Console pause in C++?

Question

In C# you can cause the console to wait for a character to be input (which is useful for being able to see the last outputs of a console before the program exits). As a beginner in C++, i'm not sure what the equivalent is. Is there one?

Answer 1

The simplest way is simply:

std::cin.get();

You can print something like "Press any key to continue..." before that. Some people will tell you about

system("pause");

But don't use it. It's not portable.

Answer 2

#include <stdio.h>
// ...
getchar();

The function waits for a single keypress and returns its (integer) value.

For example, I have a function that does the same as System("pause"), but without requiring that "pause.exe" (which is a potential security whole, btw):

void pause()
{
  std::cout << std::endl << "Press any key to continue...";
  getchar();
}

Answer 3

There is nothing in the standard, and nothing cross-platform. The usual method is to wait for <Enter> to be pressed, then discard the result.