exc bad access C - c

Question

I am making a simple BST and, in the add_to_bst() function, it is throwing an error in the first line when referencing the object's value.
CODE
typedef struct node {
int value;
struct node* leftChild;
struct node* rightChild;
} BSTNode;
BSTNode *new_BSTNode(int val) {
BSTNode *this = (BSTNode *) malloc(sizeof(BSTNode));
this->value = val;
this->leftChild = (BSTNode * ) malloc(sizeof(BSTNode));
this->rightChild = (BSTNode * ) malloc(sizeof(BSTNode));
this->leftChild = NULL;
this->rightChild = NULL;
return this;
}
typedef struct bst {
BSTNode * root;
} BST;
BST *new_BST(int root_val) {
BST *this = (BST *) malloc(sizeof(BST));
this->root = (BST * ) malloc(sizeof(BSTNode));
this->root->value = root_val;
// this->root->value = (int *) malloc(sizeof(int));
return this;
}
int node_get(BSTNode *n, int i) {
if (n == NULL) return -1;
if (i == n-> value) return 1;
if (i > n-> value) return node_get(n->rightChild, i);
else return node_get(n->leftChild, i);
}
int bst_get(BST *bst, int i) {
return node_get(bst->root, i);
}
void add_to_bst_node(int i, BSTNode *to) {
int n = to->value; // <--- ERR
printf("\nBST VAL: %d", n);
if (i > n) {
if (to->rightChild == NULL)
to->rightChild = new_BSTNode(i);
else
add_to_bst_node(i, to->rightChild);
} else {
if (to->leftChild == NULL)
to->leftChild = new_BSTNode(i);
else
add_to_bst_node(i, to->leftChild);
}
}
void add_to_bst(BST *tree, int i) {
if (tree->root != NULL) {
add_to_bst_node(i, tree->root);
} else {
tree->root = new_BSTNode(i);
}
}
int main() {
BST *bst = new_BST(10);
add_to_bst(bst, 10);
}
RUN MSG:
0x7fa64fc00690
0x7fa64fc00640
First Val: 10
Process finished with exit code 11
BUILD ERR:

Answer 1

BSTNode *new_BSTNode(int val) {
BSTNode *this = (BSTNode *) malloc(sizeof(BSTNode));
this -> value = val;
this -> leftChild = (BSTNode * ) malloc(sizeof(BSTNode));
this -> leftChild = (BSTNode * ) malloc(sizeof(BSTNode));
return this;
}
This leaves this->rightChild uninitialized and leaves this->leftChild pointing to uninitialized garbage. Neither of these issues is fixed in the code that calls new_BSTnode.
void add_to_bst_node(int i, BSTNode *to) {
int n = to -> value; // <------ ERROR
Not surprising, since to comes from leftChild and rightChild, both of which are broken by the logic of new_BSTNode.
Also:
BST *new_BST(int root_val) {
BST *this = (BST *) malloc(sizeof(BST));
this -> root = (BST * ) malloc(sizeof(BSTNode));
this -> root -> value = root_val;
// this -> root -> value = (int *) malloc(sizeof(int));
return this;
}
This doesn't set this->root->leftChild or this->root->rightChild either, so again, they're garbage that gets passed to add_to_bst_node as to.

Answer 2

The creation of the new node, and insertion into the tree seems incorrect.
A new node should not allocate space for the left and right subtrees. Since new nodes are always added to the extremities, they never have subtrees when new anyway.
BSTNode *new_BSTNode( int val )
{
BSTNode *this = ( BSTNode * ) malloc( sizeof( BSTNode ) );
if ( this != NULL )
{
this->value = val;
this->leftChild = NULL;
this->rightChild = NULL;
}
return this;
}
Using a recursive algorithm when inserting new data allows the code to "walk" the tree, finding the correct place for insertion.
void add_to_bst_node( int value, BSTNode *to )
{
if (to != NULL)
{
if (value > to->value)
{
// Add to child-right subtree
if (to->rightChild == NULL)
{
// right-tree is empty, create it
to->rightChild = new_BSTNode( value );
}
else
{
// add it somewhere on the right-side (recursively)
add_to_bst_node( value, to->rightChild );
}
}
else // if (i <= to->value)
{
// Add to child-left subtree
if (to->leftChild == NULL)
{
// left-tree is empty, create it
to->leftChild = new_BSTNode( value );
}
else
{
// add it somewhere on the right-side (recursively)
add_to_bst_node( value, to->leftChild );
}
}
}
}
A tree is just a node. Making a separate structure for a "tree" is just extra work.
typedef BSTNode BST;
So the creation of a tree, is just the creation of a node:
BST *new_BST( int value )
{
return new_BSTNode( value );
}

Answer 3

The branch in add_to_BST() always chooses the tree->root != NULL if it was initialised error-free. Then the add_to_BST_node() dereferences garbage, (as the other answers have pointed out); here is a graphical representation of the memory allocating functions,
And,
I recommend thinking about what the states are in ones system and drawing them out first so one doesn't fall into an invalid state. Also, if one is doing a constructor, it's a good idea to initialise the entire structure.