Shared pointer without malloc AVR - c

The title may not be clear so I'll give an example.
I am trying to make a system of "data streams" in C.
Type STREAM:
typedef struct {
void (*tx) (uint8_t b);
uint8_t (*rx) (void);
} STREAM;
I have a file uart.h with uart.c which should provide a STREAM for UART.
I decided it'll be best to expose it as a pointer, so it can be passed to functions without using ampersand.
This is the kind of functions I want to use it with (example):
/** Send signed int */
void put_i16(const STREAM *p, const int16_t num);
Here's my UART files:
uart.h
extern STREAM* uart;
uart.c
// Shared stream instance
static STREAM _uart_singleton;
STREAM* uart;
void uart_init(uint16_t ubrr) {
// uart init code here
// Create the stream
_uart_singleton.tx = &uart_tx; // function pointers
_uart_singleton.rx = &uart_rx;
uart = &_uart_singleton; // expose a pointer to it
}
I'm not sure about this. It works, but is it the right way to do it? Should I just use Malloc instead?
Why I ask this, it's a library code and I want it to be as clean and "correct" as possible

The global pointer is unnecessary (as are all globals), and unsafe - it is non-const; any code with access to the pointer could modify _uart_singleton.
uart.h
const STREAM* getUart() ;
...
uart.c
// Shared stream instance
static STREAM _uart_singleton = {0} ;
const STREAM* getUart()
{
// Return singleton if initialised,
// otherwise NULL
return _uart_singleton.rx != 0 &&
_uart_singleton.tx != 0 ? _uart_singleton :
NULL ;
}
void uart_init(uint16_t ubrr)
{
// uart init code here
// Create the stream
_uart_singleton.tx = &uart_tx; // function pointers
_uart_singleton.rx = &uart_rx;
}
So long as all the functions that access STREAM members are defined withing uart.c, then you can also benefit from making STREAM an opaque type (Lundin's suggestion in comment) by using an incomplete struct declaration in the header thus:
uart.h
struct sStream ;
typedef struct sStream STREAM ;
const STREAM* getUart() ;
...
uart.c
// Shared stream instance
struct sStream
{
void (*tx) (uint8_t b);
uint8_t (*rx) (void);
} _uart_singleton = {0} ;
const STREAM* getUart()
{
// Return singleton if initialised,
// otherwise NULL
return _uart_singleton.rx != 0 &&
_uart_singleton.tx != 0 ? _uart_singleton :
NULL ;
}
...
This prevents any code outside of uart.c from calling the rx and tx functions directly or accessing any other members.

Related

How can a callback function be executed within a driver on linux?

