Why must type getline(cin, string) twice?

Question

need your help in getting user inputs.
I want users to type a string that has spaces. i cant use cin>>variable as the space in between makes the problem go wrongly. if i use getline(cin,string_variable) it works correctly. but i need to type twice in order to make it work proberly.

cout<<"Enter movie name";
getline(cin, mvName);
getline(cin, mvName);

Is there a better way to get user input than this or is there any other codes to type rather than typing the getline twice? Pls advice.

Answer 1

When switching between formatted input using in >> value and unformatted input, e.g., using std::getline(in, value) you need to make sure that you have consumed any whitespace you are not interest in. In you case there is probably a newline in the buffer from a prior input. Assuming you are nit interested in leading whitespace the easiest approach is to use something like this:

if (std::getline(std::cin >> std::ws, mvName)) {
    process(mvName);
}

BTW, you should always check that your input was successful.

Answer 2

I had no issues using:

char mvName[32];

cin.getline(mvName, 32);

And I only had to call it once, again with no issues.