structure of function using func arrays - c

please....
I am trying to make library which is intended like a lib based on struct
I wanna reach something like "mats.basic.add(1,1);"
first error when build is first line inside struct (both of them) and then
are, although editors hints me after dot operation like add or sub
next errors are "uknown members add, sub
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
typedef uint8_t (*p_fn1)(uint8_t,uint8_t);
uint8_t fn_add(uint8_t num1,uint8_t num2){
return num1+num2;
}
uint8_t fn_sub(uint8_t num1,uint8_t num2){
return num1-num2;
}
typedef struct mats {
p_fn1 add=fn_add;
p_fn1 sub=fn_sub;
}mats;
void init_mats(mats* t_mats){
t_mats->add=fn_add;
t_mats->sub=fn_sub;
}
int main()
{
mats mats_s;
init_mats(&mats_s);
uint8_t c=mats_s.add(1,1);
printf("%d",c);
return 0;
}
thanks a lot

You're attempting to initialize struct members when you define the struct. That's invalid syntax.
Remove those initializers from the definition.
typedef struct mats {
p_fn1 add;
p_fn1 sub;
}mats;

If you want to have methods that can be called on your types, write your program in C++. It has that feature; C does not.
There isn't any way to do this in pure C that won't be clumsy to write, slow to run, and/or use inappropriate amounts of memory. The specific way that you're trying doesn't work at all because you're trying to set fields on a type, rather than on an instance of that type, but even if you fixed that, you'd still run into some other fundamental limitations of the language.

Related

Defining structs in C after main() function

I have learned a decent amount of java and now I want to learn C, I've learned a little about structs and typedefs but I have errors when I place the typedef after the main() function and it is used from within the main() function.
Is there a way to declare types but not define them in C so I can keep my code after the main() function similar to functions? (I'm not sure if this is good practice but I like organizing my code this way)
Don't do that. C code is intended to be read by the compiler and it will learn about new definitions as it keeps reading the file. Moving things below main() serves no purpose. It will also confuse other humans.
As for the question itself: in some cases, yes, you can. If everything you need is a forward declaration, you can do so. But in most cases you will want the definition, so it won't help you.
For example, this will compile:
struct T;
int main(void)
{
struct T * p = 0;
return !!p;
}
// Later on you may define `struct T`
C requires a type to be declared before it's used. If the code is just using a pointer to the type then the code doesn't not need to declare the members, this is a forward declaration. Other usage, such as passing the type by value or using it as a local variable requires a full definition.
C projects generally use headers which will provide the definition of types. These are included into the C modules.
// header.h
#ifndef _header_h_
#define _header_h_
struct DescribedType {
int member;
char* variables;
};
#endif
// module.c
#include "header.h"
struct ForwardDeclaration;
ForwardDeclaration* allocForward();
int main(){
DescribedType someType;
ForwardDeclaration* someValue = allocForward();
return 0;
}
struct ForwardDeclaration {
int declaredLater;
};

