Splitting a string and store to the heap algorithm question - c

Question

For this code below that I was writing. I was wondering, if I want to split the string but still retain the original string is this the best method?
Should the caller provided the ** char or should the function "split" make an additional malloc call and memory manage the ** char?
Also, I was wondering if this is the most optimizing method, or could I optimize the code better than this?
I still have not debug the code yet, I am a bit undecided whether if the caller manage the ** char or the function manage the pointer ** char.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
size_t split(const char * restrict string, const char splitChar, char ** restrict parts, const size_t maxParts){
size_t size = 100;
size_t partSize = 0;
size_t len = 0;
size_t newPart = 1;
char * tempMem;
/*
* We just reverse a long page of memory
* At reaching the space character that is the boundary of the new
*/
char * mem = (char*) malloc( sizeof(char) * size );
if ( mem == NULL ) return 0;
for ( size_t i = 0; string[i] != 0; i++ ) {
// If it is a split char we at a new part
if ( string[i] == splitChar) {
// If the last character was not the split character
// Then mem[len] = 0 and increase the len by 1.
if (newPart == 0) mem[len++] = 0;
newPart = 1;
continue;
} else {
// If this is a new part
// and not a split character
// we make a new pointer
if ( newPart == 1 ){
// if reach maxpart we break.
// It is okay here, to not worry about memory
if ( partSize == maxParts ) break;
parts[partSize++] = &mem[len];
newPart = 0;
}
mem[len++] = string[i];
if ( len == size ){
// if ran out of memory realloc.
tempMem = (char*)realloc(mem, sizeof(char) * (size << 1) );
// if fail quit loop
if ( tempMem == NULL ) {
// If we can't get more memory the last part could be corrupted
// We have to return.
// Otherwise the code below can seg.
// There maybe a better way than this.
return partSize--;
}
size = size << 1;
mem = tempMem;
}
}
}
// If we got here and still in a newPart that is fine no need
// an additional character.
if ( newPart != 1 ) mem[len++] = 0;
// realloc to give back the unneed memory
if ( len < size ) {
tempMem = (char*) realloc(mem, sizeof(char) * len );
// If the resizing did not fail but yielded a different
// memory block;
if ( tempMem != NULL && tempMem != mem ){
for ( size_t i = 0; i < partSize; i++ ){
parts[i] = tempMem + (parts[i] - mem);
}
}
}
return partSize;
}
int main(){
char * tStr = "This is a super long string just to test the str str adfasfas something split";
char * parts[10];
size_t len = split(tStr, ' ', parts, 10);
for (size_t i = 0; i < len; i++ ){
printf("%zu: %s\n", i, parts[i]);
}
}

Answer 1

What is "best" is very subjective, as well as use case dependent.
I personally would keep the parameters as input only, define a struct to contain the split result, and probably return such by value. The struct would probably contain pointers to memory allocation, so would also create a helper function free that memory. The parts might be stored as list of strings (copy string data) or index&len pairs for the original string (no string copies needed, but original string needs to remain valid).
But there are dozens of very different ways to do this in C, and all a bit klunky. You need to choose your flavor of klunkiness based on your use case.
About being "more optimized": unless you are coding for a very small embedded device or something, always choose a more robust, clear, easier to use, harder to use wrong over more micro-optimized. The useful kind of optimization turns, for example, O(n^2) to O(n log n). Turning O(3n) to O(2n) of a single function is almost always completely irrelevant (you are not going to do string splitting in a game engine inner rendering loop...).