion", "Poring", "Hornet", "Familiar", "null", "null", "null", "null", "null", "null", "null", "null", "null", "null", "null", "null"};

Defined in a header file (bSystem.h) now to apply, lets say their health variable? I have to have another array in the same Header with corresponding order, like so:

int HP[16] = {1109, 50, 169, 155, 95, 95, 118, 118, 142, 142, 167, 167, 193, 193, 220, 220};

The issue is, there is a large amount of data to hard code into the various file I need for Monsters, Items, Spells, Skills, ect.. On the original small scale to get certain system made it was fine.. I have been using various Voids in header files to transfer data from file to file when it's called.. But when I am dealing with 1,000+ Monsters and having to use all these variables.. Manually putting them in is kinda.. Ridiculous? Lol...

Part 2

Now my ideal system for this, is to be able to use the .CSV Files to load the data.. I have hit a decent amount of various issues in this task.. Such as, converting the data pulled from Names to a Char array, actually pulling the data from the CSV file and assigning specific sections to certain arrays... The main idea I have in mind, that I can not seem to get to is this;

I would like to be able to find a way to just read these various variables from the CSV file... So when I call upon the variables like:

cout << name << "(" << health << " health) VS. " << iName[enemy] << "(" << HP[enemy] << " health)";

where [enemy] is, it would be the ID.. the enemy encounter is in another header (lSystem.h) where it basically goes like;

case 0:
        enemy = 0;

Where 0 would be the first data in the Arrays involving Monsters.. I hate that it has to be order specific.. I would want to be able to say enemy = 1002; so when the combat systems start it can just pull the variables it needs from the enemy with the ID 1002..

I always hit a few different issues, I can't get it to pull the data from the file to the program.. When I can, I can only get it to store int values to int arrays, I have issues getting it to convert the strings to char arrays.. Then the next issue I am presented with is recalling it and the actual saving part... Which is where part 3 comes in :3

Part 3

I have attempted a few different things so far and have done research on how to achieve this.. What I have came across so far is..

I can write a function to read the data from let's say mobDB, record it into arrays, then output it to a .dat? So when I need to recall variables I can do some from the .dat instead of a modifiable CSV.. I was presented with the same issues as far as reading and converting..

I can go the SQL route, but I have had a ton of issues understanding how to pull the data from the SQL? I have a PowerEdge 2003 Server box in my house which I store data on, it does have NavicatSQL Premium set up, so I guess my main 2 questions about the SQL route is, is it possible to hook right into the SQLServer and as I update the Data Base, when the client runs it would just pull the variables and data from the DB? Or would I be stuck compiling SQL files... When it is an online game, I know I will have to use something to transfer from Server to Client, which is why I am trying to set up this early in dev so I have more to build off of, I am sure I can use SQL servers for that? If anyone has a good grasp on how this works I would very much like to take the SQL route..

Attempts I have made are using like, Boost to Parse the data from the CSV instead of standard libs.. Same issues were presented.. I did read up on converting a string to a char.. But the issue lied in once I pulled the data, I couldn't convert it?..

I've also tried the ADO C++ route.. Dead end there..

All in all I have spent the last week or so on this.. I would very much like to set up the SQL server to actually update the variables... but I am open to any working ideas that presents ease of editing and implementing large amounts of data..

I appreciate any and all help.. If anyone does attempt to help get a working code for this, if it's not too much trouble to add comments to parts you feel you should explain? I don't want someone to just give me a quick fix.. I actually want to learn and understand what I am using. Thank you all very much :)

-Chris

I appreciate you have made an attempt to explain the situation. You just have too much in one question. You really need to narrow this down to one specific issue that you are stuck on. — Vaughn Cato, May 06 '12 at 14:41
@VaughnCato I guess if anything, my single question would be... How can I go about pulling the information needed, various variables from a SQL server? If that makes sense. — Chris Riley, May 06 '12 at 14:42
Here is a similar question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/813296/how-do-i-use-a-database-in-c — Vaughn Cato, May 06 '12 at 14:46
For starters, do you know about [`std::string`](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/string/basic_string) and [`std::vector`](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/vector)? — Benjamin Lindley, May 06 '12 at 14:49

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered May 06 '12 at 15:08

0

IMO, the simplest thing to do would be to first create a struct that holds all the data for a monster. Here's a reduced version because I don't feel like typing all those variables.

struct Mob
{
    std::string SPRITE, kName, iName;
    int ID, LV, HP, SP, EXP;
};

The loading code for your particular format is then fairly simple:

bool ParseMob(const std::string & str, Mob & m)
{
    std::stringstream iss(str);
    Mob tmp;
    if (iss >> tmp.ID >> tmp.SPRITE >> tmp.kName >> tmp.iName
            >> tmp.LV >> tmp.HP >> tmp.SP >> tmp.EXP)
    {
        m = tmp;
        return true;
    }
   return false;
}

std::vector<Mob> LoadMobs()
{
    std::vector<Mob> mobs;
    Mob tmp;
    std::ifstream fin("mobDB.csv");
    for (std::string line; std::getline(fin, line); )
    {
        if (ParseMob(line,tmp))
            mobs.emplace_back(std::move(tmp));
    }
    return mobs;
}

answered May 06 '12 at 15:08

Benjamin Lindley

101,917
9
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I think I am getting the basic idea of this.. If you could go into more detail about how to call upon the data after this point, also how to implement this, I don't want to make any mistakes and confuse myself. – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 15:15
(I am currently modding it to support all variables) – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 15:18
@ChrisRiley: Do you know how to use `std::vector`? If not, then you need to read [an introductory book on C++](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/388242/the-definitive-c-book-guide-and-list). Or you can read [documentation](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/vector) – Benjamin Lindley May 06 '12 at 15:32
Yes, I have a pretty decent, I would like to believe, understanding of vector – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 15:35
@ChrisRiley: Then what difficulty are you having in understanding how to call upon the data? – Benjamin Lindley May 06 '12 at 15:38

