Printing an array in C++?

Question

Just iterate over the elements. Like this:

for (int i = numElements - 1; i >= 0; i--) 
    cout << array[i];

Note: As Maxim Egorushkin pointed out, this could overflow. See his comment below for a better solution.

Use the STL

#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <algorithm>
#include <iterator>
#include <ranges>

int main()
{
    std::vector<int>    userInput;


    // Read until end of input.
    // Hit control D  
    std::copy(std::istream_iterator<int>(std::cin),
              std::istream_iterator<int>(),
              std::back_inserter(userInput)
             );

    // ITs 2021 now move this up as probably the best way to do it.
    // Range based for is now "probably" the best alternative C++20
    // As we have all the range based extension being added to the language
    for(auto const& value: userInput)
    {
        std::cout << value << ",";
    }
    std::cout << "\n";

    // Print the array in reverse using the range based stuff
    for(auto const& value: userInput | std::views::reverse)
    {
        std::cout << value << ",";
    }
    std::cout << "\n";


    // Print in Normal order
    std::copy(userInput.begin(),
              userInput.end(),
              std::ostream_iterator<int>(std::cout,",")
             );
    std::cout << "\n";

    // Print in reverse order:
    std::copy(userInput.rbegin(),
              userInput.rend(),
              std::ostream_iterator<int>(std::cout,",")
             );
    std::cout << "\n";

}

May I suggest using the fish bone operator?

for (auto x = std::end(a); x != std::begin(a); )
{
    std::cout <<*--x<< ' ';
}

(Can you spot it?)

Besides the for-loop based solutions, you can also use an ostream_iterator<>. Here's an example that leverages the sample code in the (now retired) SGI STL reference:

#include <iostream>
#include <iterator>
#include <algorithm>

int main()
{
  short foo[] = { 1, 3, 5, 7 };

  using namespace std;
  copy(foo,
       foo + sizeof(foo) / sizeof(foo[0]),
       ostream_iterator<short>(cout, "\n"));
}

This generates the following:

 ./a.out 
1
3
5
7

However, this may be overkill for your needs. A straight for-loop is probably all that you need, although litb's template sugar is quite nice, too.

Edit: Forgot the "printing in reverse" requirement. Here's one way to do it:

#include <iostream>
#include <iterator>
#include <algorithm>

int main()
{
  short foo[] = { 1, 3, 5, 7 };

  using namespace std;

  reverse_iterator<short *> begin(foo + sizeof(foo) / sizeof(foo[0]));
  reverse_iterator<short *> end(foo);

  copy(begin,
       end,
       ostream_iterator<short>(cout, "\n"));
}

and the output:

$ ./a.out 
7
5
3
1

Edit: C++14 update that simplifies the above code snippets using array iterator functions like std::begin() and std::rbegin():

#include <iostream>
#include <iterator>
#include <algorithm>

int main()
{
    short foo[] = { 1, 3, 5, 7 };

    // Generate array iterators using C++14 std::{r}begin()
    // and std::{r}end().

    // Forward
    std::copy(std::begin(foo),
              std::end(foo),
              std::ostream_iterator<short>(std::cout, "\n"));

    // Reverse
    std::copy(std::rbegin(foo),
              std::rend(foo),
              std::ostream_iterator<short>(std::cout, "\n"));
}

There are declared arrays and arrays that are not declared, but otherwise created, particularly using new:

int *p = new int[3];

That array with 3 elements is created dynamically (and that 3 could have been calculated at runtime, too), and a pointer to it which has the size erased from its type is assigned to p. You cannot get the size anymore to print that array. A function that only receives the pointer to it can thus not print that array.

Printing declared arrays is easy. You can use sizeof to get their size and pass that size along to the function including a pointer to that array's elements. But you can also create a template that accepts the array, and deduces its size from its declared type:

template<typename Type, int Size>
void print(Type const(& array)[Size]) {
  for(int i=0; i<Size; i++)
    std::cout << array[i] << std::endl;
}

The problem with this is that it won't accept pointers (obviously). The easiest solution, I think, is to use std::vector. It is a dynamic, resizable "array" (with the semantics you would expect from a real one), which has a size member function:

void print(std::vector<int> const &v) {
  std::vector<int>::size_type i;
  for(i = 0; i<v.size(); i++)
    std::cout << v[i] << std::endl;
}

You can, of course, also make this a template to accept vectors of other types.