Postal Packages Program

COSC 1320 - C++ Programming and
ITSE 1307 - Introduction to C++ Programming
Bob Comer, Professor of Computer Studies

Assignment 4 - Postal Packages

In the Gaddis textbook read Chapter 8 sections 8.1-8.10 and Chapter 9 section 9.1 before starting this assignment.

Lone Star Package Service ships packages within the state of Texas. Packages are accepted for shipping subject to the following restrictions:

The package weight must not exceed 50 pounds.
The package must not exceed 3 feet in length, width, or height.
The girth of the package must not exceed 5 feet. The girth is the circumference around the two smallest sides of the package. If side1, side2, and side3 are the lengths of the three sides, and largest is the largest of the three sides, then the girth can be calculated using:
girth = 2 * ( side1 + side2 + side3 - largest )

For each transaction (package to be shipped), the user should enter the package weight followed by the 3 package dimensions in any order. The weight should be specified as a whole number of pounds and the dimensions are specified as a whole number of inches. Check to be sure that the user enters positive numbers for the package weight and dimensions. For transactions with invalid weight or dimensions, print an error message and skip the transaction.

The shipping charge is based on the following table. This table should be represented in your program as two one-dimensional arrays, one for the weight and one for the shipping charge. You can initialize the array elements in the array declarations using the values from the table below.

Weight	Shipping Charge
1	1.50
2	2.10
3	4.00
5	6.75
7	9.90
10	14.95
13	19.40
16	24.20
20	27.30
25	31.90
30	38.50
35	43.50
40	44.80
45	47.40
50	55.20

To determine the shipping charge, search the weight array for the package weight and then use the corresponding element from the shipping charge array. For example, the shipping charge for a 3 pound package would be $4.00. If the package weight falls between the weights in the weight table, use the larger weight. For example, the shipping charge for a 4 pound package would be 6.75. Do not hard code these values into your program code. For example, you should not have code like:

if ( packageWeight == 4 || packageWeight == 5)
   shippingCost = 6.75;

If you need a hint, check here:

programming assignment 4 hint

Output

Write a shipping report in table (row and column) format. For each transaction, print:

the transaction number (start counting with 1)
whether the package was accepted or rejected
the package weight
the cost for shipping (if applicable)

After the transaction table, print the number of packages accepted for shipping and the number of packages rejected (do not count transactions where there is an input error).

Write the shipping report to a data file instead of the screen. Using an output file will allow you to create a neatly formatted output report that is separate from the input prompt messages. File input and output will be covered in detail later in this course (Chapter 14 in your textbook). Click here for a quick tutorial on creating an output file.

The screen dialog should look similar to this (user input is shown in bold):

For each transaction, enter package weight and 3 dimensions.
Enter -1 to quit.

Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 1 2 3 3
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 7 4 2 3
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 21 12 15 12
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 45 12 20 2
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 49 24 40 20
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 25 35 30 20
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 68 10 20 10
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 50 0 10 10
Error - package weight and dimensions must be larger than 0
Please re-enter transaction
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 50 10 10 10
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: 45 20 20 20
Enter package weight and 3 dimensions: -1

The shipping report should look similar to this:

Trans  Accept/Reject  Weight   Cost
    1       Accepted       1   1.50
    2       Accepted       7   9.90
    3       Accepted      21  31.90
    4       Accepted      45  47.40
    5       Rejected      49    -
    6       Rejected      25    -
    7       Rejected      68    -
    8       Accepted      50  55.20
    9       Rejected      45    -

Number of accepted packages: 5
Number of rejected packages: 4

Additional Requirements:

Do not use global variables in any assignment. A global variable is a variable that is declared outside any function. It is okay to use global constants.
You must use multiple functions in this program. Do not write the program as one large main function.
Do not read and store the transaction information in arrays. When you store transactions in arrays, you set a limit on the number of transactions your program can process. For this program, you should be able to read and process transactions one at a time.

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