How do I check if a C++ std::string starts with a

Question

How do I implement the following (Python pseudocode) in C++?

if argv[1].startswith('--foo='):
    foo_value = int(argv[1][len('--foo='):])

(For example, if argv[1] is --foo=98, then foo_value is 98.)

Update: I'm hesitant to look into Boost, since I'm just looking at making a very small change to a simple little command-line tool (I'd rather not have to learn how to link in and use Boost for a minor change).

Answer 1

In case you need C++11 compatibility and cannot use boost, here is a boost-compatible drop-in with an example of usage:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

static bool starts_with(const std::string str, const std::string prefix)
{
    return ((prefix.size() <= str.size()) && std::equal(prefix.begin(), prefix.end(), str.begin()));
}

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    bool usage = false;
    unsigned int foos = 0; // default number of foos if no parameter was supplied

    if (argc > 1)
    {
        const std::string fParamPrefix = "-f="; // shorthand for foo
        const std::string fooParamPrefix = "--foo=";

        for (unsigned int i = 1; i < argc; ++i)
        {
            const std::string arg = argv[i];

            try
            {
                if ((arg == "-h") || (arg == "--help"))
                {
                    usage = true;
                } else if (starts_with(arg, fParamPrefix)) {
                    foos = std::stoul(arg.substr(fParamPrefix.size()));
                } else if (starts_with(arg, fooParamPrefix)) {
                    foos = std::stoul(arg.substr(fooParamPrefix.size()));
                }
            } catch (std::exception& e) {
                std::cerr << "Invalid parameter: " << argv[i] << std::endl << std::endl;
                usage = true;
            }
        }
    }

    if (usage)
    {
        std::cerr << "Usage: " << argv[0] << " [OPTION]..." << std::endl;
        std::cerr << "Example program for parameter parsing." << std::endl << std::endl;
        std::cerr << "  -f, --foo=N   use N foos (optional)" << std::endl;
        return 1;
    }

    std::cerr << "number of foos given: " << foos << std::endl;
}