How to capture a struct declaration in function

I have the following c code:
struct {
short s;
int n;
} variableName;
I want to write a function to capture this variable like so
void func(MyStruct* var){
//do stuff
}
func(&variableName);
I would like to do this without providing a definition for the struct. Is there a way to capture variableName?
No, you can't pass an "anonymous" struct into a function in C. You could of course define your function to accept the arguments individually:
void func(short s, int n) { ... }
Or you can define the MyStruct structure in a place that both the function and the calling code has visibility to. Note that the whole struct is passed by value (copy) when you do that, which may be the behavior you want here (or may not be).
You may be looking for something more like a "dictionary" or "associative array" or "hash" type that many other languages provide, with arbitrary key value pairs in it. Pure C does not have a facility for this; the compiler wants to know the layout of a structure in advance.
(I'm not sure if you might be asking about a slightly more esoteric idea, which is hiding the composition of a structure and passing around an "opaque handle" out of and into an API. There are ways to structure that in C, but please say so if that's what you're talking about.)
Completely overlooked "I would like to do this without providing a definition for the struct. Is there a way to capture variableName?" in the OP, unless it was edited after. The question makes less sense now, but heres how you could normally pass a struct to a function for future readers.
#include <stdio.h>
struct StructName{
short s;
int n;
};
void func(struct StructName struct_var){
printf("Param values are: %4X %4X\n", struct_var.s & 0xFFFF, struct_var.n & 0xFFFF);
}
int main(){
struct StructName struct_var;
struct_var.s = 0xDEAD;
struct_var.n = 0xBEEF;
func(struct_var);
}
//It looks like you are trying to use the definition as a variable. Here the definition is StructName and the variable is struct_var.
this sample code outputs:
Param values are: DEAD BEEF
If you use clang or gcc, you may be able to use typeof:
struct foo {
struct {
int i;
} anon;
} foo;
void do_something(typeof(foo.anon)* member) {
member->i = 1;
}
If there is no global instance of your type, you may be able to use typeof((struct foo){}.anon).
This comes with a lot of downsides. The most obvious ones are that:
it's not standard, and it ties you to clang/gcc
it's pretty darn ugly
it might not behave as you expect anyway
For instance, structurally-equivalent anonymous types do not have the same type, so in something like this:
struct foo {
struct {
int i;
} anon1;
struct {
int i;
} anon2;
} foo;
anon1 and anon2 both have a different type, meaning that typeof one of them cannot be used to refer to both.
In the long run, you will almost certainly find that it's worth naming the structures, especially if you use them as function arguments. For instance, if you want to make your variable available from a header, I think that you'll have to work pretty hard to keep it anonymous.
Although it's not particularly pretty and not compatible with C++, C puts the name of nested declarations in the global namespace, so this is portable and it's not a very big code change to front-load:
struct {
struct not_anon {
int i;
} anon;
} foo;
void do_something(struct not_anon* member) {
member->i = 1;
}

How to declare global variable for an anonymous structure in C?

I am using Pelles C on Windows 8.1.
How to declare single global variable for a structure in C?
Code 1: it works but I do not want any other object of the same type to be created. If code 2 has problems then I will have to use this one.
Single.h
struct single{
int x;
};
extern struct single oneAndOnly;
void initSingle(void);
void printSingle(void);
Single.c
#include <stdio.h>
#include "Single.h"
