Howto manage freeing single pointers from a double-pointer block - c

Question

I have a block of pointers to some structs which I want to handle (i.e. free) separately. As an example below there is an integer double-pointer which should keep other pointers to integer. I then would like to free the second of those integer pointers (in my program based on some filterings and calculations). If I do so however, I should keep track of int-pointers already set free so that when I iterate over the pointers in the double-pointer I do not take the risk of working with them further. Is there a better approach for solving this problem (in ANSI-C) without using other libs (e.g. glib or alike)?
Here is a small simulation of the problem:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main() {
int **ipp=NULL;
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
int *ip = malloc(sizeof (int));
printf("%p -> ip %d\n", ip, i);
*ip = i * 10;
if ((ipp = realloc(ipp, sizeof (int *) * (i + 1)))) {
ipp[i] = ip;
}
}
printf("%p -> ipp\n", ipp);
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
printf("%d. %p %p %d\n", i, ipp + i, *(ipp+i), **(ipp + i));
}
// free the middle integer pointer
free(*(ipp+1));
printf("====\n");
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
printf("%d. %p %p %d\n", i, ipp + i, *(ipp+i), **(ipp + i));
}
return 0;
}
which prints something like
0x555bcc07f2a0 -> ip 0
0x555bcc07f6f0 -> ip 1
0x555bcc07f710 -> ip 2
0x555bcc07f6d0 -> ipp
0. 0x555bcc07f6d0 0x555bcc07f2a0 0
1. 0x555bcc07f6d8 0x555bcc07f6f0 10
2. 0x555bcc07f6e0 0x555bcc07f710 20
====
0. 0x555bcc07f6d0 0x555bcc07f2a0 0
1. 0x555bcc07f6d8 0x555bcc07f6f0 0
2. 0x555bcc07f6e0 0x555bcc07f710 20
Here I have freed the middle int-pointer. In my actual program I create a new block for an integer double-pointer, iterate over the current one, create new integer pointers and copy the old values into it, realloc the double-pointer block and append the new pointer to it, and at the end free the old block and all it's containing pointers. This is a bit ugly, and resource-consuming if there is a huge amount of data, since I have to iterate over and create and copy all the data twice. Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

Re:
"This is a bit ugly, and resource-consuming if there is a huge amount of data, since I have to iterate over and create and copy all the data
twice. Any help is appreciated."
First observation: It is not necessary to use realloc() when allocating new memory on a pointer that has already been freed. realloc() is useful when needing to preserve the contents in a particular area of memory, while expanding its size. If that is not a need (which is not in this case) malloc() or calloc() are sufficient. #Marco's suggestion is correct.
Second observation: the following code snippet:
if ((ipp = realloc(ipp, sizeof (int *) * (i + 1)))) {
ipp[i] = ip;
}
is a potential memory leak. If the call to realloc()_ fails, the pointer ipp will be set to null, making the memory location that was previously allocated becomes orphaned, with no way to free it.
Third observation: Your approach is described as needing:
Array of struct
dynamic memory allocation of a 2D array
need to delete elements of 2D array, and ensure they are not referenced once deleted
need to repurpose deleted elements of 2D array
Your initial reaction in comments to considering using an alternative approach notwithstanding, Linked lists are a perfect fit to address the needs stated in your post.
The fundamental element of a Linked List uses a struct
Nodes (elements) of a List are dynamically allocated when created.
Nodes of a List are not accessible to be used once deleted. (No need to track)
Once the need exists, a new node is easily created.
Example struct follows. I like to use a data struct to contain the payload, then use an additional struct as the conveyance, to carry the data when building a Linked List:
typedef struct {//to simulate your struct
int dNum;
char unique_name[30];
double fNum;
} data_s;
typedef struct Node {//conveyance of payload, forward and backward searchable
data_s data;
struct Node *next; // Pointer to next node in DLL
struct Node *prev; // Pointer to previous node in DLL
} list_t;
Creating a list is done by creating a series of nodes as needed during run-time. Typically as records of a database, or lines of a file are read, and the elements of the table record (of element of the line in a file) are read into and instance of the data part of the list_s struct. A function is typically defined to do this, for example
void insert_node(list_s **head, data_s *new)
{
list_s *temp = malloc(sizeof(*temp));
//insert lines to populate
temp.data.dNum = new.dNum;
strcpy(temp.data.unique_name, new.unique_name);
temp.fNum = new.fNum
//arrange list to accomdate new node in new list
temp->next = temp->prev = NULL;
if (!(*head))
(*head) = temp;
else//...or existing list
{
temp->next = *head;
(*head)->prev = temp;
(*head) = temp;
}
}
Deleting a node can be done in multiple ways. It the following example method a unique value of a node member is used, in this case unique_name
void delete_node_by_name(list_s** head_ref, const char *name)
{
BOOL not_found = TRUE;
// if list is empty
if ((*head_ref) == NULL)
return;
list_s *current = *head_ref;
list_s *next = NULL;
// traverse the list up to the end
while (current != NULL && not_found)
{
// if 'name' in node...
if (strcmp(current->data.unique_name, name) == 0)
{
//set loop to exit
not_found = FALSE;
//save current's next node in the pointer 'next' /
next = current->next;
// delete the node pointed to by 'current'
delete_node(head_ref, current);
// reset the pointers
current = next;
}
// increment to next node
else
{
current = current->next;
}
}
}
Where delete_node() is defined as:
void delete_node(list_t **head_ref, list_t *del)
{
// base case
if (*head_ref == NULL || del == NULL)
return;
// If node to be deleted is head node
if (*head_ref == del)
*head_ref = del->next;
// Change next only if node to be deleted is NOT the last node
if (del->next != NULL)
del->next->prev = del->prev;
// Change prev only if node to be deleted is NOT the first node
if (del->prev != NULL)
del->prev->next = del->next;
// Finally, free the memory occupied by del
free(del);
}
This link is an introduction to Linked Lists, and has additional links to other related topic to expand the types of lists that are available.

Answer 2

You could use standard function memmove and then call realloc. For example
Let's assume that currently there are n pointers. Then you can write
free( *(ipp + i ) );
memmove( ipp + i, ipp + i + 1, ( n - i - 1 ) * sizeof( *pp ) );
*( ipp + n - 1 ) = NULL; // if the call of realloc will not be successfull
// then the pointer will be equal to NULL
int **tmp = realloc( ipp, ( n - 1 ) * sizeof( *tmp ) );
if ( tmp != NULL )
{
ipp = tmp;
--n;
}
else
{
// some other actions
}