I have to modify a driver that runs on linux to add a callback function that is invoked from an external application. I already have the code implemented but when it is executed when the computer starts up, the system gives an error and is blocked.
This is my new code on the driver side:
typedef void (*callbackFunctionNoParams) ();
typedef struct T_EXI_CONFIGURE_BUS_
{
T_mode mode;
unsigned short NumeroRT;
T_SA_Enable SA_Enable;
unsigned short MINOR_CYCLE;
callbackFunctionNoParams callback;
} T_EXI_CONFIGURE_BUS;
typedef struct PciExiDev_
{
/**
* It represents a char device to read/write
*/
struct cdev charDevice;
/**
* IRQ assigned
*/
unsigned int irq;
/**
* Callback function to be invoked
*/
callbackFunctionNoParams callback;
/**
* Device control block
*/
EXI_DCB theDCB;
} PciExiDev;
Execution code on driver side:
static long exi_ioctl( struct file * filep, unsigned int cmd, unsigned long arg )
{
PciExiDev * aPciExiDev = (PciExiDev *) filep->private_data;
int result = SUCCESS;
int i, j;
long ret = 0;
//printk("Ioctl received %d.\n",cmd);
switch( cmd )
{
case FIO_EXI_CONFIGURE_BUS:
{
T_EXI_CONFIGURE_BUS config;
T_LISTA_TRANS *auxTrans1, *auxTrans2;
T_TRANSACTION_DCB *transDCB1;
T_OPI opi;
T_EXIS exis;
unsigned short dato;
unsigned short datolong[2];
unsigned short ControlBlock[12];
// printk("Exi configure bus initiated.\n");
printk("TNB. Exi ioctl CONFIGURE BUS.\n");
copy_from_user( &config, (T_EXI_CONFIGURE_BUS *) arg, sizeof(T_EXI_CONFIGURE_BUS) );
LeerDatos( &aPciExiDev->theDCB, OPI_ADDRESS, 1, (unsigned short *) &opi, 1 );
aPciExiDev->callback = config.callback;
aPciExiDev->theDCB.modo = config.mode;
aPciExiDev->theDCB.CicloMenor = config.MINOR_CYCLE;
(*aPciExiDev->callback)();
...
New code on client side:
if( theHWConfiguration.existExi() )
{
T_EXI_CONFIGURE_BUS bus_config;
// Configura la tarjega exi en modo Bus Controller.
bus_config.mode = BC;
bus_config.NumeroRT = 28;
bus_config.MINOR_CYCLE = 20;
bus_config.callback = &bcInterruptHandler2;
status = ioctl( A_fd_exi, FIO_EXI_CONFIGURE_BUS, reinterpret_cast<long>( &bus_config ) );
}
return status;
}
void C_EXI::bcInterruptHandler2()
{
std::cout<< "bcInterruptHandler2" << endl;
}
And this is the execution code result:
Crash Image
If someone could help me or propose an alternative way of doing this I would be very grateful.
Your callback is bound to run at kernel space and then you write it to std::cout. While going through your code, it tells that there is a conflict between kernel mode address space and userside process address space. This means that if the callback function is declared in the userside but instead called in the kernel space, there would be an error.
The crash image suggests that somewhere in your code you have an invalid pointer that you are trying to access. I am afraid I cannot debug your code with the little context provided, but I can give you some suggestions:
Try to avoid casting until is strictly necessary.
When you are casting to a pointer, double-check that this is exactly what you need to do.
In the error message there is also the call stack: take a look at it in order to identify where is the error.
You can simply add some printk("%p", pointer) in your code to debug the content of your variables.

Tcl pathInFilesystemProc get current filesystem

When creating a vfs using the tcl api how do you get the current filesystem in Tcl_Filesystem.pathInFilesystemProc
My code looks something like this:
typedef struct {
FILE* dbFile;
/*...*/
} FSBackend;
void createFS(const char* dbFile)
{
FSBackend* fsback = (FSBackend*)malloc(sizeof(FSBackend));
initDb(fsback,dbFile);
Tcl_Filesystem tfs;
tfs.typeName="Db Fs";
tfs.structureLength = sizeof(Tcl_Filesystem);
tfs.version = TCL_FILESYSTEM_VERSION_1;
tfs.pathInFilesystemProc = inFsProc;
/*...*/
Tcl_FSRegister((void*),tfs);
}
int inFsProc(Tcl_Obj* pathPtr,ClientData* cd)
{
/* How do I get my FSBackend struct here */
FSBackend* bk = /* ? */
int len;
const char* searchPath = Tcl_GetStringFromObj(pathPtr,&len);
char* foundPath = findFileInDb(searchPath,bk);
if (foundPath == 0) {
return -1;
}
cd = buildInternalRep(foundPath,bk);
return TCL_OK;
}
/**
...
*/
int main()
{
createFS("db1.db");
createFS("db2.db");
}
How do I, in inFsProc get back the struct I passed into Tcl_FSRegister?
The Tcl_FSData function says it can get it but I would then need to get a Tcl_Filesystem pointer
That's a weird one. The clientData handle there is not used to specify a mount point, but rather a separate capability of the filesystem type. Tcl's internal use of Tcl_FSRegister doesn't use it at all. The code which is as close as anything to a canonical use of it is the tclvfs package.
https://github.com/tcl-mirror/tclvfs/blob/master/generic/vfs.c#L385 shows us the use:
static void
Vfs_RegisterWithInterp(interp)
Tcl_Interp *interp;
{
ClientData vfsAlreadyRegistered;
/*
* We need to know if the interpreter is deleted, so we can
* remove all interp-specific mounts.
*/
Tcl_SetAssocData(interp, "vfs::inUse", (Tcl_InterpDeleteProc*)
Vfs_UnregisterWithInterp, (ClientData) 1);
/*
* Perform one-off registering of our filesystem if that
* has not happened before.
*/
vfsAlreadyRegistered = Tcl_FSData(&vfsFilesystem);
if (vfsAlreadyRegistered == NULL) {
Tcl_FSRegister((ClientData)1, &vfsFilesystem);
Tcl_CreateExitHandler(VfsExitProc, (ClientData)NULL);
Tcl_CreateThreadExitHandler(VfsThreadExitProc, NULL);
}
}
As you can see, the clientData there is really just being used as a marker so the code knows whether to do one-time initialisation.
To discover what the mount mapping is, you'll need to keep internal structures. You're strongly recommended to make the Tcl_Filesystem structure instance itself be global (or rather static at file scope) in your code.