struct single oneAndOnly;
void initSingle(void){
oneAndOnly.x = 10;
}
void printSingle(void){
printf("x = %d\n",oneAndOnly.x);
}
Main.c
#include "Single.h"
int main()
{
initSingle();
printSingle();
return 0;
}
Code 2: It works but I am not clear about the combination of declaring and defining a variable in a header file. Will it cause a problem? I get no error though.
Single.h
struct{
int x;
}oneAndOnly;
void initSingle(void);
void printSingle(void);
Single.c
#include <stdio.h>
#include "Single.h"
void initSingle(void){
oneAndOnly.x = 10;
}
void printSingle(void){
printf("x = %d\n",oneAndOnly.x);
}
Main.c is the same as in Code 1.
Can I use code 2 without any problem?
Can someone tell me why does code 2 work, when I and many others thought that it would not?
Thanks to everyone for all your comments and ideas and answers
There is a third variant which might be of interest.
It "hides" the struct single completely in Single.c. Hence, no accidental access is possible.
Single.h:
void initSingle(void);
void printSingle(void);
Single.c:
#include <stdio.h>
#include "Single.h"
struct Single {
int x;
};
static struct Single oneAndOnly;
void initSingle(void)
{
oneAndOnly.x = 10;
}
void printSingle(void)
{
printf("x = %d\n", oneAndOnly.x);
}
main.c:
#include "Single.h"
int main()
{
initSingle();
printSingle();
return 0;
}
Live Demo on Wandbox
Actually, this approach is similar to P__J__'s answer. I just was too slow to press the Send button.
I needed some time to realize that the solution in quest should prevent an (accidental) second variable of the type of oneAndOnly.
"Hiding" the struct in the C file with a static instance is probably the best one can have in C. Even the counter examples in melpomene's answer shouldn't work in this case.
If read/write access to the single instance is required, I would add something like "getter"/"setter" functions.
This reminded me to the Singleton pattern though I'm not sure if that is a legal usage for a non-OO language like C. Googling a bit, I found (as well) How to create a Singleton in C? which I find worth to mention.
I googled a bit concerning the actual question of OP whether her/his Code 2 is valid as well. I suspected something like a duplicated definition (may be, because I did too long in C++ in daily work).
Actually, I tried OP's Code 2 in Wandbox – no duplicate definition issue. Finally, I found Are the global variables extern by default or it is equivalent to declaring variable with extern in global? and came to the conclusion that Code 2 should be fine as well.
The limitation is that Code 2 allows only default initialization (filling with 0s if I remember right). As soon as an initializer is added, the compiler complains (as expected) as it's included multiple times.
You call the function in other compilation unit. It uses the global variable not your main program. So you do not even have to know the data structure and the variable, as you newer use any of them in your main program.
you can reduce it to :
void initSingle(void);
void printSingle(void);
int main()
{
initSingle();
printSingle();
return 0;
}
and
#include <stdio.h>
struct{
int x;
}oneAndOnly;
static struct single oneAndOnly;
void initSingle(void){
oneAndOnly.x = 10;
}
void printSingle(void){
printf("x = %d\n",oneAndOnly.x);
}
None of your attempts will work in practice.
With e.g. gcc or clang I can just do
typeof(oneAndOnly) secondInstance;
gcc also supports
__auto_type secondInstance = oneAndOnly;
(not sure about clang).
Even if the compiler in question doesn't support these extensions, I can just copy/paste the anonymous struct declaration from the header.
That said, I don't see what preventing other objects of the same type buys you. It makes sense in Java to make the constructor private because a constructor has behavior whose use you may want to restrict, but in C structs are just dumb collections of data.

