Final answer:
A college-level C++ programming task requires coding a decoding program and a function for verifying an encoding header, obeying a specific key pattern. Students should use loops, arrays, and bitwise operations to handle the encoding logic.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is tasked with writing a C++ program for decoding a message with a specified encoding scheme. This scheme uses a header of printable ASCII characters and an encoded message that is translated into keys consisting of binary strings of '0's and '1's.
The sequence of keys increases in length and follows a specific pattern: one key of length 1, three keys of length 2, seven keys of length 3, and so on, with a maximum key length of seven. All keys are in binary sequence but do not include all '0's. To verify the encoding, a function should be able to read a character and print its corresponding key(s).
The constraints include:
- The length of the header does not exceed 256 characters.
- The key strings will not be longer than '111111'.
- The header can include any printable character from the ASCII table.
- Inputs are assumed to be valid.
- There may be repeated characters in the header leading to different keys.
This encoding structure suggests use of loops, arrays, and bitwise operations to manage the pattern and store keys. The function for verification is crucial for testing the correctness of the encoding scheme implemented.