Declare a pointer to structure in const expression

I am new to C and can't yet freely navigate trough my program memory. Anyways, I am creating a static memory data type (gc_menu) that should hold a pointer to created at execution time structure (mcl_items).
For simplicity mcl_items structure have one virtual method (push) that is going to be run inside of gc_menu_add_item and also assigned to the gc_menu static space. push saves an menu item name (letter) and method to mcl_item virtual object.
mcl_items.h code:
[...]
typedef struct Items_t {
int8_t size;
char names[64];
void (*methods[64])();
// Interface
void (*push)(struct Items_t *self, char c, void (*method)());
}mcl_items;
mcl_items *new_mcl_items();
void mcl_items_push(mcl_items *self, char c, void (*method)());
mcl_items.c code:
[...]
#include "mcl_items.h"
mcl_items *new_mcl_items() {
fprintf(stderr, "MCL_Items: Generating a new set of mcl_items..");
// Build a virtual object
mcl_items *items = calloc(1, sizeof(struct Items_t));
items->push = mcl_items_push;
// Set data
items->size = 0;
return items;
}
void mcl_items_push(mcl_items *self, char c, void (*method)()) {
fprintf(stderr, "MCL_Items: pushing a new item..");
self->names[self->size] = c;
self->methods[self->size] = method;
self->size ++;
}
gc_menu.h code:
#include "items.h"
typedef struct {
// Interface
void (*add_item)(char c, void (*method)());
// Data
mcl_items *items;
}__gc_menu;
extern __gc_menu const gc_menu;
gc_menu.c code:
static void gc_menu_add_item(char c, void (*method)) {
fprintf(stderr, "GC_Menu: Passing an new item..");
fprintf(stderr, "length = %i\n", gc_menu.items->size);
gc_menu.items->push(gc_menu.items, c, method);
}
__gc_menu const gc_menu = {gc_menu_add_item, // Virtual methods
new_mcl_items}; // Data
After callng gc_menu.add_item the segmentation fault occurs and gc_menu.items->size is equal to 72, not 0 as is defined in the definition of new_mcl_items.
main.c code:
gc_menu.add_item('q', xw->end(xw));
GC_Menu: Passing an new item..length = 72
[1] 66021 segmentation fault (core dumped) ./3D_scean
So what am I doing wrong? Why is there such a weird data written to instances of my gc_menu.items?
You've initialized gc_menu.items to new_mcl_items, i.e. a pointer to the function new_mcl_items (which should give you a warning since it is of type mcl_items *(*)(void) and not mcl_items *).
It looks like what you want is to actually call the function new_mcl_items() and set gc_menu.items to the value that new_mcl_items() returns. You can't do this with an initializer; initializers of global or static objects must be known at compile or link time. Standard C doesn't have "constructors".
So you'll have to remove the const from the declaration and definition of gc_menu, and add code to main (or some function called by main, etc) to initialize gc_menu.items at run time.
gc_menu.h:
extern __gc_menu gc_menu;
gc_menu.c:
__gc_menu gc_menu = {
gc_menu_add_item,
NULL // or whatever else you like
};
main.c or whatever you have called it:
int main(void) {
// ...
gc_menu.items = new_mcl_items();
// ...
}