Data encapsulation in C

I am currently working on an embedded system and I have a component on a board which appears two times. I would like to have one .c and one .h file for the component.
I have the following code:
typedef struct {
uint32_t pin_reset;
uint32_t pin_drdy;
uint32_t pin_start;
volatile avr32_spi_t *spi_module;
uint8_t cs_id;
} ads1248_options_t;
Those are all hardware settings. I create two instances of this struct (one for each part).
Now I need to keep an array of values in the background. E.g. I can read values from that device every second and I want to keep the last 100 values. I would like this data to be non-accessible from the "outside" of my component (only through special functions in my component).
I am unsure on how to proceed here. Do I really need to make the array part of my struct? What I thought of would be to do the following:
int32_t *adc_values; // <-- Add this to struct
int32_t *adc_value_buffer = malloc(sizeof(int32_t) * 100); // <-- Call in initialize function, this will never be freed on purpose
Yet, I will then be able to access my int32_t pointer from everywhere in my code (also from outside my component) which I do not like.
Is this the only way to do it? Do you know of a better way?
Thanks.
For the specific case of writing hardware drivers for a microcontroller, which this appears to be, please consider doing like this.
Otherwise, use opaque/incomplete type. You'd be surprised to learn how shockingly few C programmers there are who know how to actually implement 100% private encapsulation of custom types. This is why there's some persistent myth about C lacking the OO feature known as private encapsulation. This myth originates from lack of C knowledge and nothing else.
This is how it goes:
ads1248.h
typedef struct ads1248_options_t ads1248_options_t; // incomplete/opaque type
ads1248_options_t* ads1248_init (parameters); // a "constructor"
void ads1248_destroy (ads1248_options_t* ads); // a "destructor"
ads1248.c
#include "ads1248.h"
struct ads1248_options_t {
uint32_t pin_reset;
uint32_t pin_drdy;
uint32_t pin_start;
volatile avr32_spi_t *spi_module;
uint8_t cs_id;
};
ads1248_options_t* ads1248_init (parameters)
{
ads1248_options_t* ads = malloc(sizeof(ads1248_options_t));
// do things with ads based on parameters
return ads;
}
void ads1248_destroy (ads1248_options_t* ads)
{
free(ads);
}
main.c
#include "ads1248.h"
int main()
{
ads1248_options_t* ads = ads1248_init(parameters);
...
ads1248_destroy(ads);
}
Now the code in main cannot access any of the struct members, all members are 100% private. It can only create a pointer to a struct object, not an instance of it. Works exactly like abstract base classes in C++, if you are familiar with that. The only difference is that you'll have to call the init/destroy functions manually, rather than using true constructors/destructors.
It's common that structures in C are defined completely in the header, although they're totally opaque (FILE, for example), or only have some of their fields specified in the documentation.
C lacks private to prevent accidental access, but I consider this a minor problem: If a field isn't mentioned in the spec, why should someone try to access it? Have you ever accidentally accessed a member of a FILE? (It's probably better not to do things like having a published member foo and a non-published fooo which can easily be accessed by a small typo.) Some use conventions like giving them "unusual" names, for example, having a trailing underscore on private members.
Another way is the PIMPL idiom: Forward-declare the structure as an incomplete type and provide the complete declaration in the implementation file only. This may complicate debugging, and may have performance penalties due to less possibilities for inlining and an additional indirection, though this may be solvable with link-time optimization. A combination of both is also possible, declaring the public fields in the header along with a pointer to an incomplete structure type holding the private fields.
I would like this data to be non-accessible from the "outside" of my
component (only through special functions in my component).
You can do it in this way (a big malloc including the data):
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
typedef struct {
uint32_t pin_reset;
uint32_t pin_drdy;
uint32_t pin_start;
volatile avr32_spi_t *spi_module;
uint8_t cs_id;
} ads1248_options_t;
void fn(ads1248_options_t *x)
{
int32_t *values = (int32_t *)(x + 1);
/* values are not accesible via a member of the struct */
values[0] = 10;
printf("%d\n", values[0]);
}
int main(void)
{
ads1248_options_t *x = malloc(sizeof(*x) + (sizeof(int32_t) * 100));
fn(x);
free(x);
return 0;
}
You could make a portion of your structure private like this.
object.h
struct object_public {
uint32_t public_item1;
uint32_t public_item2;
};
object.c
struct object {
struct object_public public;
uint32_t private_item1;
uint32_t *private_ptr;
}
A pointer to an object can be cast to a pointer to object_public because object_public is the first item in struct object. So the code outside of object.c will reference the object through a pointer to object_public. While the code within object.c references the object through a pointer to object. Only the code within object.c will know about the private members.
The program should not define or allocate an instance object_public because that instance won't have the private stuff appended to it.
The technique of including a struct as the first item in another struct is really a way for implementing single inheritance in C. I don't recall ever using it like this for encapsulation. But I thought I would throw the idea out there.
You can:
Make your whole ads1248_options_t an opaque type (as already discussed in other answers)
Make just the adc_values member an opaque type, like:
// in the header(.h)
typedef struct adc_values adc_values_t;
// in the code (.c)
struct adc_values {
int32_t *values;
};
Have a static array of array of values "parallel" to your ads1248_options_t and provide functions to access them. Like:
// in the header (.h)
int32_t get_adc_value(int id, int value_idx);
// in the code (.c)
static int32_t values[MAX_ADS][MAX_VALUES];
// or
static int32_t *values[MAX_ADS]; // malloc()-ate members somewhere
int32_t get_adc_value(int id, int value_idx) {
return values[id][value_idx]
}
If the user doesn't know the index to use, keep an index (id) in your ads1248_options_t.
Instead of a static array, you may provide some other way of allocating the value arrays "in parallel", but, again, need a way to identify which array belongs to which ADC, where its id is the simplest solution.