Benjamin Schug · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-06T15:33:49.673

0

Let's see if I understand your problem correctly: You are writing a game and currently all the stats for your game actors are hardcoded. You already have an Excel spreadsheet with this data and you just want to use this instead of the hardcoded header files, so that you can tweak the stats without waiting for a long recompilation. You are currently storing the stats in your code in a column-store fashion, i.e. one array per attribute. The CSV file stores stuff in a row-wise fashion. Correct so far?

Now my understanding of your problem becomes a little blurry. But let's try. If I understand you correctly, you want to completely remove the arrays from your code and directly access the CSV file when you need the stats for some creature? If yes, then this is already the problem. File I/O is incredibly slow, you need to keep this data in main memory. Just keep the arrays, but instead of manually assigning the values in the headers, you have a load function that reads the CSV file when you start the game and loads its contents into the array. You can keep the rest of your code unchanged.

Example:

void load (std::ifstream &csv)
{
    readFirstLineAndCheckThatItIsCorrect (csv);

    while (!csv.eof())
    {
        int id;
        std::string spriteName;

        csv >> id;
        csv >> spriteName >> kName[id] >> iName[id] >> LV[id] >> HP[id] >> SP[id] >> ...

        Sprite[id] = getSpriteForName (spriteName);
    }
}

Using a database system is completely out of scope here. All you need to do is load some data into some arrays. If you want to be able to change the stats without restarting the program, add some hotkey for reloading the CSV file.

If you plan to write an online game, then you still have a long way ahead of you. Even then, SQL is a very bad idea for exchanging data between server and clients because a) it just introduces way too much overhead and b) it is an open invitation for cheaters and hackers because if clients have direct access to your database, you can no longer validate their inputs. See http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&pagenumber=258&threadid=2803713 for an actual example. If you really want this to be an online game, you need to design your own communication protocol. But maybe you should read some books about that first, because it really is a complex issue. For instance, you need to hide the latency from the user by guessing on the client side what the server and the other players will most likely do next, and gracefully correct your guesses if they were wrong, all without the player noticing (Dead Reckoning).

Still, good luck on your game and I hope to play it some day. :-)

edited May 06 '12 at 15:33

answered May 06 '12 at 15:19

Benjamin Schug

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1
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You are right, I have a VERY long way before it will be online... Yes, ideal I want to just be able to update the values in the CSV and when it loads it grabs the info from the CSV and saves it appropriately, I just can't figure out how to save it to an array :( – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 15:29
You already have the arrays. You just need to change the way you fill them with data. I added some example code, maybe it becomes more clear now. – Benjamin Schug May 06 '12 at 15:35
Ahhh, I see. I think I am getting the idea! I will get back to you on my progress. – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 15:37
Where would I define ' readFirstLineAndCheckThatItIsCorrect' I'm also seeing that the operators in csv >> will compile with errors, no matches? And I also have to define getSpriteForName (spriteName); I'm sorry if this seems stupid.. I have just never done this kinda thing and want to make sure I get it right, ya know? but the rest I am understanding so far. – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 15:52
Fixed everything except defining 'readFirstLineAndCheckThatItIsCorrect' and 'getSpriteForName' I am not sure what these actually do just yet. – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 16:24
readFirstLineAndCheckThatItIsCorrect() should just do exactly what its name says: Read the first line of your CSV file and check that all the column names are what you expect. You can define this wherever you want, I would put it right in front of the load() function. The same is true for getSpriteForName(). This can be a simple std::map to map from the name to the sprite IDs you seem to be using. For which other columns to you get compile errors? It should work fine for simple types like int. – Benjamin Schug May 06 '12 at 16:26
Error 1 error C3861: 'readFirstLineAndCheckThatItIsCorrect': identifier not found Error 2 error C3861: 'getSpriteForName': identifier not found – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 16:29
I am still having issues with said two lines... Once I figure out why I am getting those errors, I think it should work.. So if you know, please post when you can in case I can't nail it :3 – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 17:05
You didn't define those two functions. ;-) – Benjamin Schug May 06 '12 at 17:55
Yes, but how do I define them properly? – Chris Riley May 06 '12 at 18:05
Do you know how to define functions in C++? If not, then you should really read some introductory book on C++ first before you try writing a game. Otherwise, I do not understand your question. – Benjamin Schug May 06 '12 at 20:14
@BenjaminSchug: The structure of his question gave the impression that he put a lot of work into this problem and he just needed some guidance. However, looking at his comments under your question and mine, and then realizing his wordy question didn't actually show much code, makes me begin to suspect that he doesn't know any C++, and is trying to get someone to write the whole program for him. – Benjamin Lindley May 06 '12 at 22:59

Assigning Variables from CSV files (or another format) in C++

2 Answers2