object oriented approach in c program

I don't have much experience in Object oriented programming.I am trying to create an object in c which will have its own methods.
I have declared structure which have pointers to function. All instance of this variable are going to point same function. But currently I need to initialize every instance of variable as in main (Line 1 and Line 2). So is there any method that will initialize its default value when I declare it?
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
typedef struct serialStr Serial;
struct serialStr
{
void(*init)(Serial*);
void(*open)();
void(*close)();
};
void open()
{
printf("Open Port Success\n");
return;
}
void close()
{
printf("Close port Success\n");
return;
}
void init(Serial* ptr)
{
ptr->open = open;
ptr->close = close;
}
int main()
{
Serial serial,serial_2;
serial.init = init;
serial.init(&serial); // Line1
serial_2.init = init;
serial_2.init(&serial_2); // Line2
serial.open();
//rest of code
serial.close();
serial_2.open();
serial_2.close();
return 0;
}
In C, the standard way would be to declare an initializer macro:
#define SERIAL_INITIALIZER { .init = init, .open = open, /* and others */ }
Serial serial = SERIAL_INITIALIZER;
In most cases in C there is simply no need for dynamic intialization of variables. You only need it for malloced objects.
C++ add some automatization by calling constructor/destructor. In pure C is no way to do so. You should do all steps manually: create and initialize object (call constructor-like function for structure), call functions by pointers from the structure instance, call destructor (it should destroy the instance and free related resources).
If is no polymorphism in your task then use simple way - without pointers to functions, but each function (method) should take pointer to the object.
Common case example:
struct MyStruct
{
// data
};
struct MyStruct* createMyStruct(/* maybe some input */)
{
// create, init and return the structure instance
}
void destoyMyStruct(struct MyStruct* obj)
{
// free resources and delete the instance
}
void doSomeAction(struct MyStruct* obj /* , some other data */)
{
// ...
}
int main()
{
struct MyStruct* object = createMyStruct();
doSomeAction(object);
destoyMyStruct(object);
return 0;
}
Edit 1: macro is only for very simple cases and error-prone way.
Typically, you would do this through "opaque type". Meaning that you declare an object of incomplete type in your header:
typedef struct Serial Serial;
And then in the C file, you place the actual struct definition. This will hide the contents of the struct to the caller (private encapsulation). From your constructor, you could then set up private member functions:
struct Serial
{
void(*init)(void);
void(*open)(void);
void(*close)(void);
};
// private member functions:
static void open (void);
...
// constructor:
Serial* SerialCreate (void)
{
Serial* s = malloc(sizeof (*s));
...
s->open = open;
return s;
}
This means that if you wish to inherit the class, you will only need to change the constructor.
Though of course, if you wish to implement true polymorphism, you don't want to change any code. You could solve this by passing the init function as parameter to the constructor.
header file:
typedef void init_func_t (void);
c file:
// constructor:
Serial* SerialCreate (init_func_t* init)
{
Serial* s = malloc(sizeof (*s));
...
init();
return s;
}
And then from the init function in the inherited class, set all private member functions.