Declare a variable that is Defined in a struct

Consider the following struct defined in ModuleA:
typedef struct{
int A;
int B;
int C[4];
}myStructType;
myStructType MyStruct;
If I wanted to use this struct from ModuleB, then I would declare the struct in the ModuleA header like this:
extern myStructType MyStruct;
So far, so good. Other modules can read and write MyStruct by including the Module A header file.
Now the question:
How can I declare only part of the struct in the Module A header file? For example, if I wanted ModuleB to be able to read and write MyStruct.C (or, to make things a bit easier, perhaps MyStruct.A or MyStruct.B), but not necessarily know that it's in a struct or know about elements A and B.
Edit: I should probably also specify that this will go in an embedded system which does basically all of its memory allocation at compile time, so we can be extremely confident at compile time that we know where MyStruct is located (and it's not going to move around).
Edit2: I'll also clarify that I'm not necessarily trying to prevent other modules from accessing parts of the struct, but rather, I'm attempting to allow other modules to access individual elements without having to do MyStruct.Whatever because other modules probably only care about a single element and not the whole structure.
You would have to encapsulate it, i.e. make a private variable such as:
static myStructType the_struct;
in some C file, and then provide an API to get access to the parts:
int * getC(void)
{
return the_struct.C;
}
this would then let other C files get access to an integer array by calling
int *some_c = getC();
some_c[0] = 4711;
or whatever. It can be made "tighter" by being more explicit about the length of the returned array of course, I aimed for the minimal solution.
While in theory there might be some problems with the cleanliness of this solution (e.g. structure alignment), in practice it usually works if it compiles and if it doesn't compile, you can alter the structures to make it compile:
#include <stddef.h>
#define C_ASSERT(expr) extern char CAssertExtern[(expr)?1:-1]
// You keep this definition private to module A (e.g. in a .c file):
typedef struct
{
int A;
int B;
int C[4];
} PrivateStruct;
// You expose this definition to all modules (in an .h file):
typedef struct
{
char reserved[2*sizeof(int)];
int C[4];
} PublicStruct;
// You put these in module A (in a .c file):
C_ASSERT(sizeof(PrivateStruct) == sizeof(PublicStruct));
C_ASSERT(offsetof(PrivateStruct,C) == offsetof(PublicStruct,C));
int main(void)
{
return 0;
}
In the public .h file you can lie to the world about the global variable type:
extern PublicStruct MyStruct; // It's "PrivateStruct MyStruct;" in module A
If the two structure definitions go out of sync, you get a compile-time error (match, mismatch).
You will need to manually define the size of the reserved part of PublicStruct, perhaps by trial and error.
You get the idea.
To make the long story short — you can't. To make it a bit longer, you can't reliably do it.
You could try to use a kind of getter:
in ModuleA:
typedef struct{
int A;
int B;
int C[4];
}myStructType;
myStructType MyStruct;
int getA()
{
return MyStruct.A;
}
and so on.
Instead switch over to c++
You can't do exactly what you've described but it's common to have a struct used as a header, which is contiguous with a buffer which has it's internals only known to a particular module.
It's fairly obvious what this struct is the header for, but it still works as an example:
typedef struct _FILE_NOTIFY_INFORMATION {
ULONG NextEntryOffset;
ULONG Action;
ULONG NameLength;
ULONG Name[1];
} FILE_NOTIFY_INFORMATION, *PFILE_NOTIFY_INFORMATION;
This struct (from Microsofts NativeSDK) is designed to be the header of a variable length buffer. All modules can work out how long the buffer is by looking at NameLength but you could use this method to store anything in the buffer which goes with it. That might only be known by a particular module with the others just using the length to copy it etc..
If it not for hiding but for structuring, then do structure it. For example like so:
moduleA.h:
typedef struct{
int A;
}myStructModuleAType;
extern myStructModuleAType myStructModuleA;
moduleA.c:
myStructModuleAType myStructModuleA;
moduleB.h:
typedef struct{
int B;
}myStructModuleBType;
extern myStructModuleBType myStructModuleB;
moduleB.c:
myStructModuleBType myStructModuleB;
main.h:
#include "moduleA.h"
#include "moduleB.h"
typedef struct{
myStructModuleAType * pmyStructModuleA;
myStructModuleBType * pmyStructModuleB;
int C[4];
}myStructType;
extern myStructType myStruct;
main.c:
#include "main.h"
myStructType myStruct;
myStructType myStruct = {
.pmyStructModuleA = &myStructModuleA
.pmyStructModuleB = &myStructModuleB
};

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