C segfault when looping over a list - c

Here is my list struct:
typedef struct Header {
struct Header* next;
char empty;
int storageSize;
} Header;
And I am looping over a list to check how many elements its has:
int listSize(Header* _header) {
int count = 0;
while(_header->next) {
_header = _header->next;
++count;
}
return count;
}
And I get a segfault after reaching the end of the list.
However if I change it to:
int listSize(Header* _header) {
int count = 0;
while(_header->next) {
if(!_header->next) {
_header = _header->next;
++count;
}
else
break;
}
return count;
}
It doesn't segfault, but it also obviously doesn't count the elements right.

Change this:
while(_header->next) {
to this:
while(_header) {
since you want to loop over your list, as long as the current node is not NULL.
You were facing a segmentation fault, because you were trying to get the next data member of NULL.
It feels like you are passing an empty list to your listSize(), that is that the _header is NULL, and you are trying to get the next data member of NULL, thus a segmentation fault.

You logic is incorrect. The code should be this - and note the comments
int listSize(Header* header) {
int count = 0;
while (header) { // We have a node to count
++count; // Count it
header = header->next; // And move to the next node
}
return count;
}

In my opinion you can initialize next as 0 or *next as 0 whenever you want to create a new node.

Related

function to create array of post order binary tree

Im trying to create a recursive function that creates an array of post order integers from a given tree. This is the code:
//structure
typedef struct node
{
// Each node holds a single integer.
int data;
// Pointers to the node's left and right children.
struct node *left, *right;
} node;
// preorder_recursive is same as postorder_recursive(), except
// array[i] comes before the recursive calls
int *postorder_recursive(node *root)
{
int *array = malloc(sizeof(node) * node_count(root)); // node_count(root) counts nodes in binary tree
int i = 0;
if (root == NULL)
return 0;
while (root != NULL)
{
postorder_recursive(root->left);
postorder_recursive(root->right);
array[i] = root->data;
i++;
}
return array;
}
// returns 1 if pre order = post order, returns 0 otherwise
int compare(node *a, node *b)
{
int i = 0;
int *preArray, *postArray;
if (node_count(a) != node_count(b))
return 0;
preArray = preorder_recursive(a);
postArray = postorder_recursive(b);
for (i = 0; i < node_count(a); i++)
{
if (preArray[i] != postArray[i])
return 0;
}
free(preArray);
free(postArray);
return 1;
}
I am not entirely sure if the error is in this function, but if it is, it's probably due to the while loop. Any help would be great.
Edit: Ive included a lot more code. The purpose of this is to compare an array of post order to an array of pre-order.
Your function postorder_recursive() is creating a new array every time it is called. Furthermore, while(root != NULL) will loop forever for non-empty trees, if it weren't for the fact that it writes past the end of array and cause a segmentation fault at some point.
The solution is to split the function into one that creates the array, and then another function that recursively fills in the array, like so:
static size_t postorder_recursive(const node *root, int *array, size_t index) {
if (root == NULL)
return index;
index = postorder_recursive(root->left, array, index);
index = postorder_recursive(root->right, array, index);
array[index++] = root->data;
return index;
}
int *postorder_to_array(const node *root)
{
int *array = malloc(sizeof(node) * node_count(root));
postorder_recursive(root, array, 0);
return array;
}

How to iterate through a list in c

Let "List" be a struct that represents a singly-linked list, i have the following function:
int List_contains(List node, const char* key) {
List *search;
search=node.next;
assert(search->key!=NULL);
return 1;
}
and List is the following struct:
typedef struct List { /*A new node*/
char* key;
void* value;
struct List *next;
} List;
The function "List_contains" should tell me if "key" is contained in the list or not. Problem is, i can't iterate through the list, and the line
assert(search->key != NULL);
throws a Segfault. How can i iterate through the list with what i have?
(Note: The function is, obviously, not "completed".)
Here is an example of a search I wrote a while back.
struct node
{
int data;
struct node *next;
};
int
search_list(struct node *head, int search)
{
if (!head)
{
fprintf(stderr, "Invalid head\n");
return 1;
}
struct node *temp = head;
while (temp)
{
if (temp->data == search)
{
printf("Found %d\n", search);
break;
}
temp = temp->next;
}
return 0;
}
int List_contains(List node, const char* key) {
List *search;
search=node.next;
assert(search->key!=NULL);
return 1;
}
so a lot to parse here...
Generally you would pass in a pointer to the node so that it isn't copied, but it is actually safe to do what you have done, in this instance, assuming no multithreaded shenanigans go on...
but in the future I would look for:
int List_contains(List* node, const char* key) {
next line you make a pointer without a value... which is fine, because you assign it the next line, but that could be condensed...
// List *search;
// search=node.next; # could easily become:
List *search = node.next;
now at this point you actually know if you are at the end of the list...
if(search == null)
{
return 0;
}
after that you need to do some sort of compare...
if (strcmp(key,search->key) == 0)
{
//found it;
return 1;
}
now you have code that will match the key against the first element of the list, so you would need to put the whole thing in a loop, each iteration swapping search with search->next and checking for null