Opaque C structs: various ways to declare them

I've seen both of the following two styles of declaring opaque types in C APIs. What are the various ways to declare opaque structs/pointers in C? Is there any clear advantage to using one style over the other?
Option 1
// foo.h
typedef struct foo * fooRef;
void doStuff(fooRef f);
// foo.c
struct foo {
int x;
int y;
};
Option 2
// foo.h
typedef struct _foo foo;
void doStuff(foo *f);
// foo.c
struct _foo {
int x;
int y;
};
My vote is for the third option that mouviciel posted then deleted:
I have seen a third way:
// foo.h
struct foo;
void doStuff(struct foo *f);
// foo.c
struct foo {
int x;
int y;
};
If you really can't stand typing the struct keyword, typedef struct foo foo; (note: get rid of the useless and problematic underscore) is acceptable. But whatever you do, never use typedef to define names for pointer types. It hides the extremely important piece of information that variables of this type reference an object which could be modified whenever you pass them to functions, and it makes dealing with differently-qualified (for instance, const-qualified) versions of the pointer a major pain.
Option 1.5 ("Object-based" C Architecture):
I am accustomed to using Option 1, except where you name your reference with _h to signify it is a "handle" to a C-style "object" of this given C "class". Then, you ensure your function prototypes use const wherever the content of this object "handle" is an input only, and cannot be changed, and don't use const wherever the content can be changed. So, do this style:
// -------------
// my_module.h
// -------------
// An opaque pointer (handle) to a C-style "object" of "class" type
// "my_module" (struct my_module_s *, or my_module_h):
typedef struct my_module_s *my_module_h;
void doStuff1(my_module_h my_module);
void doStuff2(const my_module_h my_module);
// -------------
// my_module.c
// -------------
// Definition of the opaque struct "object" of C-style "class" "my_module".
struct my_module_s
{
int int1;
int int2;
float f1;
// etc. etc--add more "private" member variables as you see fit
};
Here's a full example using opaque pointers in C to create objects. The following architecture might be called "object-based C":
//==============================================================================================
// my_module.h
//==============================================================================================
// An opaque pointer (handle) to a C-style "object" of "class" type "my_module" (struct
// my_module_s *, or my_module_h):
typedef struct my_module_s *my_module_h;
// Create a new "object" of "class" "my_module": A function that takes a *pointer to* an
// "object" handle, `malloc`s memory for a new copy of the opaque `struct my_module_s`, then
// points the user's input handle (via its passed-in pointer) to this newly-created "object" of
// "class" "my_module".
void my_module_open(my_module_h * my_module_h_p);
// A function that takes this "object" (via its handle) as an input only and cannot modify it
void my_module_do_stuff1(const my_module_h my_module);
// A function that can modify the private content of this "object" (via its handle) (but still
// cannot modify the handle itself)
void my_module_do_stuff2(my_module_h my_module);
// Destroy the passed-in "object" of "class" type "my_module": A function that can close this
// object by stopping all operations, as required, and `free`ing its memory.
void my_module_close(my_module_h my_module);
//==============================================================================================
// my_module.c
//==============================================================================================
// Definition of the opaque struct "object" of C-style "class" "my_module".
// - NB: Since this is an opaque struct (declared in the header but not defined until the source
// file), it has the following 2 important properties:
// 1) It permits data hiding, wherein you end up with the equivalent of a C++ "class" with only
// *private* member variables.
// 2) Objects of this "class" can only be dynamically allocated. No static allocation is
// possible since any module including the header file does not know the contents of *nor the
// size of* (this is the critical part) this "class" (ie: C struct).
struct my_module_s
{
int my_private_int1;
int my_private_int2;
float my_private_float;
// etc. etc--add more "private" member variables as you see fit
};
void my_module_open(my_module_h * my_module_h_p)
{