Segmentation fault while creating a linked list

I am writing a small program which stores data and key inside a linked list structure, and retrieves data based on a key from the user. The program also checks whether it is a unique key and if it so it stores the data by creating a node at the front of the list. But the below code throws segmentation fault all the time.
#include<stdlib.h>
/* Node having data, unique key, and next */.
struct node
{
int data;
int key;
struct node *next;
}*list='\0',*p;
/* Create a node at the front */
void storeData(int data_x,int key_x)
{
int check_key;
position *nn; //nn specifies newnode
nn=(position)malloc(sizeof(struct node));
/* Segmentation Fault occurs here */
if(list->next==NULL)
{
nn->next=list->next;
nn->data = data_x;
nn->key = key_x;
list->next = nn;
}
else
{
check_key=checkUniqueKey(key_x);
if(check_key != FALSE)
{
printf("The entered key is not unique");
}
else
{
nn->data = data_x;
nn->key = key_x;
nn->next=list->next;
list->next=nn;
}
}
}
/* Retreive data based on a key */
int retreiveData(int key_find)
{
int ret_data = NULL;
p=list->next;
while(p->next != NULL)
{
if(p->key == key_find)
{
ret_data = p->data;
break;
}
p=p->next;
}
return(ret_data);
}
/* Checks whether user key is unique */
int checkUniqueKey(int key_x)
{
int key_check = FALSE;
p=list->next;
while(p->next != NULL)
{
if(p->key == key_x)
{
key_check = TRUE;
break;
}
p=p->next;
}
return(key_check);
}
The segmentation fault occurs in the storeData function after the dynamic allocation.
There are some problems in your code:
your list handling is flawed: you always dereference the global pointer list, even before any list items are created. You should instead test if the list is empty by comparing list to NULL.
type position is not defined. Avoid hiding pointers behind typedefs, this is a great cause of confusion, which explains your mishandling of list pointers.
avoid defining a global variable with the name p, which is unneeded anyway. Define p as a local variable in the functions that use it.
NULL is the null pointer, 0 a zero integer value and \0 the null byte at the end of a C string. All 3 evaluate to 0 but are not always interchangeable.
For better portability and readability, use the appropriate one for each case.
Here is an improved version:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
/* Node having data, unique key, and next */.
struct node {
int data;
int key;
struct node *next;
} *list;
/* Create a node at the front */
void storeData(int data_x, int key_x) {
if (checkUniqueKey(key_x)) {
printf("The entered key is not unique\n");
} else {
/* add a new node to the list */
struct node *nn = malloc(sizeof(struct node));
if (nn == NULL) {
printf("Cannot allocate memory for node\n");
return;
}
nn->data = data_x;
nn->key = key_x;
nn->next = list;
list = nn;
}
}
/* Retrieve data based on a key */
int retrieveData(int key_find) {
struct node *p;
int ret_data = 0;
for (p = list; p != NULL; p = p->next) {
if (p->key == key_find) {
ret_data = p->data;
break;
}
}
return ret_data;
}
/* Checks whether user key is unique */
int checkUniqueKey(int key_x) {
struct node *p;
int key_check = FALSE;
for (p = list; p != NULL; p = p->next) {
if (p->key == key_x) {
key_check = TRUE;
break;
}
}
return key_check;
}
You try to cast your address on a position structure instead of a position*
nn=(position)malloc(sizeof(struct node));
Compile your code with gcc flags -Wextra and -Wall to prevent this kind of issue.
Moreover I don't know is it is a mistake but malloc a size of struct node and your nn variable is a pointer on position.
When you initialized your list pointer you set it to NULL(as '\0'), when the program accesses address 0x00 it goes out of its boundaries and the operating system kills the process.
To avoid the segfault you can have "list" of non pointer type thus allocating on stack, when you want to access list as pointer you can do &list. Another solution would involve having variable on stack "root_node" and initialize list pointer as list = &root_node.