// Ensure the passed-in pointer is not NULL (since it is a core dump/segmentation fault to
// try to dereference a NULL pointer)
if (!my_module_h_p)
{
// Print some error or store some error code here, and return it at the end of the
// function instead of returning void.
goto done;
}
// Now allocate the actual memory for a new my_module C object from the heap, thereby
// dynamically creating this C-style "object".
my_module_h my_module; // Create a local object handle (pointer to a struct)
// Dynamically allocate memory for the full contents of the struct "object"
my_module = malloc(sizeof(*my_module));
if (!my_module)
{
// Malloc failed due to out-of-memory. Print some error or store some error code here,
// and return it at the end of the function instead of returning void.
goto done;
}
// Initialize all memory to zero (OR just use `calloc()` instead of `malloc()` above!)
memset(my_module, 0, sizeof(*my_module));
// Now pass out this object to the user, and exit.
*my_module_h_p = my_module;
done:
}
void my_module_do_stuff1(const my_module_h my_module)
{
// Ensure my_module is not a NULL pointer.
if (!my_module)
{
goto done;
}
// Do stuff where you use my_module private "member" variables.
// Ex: use `my_module->my_private_int1` here, or `my_module->my_private_float`, etc.
done:
}
void my_module_do_stuff2(my_module_h my_module)
{
// Ensure my_module is not a NULL pointer.
if (!my_module)
{
goto done;
}
// Do stuff where you use AND UPDATE my_module private "member" variables.
// Ex:
my_module->my_private_int1 = 7;
my_module->my_private_float = 3.14159;
// Etc.
done:
}
void my_module_close(my_module_h my_module)
{
// Ensure my_module is not a NULL pointer.
if (!my_module)
{
goto done;
}
free(my_module);
done:
}
Simplified example usage:
#include "my_module.h"
#include <stdbool.h>
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
printf("Hello World\n");
bool exit_now = false;
// setup/initialization
my_module_h my_module = NULL;
// For safety-critical and real-time embedded systems, it is **critical** that you ONLY call
// the `_open()` functions during **initialization**, but NOT during normal run-time,
// so that once the system is initialized and up-and-running, you can safely know that
// no more dynamic-memory allocation, which is non-deterministic and can lead to crashes,
// will occur.
my_module_open(&my_module);
// Ensure initialization was successful and `my_module` is no longer NULL.
if (!my_module)
{
// await connection of debugger, or automatic system power reset by watchdog
log_errors_and_enter_infinite_loop();
}
// run the program in this infinite main loop
while (exit_now == false)
{
my_module_do_stuff1(my_module);
my_module_do_stuff2(my_module);
}
// program clean-up; will only be reached in this case in the event of a major system
// problem, which triggers the infinite main loop above to `break` or exit via the
// `exit_now` variable
my_module_close(my_module);
// for microcontrollers or other low-level embedded systems, we can never return,
// so enter infinite loop instead
while (true) {}; // await reset by watchdog
return 0;
}
The only improvements beyond this would be to:
Implement full error handling and return the error instead of void. Ex:
/// #brief my_module error codes
typedef enum my_module_error_e
{
/// No error
MY_MODULE_ERROR_OK = 0,
/// Invalid Arguments (ex: NULL pointer passed in where a valid pointer is required)
MY_MODULE_ERROR_INVARG,
/// Out of memory
MY_MODULE_ERROR_NOMEM,
/// etc. etc.
MY_MODULE_ERROR_PROBLEM1,
} my_module_error_t;
Now, instead of returning a void type in all of the functions above and below, return a my_module_error_t error type instead!
Add a configuration struct called my_module_config_t to the .h file, and pass it in to the open function to update internal variables when you create a new object. This helps encapsulate all configuration variables in a single struct for cleanliness when calling _open().
Example:
//--------------------
// my_module.h
//--------------------
// my_module configuration struct
typedef struct my_module_config_s
{
int my_config_param_int;
float my_config_param_float;
} my_module_config_t;
my_module_error_t my_module_open(my_module_h * my_module_h_p,
const my_module_config_t *config);
//--------------------
// my_module.c
//--------------------
my_module_error_t my_module_open(my_module_h * my_module_h_p,
const my_module_config_t *config)
{
my_module_error_t err = MY_MODULE_ERROR_OK;
// Ensure the passed-in pointer is not NULL (since it is a core dump/segmentation fault
// to try to dereference a NULL pointer)
if (!my_module_h_p)
{
// Print some error or store some error code here, and return it at the end of the
// function instead of returning void. Ex:
err = MY_MODULE_ERROR_INVARG;
goto done;
}
// Now allocate the actual memory for a new my_module C object from the heap, thereby
// dynamically creating this C-style "object".
my_module_h my_module; // Create a local object handle (pointer to a struct)
// Dynamically allocate memory for the full contents of the struct "object"
my_module = malloc(sizeof(*my_module));
if (!my_module)
{
// Malloc failed due to out-of-memory. Print some error or store some error code
// here, and return it at the end of the function instead of returning void. Ex:
err = MY_MODULE_ERROR_NOMEM;
goto done;
}
// Initialize all memory to zero (OR just use `calloc()` instead of `malloc()` above!)
memset(my_module, 0, sizeof(*my_module));
// Now initialize the object with values per the config struct passed in. Set these
// private variables inside `my_module` to whatever they need to be. You get the idea...
my_module->my_private_int1 = config->my_config_param_int;
my_module->my_private_int2 = config->my_config_param_int*3/2;
my_module->my_private_float = config->my_config_param_float;
// etc etc
// Now pass out this object handle to the user, and exit.
*my_module_h_p = my_module;
done:
return err;
}
And usage:
my_module_error_t err = MY_MODULE_ERROR_OK;
my_module_h my_module = NULL;
my_module_config_t my_module_config =
{
.my_config_param_int = 7,
.my_config_param_float = 13.1278,
};
err = my_module_open(&my_module, &my_module_config);
if (err != MY_MODULE_ERROR_OK)
{
switch (err)
{
case MY_MODULE_ERROR_INVARG:
printf("MY_MODULE_ERROR_INVARG\n");
break;
case MY_MODULE_ERROR_NOMEM:
printf("MY_MODULE_ERROR_NOMEM\n");
break;
case MY_MODULE_ERROR_PROBLEM1:
printf("MY_MODULE_ERROR_PROBLEM1\n");
break;
case MY_MODULE_ERROR_OK:
// not reachable, but included so that when you compile with
// `-Wall -Wextra -Werror`, the compiler will fail to build if you forget to handle
// any of the error codes in this switch statement.
break;
}
// Do whatever else you need to in the event of an error, here. Ex:
// await connection of debugger, or automatic system power reset by watchdog
while (true) {};
}
// ...continue other module initialization, and enter main loop
See also:
[another answer of mine which references my answer above] Architectural considerations and approaches to opaque structs and data hiding in C
Additional reading on object-based C architecture:
Providing helper functions when rolling out own structures
Additional reading and justification for valid usage of goto in error handling for professional code:
An argument in favor of the use of goto in C for error handling: https://github.com/ElectricRCAircraftGuy/eRCaGuy_dotfiles/blob/master/Research_General/goto_for_error_handling_in_C/readme.md
*****EXCELLENT ARTICLE showing the virtues of using goto in error handling in C: "Using goto for error handling in C" - https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2009/04/27/using-goto-for-error-handling-in-c
Valid use of goto for error management in C?
Error handling in C code
Search terms to make more googlable: opaque pointer in C, opaque struct in C, typedef enum in C, error handling in C, c architecture, object-based c architecture, dynamic memory allocation at initialization architecture in c
bar(const fooRef) declares an immutable address as argument. bar(const foo *) declares an address of an immutable foo as argument.
For this reason, I tend to prefer option 2. I.e., the presented interface type is one where cv-ness can be specified at each level of indirection. Of course one can sidestep the option 1 library writer and just use foo, opening yourself to all sorts of horror when the library writer changes the implementation. (I.e., the option 1 library writer only perceives that fooRef is part of the invariant interface and that foo can come, go, be altered, whatever. The option 2 library writer perceives that foo is part of the invariant interface.)
I'm more surprised that no one's suggested combined typedef/struct constructions.
typedef struct { ... } foo;
Option 3: Give people choice
/* foo.h */
typedef struct PersonInstance PersonInstance;
typedef struct PersonInstance * PersonHandle;
typedef const struct PersonInstance * ConstPersonHandle;
void saveStuff (PersonHandle person);
int readStuff (ConstPersonHandle person);
...
/* foo.c */
struct PersonInstance {
int a;
int b;
...
};
...

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