Counting the nodes of any tree time improvement

I have to make a function which counts how many elements my tree have. My tree is not binary, is the most general kind of tree.
The node is:
typedef struct node{
char item;
int number_of_sons;
node **sons;
}
My counting function is this
void numbering(node *HT,int ok=0)
{
static int number = 0;
if (ok == 1)
{
printf("%d", number);
return;
}
if (HT == NULL)
{
return;
}
else
{
number++;
for (int i = 0;i < HT->nr_of_sons;i++)
{
numbering(HT->next[i], 0);
}
}
}
Is there a way to improve this function to make this faster?
EDIT: the way I use this function is:
int main()
{
//create tree;
numbering(tree,0);
numbering(tree,1);
}
When I call the function the second time it prints my result
You have a very strange recursive function there--you're using a static variable in the function which is never reset, so the function can only be used once per program run!
I'd rewrite it this way:
size_t nodecount(node *root)
{
size_t count = 0;
if (root)
{
count++;
for (int i = 0; i < root->nr_of_sons; i++)
{
count += nodecount(root->sons[i]);
}
}
return count;
}
If you really want to speed things up, you could augment your node structure by adding a size_t subtree_count field which you'd maintain whenever you insert or remove nodes. Another idea is to compact the pointer-to-array-of-sons into the node structure directly:
typedef struct node{
char item;
int number_of_sons;
node_t *sons[0];
} node_t;
What I've done here is made it so the sons variable is an array rather than a pointer to an array. But it has size zero (n.b. use [] or [1] if your compiler requires), because you don't know the number of sons at compile time. But you can simply allocate nodes with the right amount of space:
node_t* tree = (node_t*)malloc(sizeof(node_t) + num_sons*sizeof(node_t*));
This reduces pointer indirection by one layer, which may help performance.
Maybe this is better and more efficient:
int numbering(node *HT)
{
if (!HT)
{
return 0;
}
int num = 1;
for (int i = 0;i < HT->nr_of_sons;i++)
{
num += numbering(HT->next[i]);
}
return num;
}
I deleted your ok variable and changed the returned value from void to int.
In the case base you return 0;
For the leaf so they will return 1;
For inner nodes they will return 1 + the numbers of nodes in the
subtree.

Creating and expanding a Linked List using Structs

I have been working on a program in C99 which is based heavily around structs. I found that I could create linked lists of structs, and thought to give it a try.
The following is a miserable attempt, reworked about 50 times, that is meant to do the following:
1) Create a struct of type BASE in the main method, which contains the head of a linked list (CHAIN).
2) Pass this BASE struct to another function, which will append additional CHAIN elements to the end of the linked list.
3) Print the linked lists elements in main, as proof to myself that the changes are not just in the other method.
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
typedef struct Base {
//many things
struct Chain *head;
} BASE;
typedef struct Chain {
int x;
struct Chain *next;
} CHAIN;
void extendChain(BASE *Data, int length);
int main() {
BASE Data;
CHAIN *pointer;
Data.head = 0;
int length = 10; //userInput(); // gets integer
extendChain(&Data, length);
pointer = Data.head;
while (pointer) {
printf("%d\n", pointer->x);
pointer = pointer->next;
}
}
void extendChain(BASE *Data, int length) {
CHAIN *position;
position = Data->head;
for (int i=0; i<length; ++i) {
if (!Data->head) {
// this will set the first value, the first time this is run.
Data->head = malloc(sizeof(CHAIN));
Data->head->x = -1; // set values here. Irrelevant.
position = Data->head;
} else if (position) {
while (position->next) {
position = position->next;
}
position = malloc(sizeof(CHAIN));
position->next = 0;
position->x = i; // placeholder
}
}
}
This has turned out terribly, and I realize that my example doesn't begin to work even in theory (but I gave it my best shot). I'm beginning to think that the only way to do this is if I do it all in the same method, which I successfully managed to do earlier, however this will quickly become messy, and a method would definitely be best.
Does anyone have a creative way of adding X elements to a linked list when passed only a struct containing the header of this linked list? Much appreciated, as always.
Logical errors in your code. This code worked:
void extendChain(BASE *Data, int length) {
CHAIN *position;
position = Data->head;
int i;ยท
for (i=0; i<length; ++i) {
if (!Data->head) {
// this will set the first value, the first time this is run.
Data->head = malloc(sizeof(CHAIN));
Data->head->x = -1; // set values here. Irrelevant.
Data->head->next = NULL; // <=========
position = Data->head;
} else if (position) {
while (position->next) {
position = position->next;
}
CHAIN * position_new_node = malloc(sizeof(CHAIN)); // <=========
position_new_node->next = 0; // <=========
position_new_node->x = i; // placeholder // <=========
position->next = position_new_node; // <=========
}
}
}
Algorithm
Create the original linked list
Send the linked list to be added, to the function
Traverse till the end of first linked list (Let the pointer be t)
repeat:
node next to t=next node of new linked list
move both nodes one unit forward
till the next node of new linked list is Null

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