C Unix Xcode bug again - c

Question

I am doing a university project, we have to use the Unix system call.
Right now, I'm really struggling to understand if, in my project, there really is a mistake. This is because, while in terminal it compiles and it starts and finishes without error, on xcode I get several errors.
In particular, I get errors when using semaphores.
I'll try to explain what errors, I receive, but since I'm not native English speakers forgive me in advance if I make some mistakes.
First, the program creates a number of child processes with a fork (). It does depending on how many clientei.txt located (i = iterator).
Immediately I block parent with a semaphore, I run the child up to a certain point, then I block it with a semaphore and I restart the parent.
At this point, the parent should read a message sent by his son, call a function to print the content inside a log.txt and restart the son.
Then the child does other things (including erase the message) and it block.
The parent restart, and everything is repeated for subsequent children.
While in terminal synchronization is perfect (everything happens at the right time without error) this both Linux and Mac, about XCode I had several errors:
semop: Resource temporarily unavailable (if I created more than 5 txt)
semop: File too large (if I created more than 2)
with 2 instead gave me two errors:
semop 1: Interrupted system call (this stops after running both processes)
semop 3: Identifier removed (with this in restarting the second process)
is not so much time that I do C then I do not know what to do. I would like first of all to know if I have to worry (so there is an error), or I have to be quiet because it is a bug in xcode.
If there was a mistake I kindly ask you not to ask me to change the code a lot.
This is mainly because they are close to expiring and I can not afford to do it all again.
I also ask you, if you can, to be as clear as possible. I understand enough English, but not as a mother-tongue, I can not always follow the responses here on StackOverflow.
The code is here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2utsb6r5d7kzzqj/xcode%2Bterminal.zip?dl=0
this zip contain a small part of the project that has this problem.
the terminal version works. there is a makefile in this version to simplify the compilation.
xcode version does not work. It contains the Debug folder. Indeed xcode, txt files, it does not read from the root folder where the codes are contained in the folder where it creates the compiled. There is a readme in each case with the procedure in detail.
I tried to minimize, I commented all in English.
I removed the code that was not needed, but I added the file with all the include and functions that use.
here the code:
main.c
key_t key, key_2;
int semid, semid_2;
union semun arg;
union semun arg_2;
struct sembuf sb_2 = {0, -1, 0};
char* nome_file;
nome_file = (char*) malloc(sizeof(char*));
int numero_clienti;
//semaphore for all the child
struct sembuf sb[numero_clienti];
int i_c;
for (i_c = 0; i_c < numero_clienti; i_c++) {
sb[i_c].sem_num = i_c;
sb[i_c].sem_op = -1;
sb[i_c].sem_flg = 0;
}
//cretion of first SEMAPHORE
{
//key creation
if ((key = ftok("cliente0.txt", 'J')) == -1)
{
perror("ftok");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
//creation of the semaphore
if ((semid = semget(key, numero_clienti, 0666 | IPC_CREAT | IPC_EXCL)) == -1)
{
perror("semget");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
//set value of all child semaphore
for (i_c = 0; i_c < numero_clienti; i_c++) {
arg.val = 0;
if (semctl(semid, i_c, SETVAL, arg) == -1)
{
perror("semctl");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
}
}
//cretion of second SEMAPHORE
{
//key creation
if ((key_2 = ftok("cliente1.txt", 'J')) == -1)
{
perror("ftok");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
//creation of the semaphore
if ((semid_2 = semget(key_2, 1, 0666 | IPC_CREAT | IPC_EXCL)) == -1)
{
perror("semget");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
//set value of parent semaphore
arg_2.val = 0;
if (semctl(semid_2, 0, SETVAL, arg_2) == -1)
{
perror("semctl");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
}
while(fd > 0 && pid > 0){
j++;
close(fd);
pid = fork();
if(pid != 0)
{
i++;
sprintf(nome_file, "./cliente%d.txt", i);
fd = open(nome_file, O_RDONLY);
}
switch(pid)
{
//error case
case -1:
{
perror("Error during fork.");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
break;
}
//child case
case 0:
{
puts("Child: I'm a child");
messaggio(numero_clienti, j);
puts("Child: I have to do something");
//Start parent
sb_2.sem_op = 1;
if (semop(semid_2, &sb_2, 1) == -1)
{
perror("semop");
exit(1);
}
//, stop itself
sb[j].sem_op = -1;
if (semop(semid, &sb[j], 1) == -1)
{
perror("semop");
exit(1);
}
printf("Child: I have to do something else %d\n", getpid());
_exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
break;
}
//parent case
default:
{
puts("Parent: I'm a parent");
//Stop itself
sb_2.sem_op = -1;
if (semop(semid_2, &sb_2, 1) == -1)
{
perror("semop padre");
exit(1);
}
puts("Parent: now I can send the message, my child is blocked");
//restart child
sb[j].sem_op = 1;
if (semop(semid, &sb[j], 1) == -1)
{
perror("semop");
exit(1);
}
//stop itself
sb_2.sem_op = -1;
if (semop(semid_2, &sb_2, 1) == -1)
{
perror("semop");
exit(1);
}
puts("Parent: end of while");
break;
}
}
}
puts("Parent: I can restart all my child");
for (i_c = 0; i_c < numero_clienti; i_c++) {
sb[i_c].sem_op = 1;
if (semop(semid, &sb[i_c], 1) == -1)
{
perror("semop");
exit(1);
}
}
puts("I wait the end of my child...");
while (wait(NULL) != -1);
puts("All child end");
//remove semaphore I create
if (semctl(semid, 0, IPC_RMID, arg) == -1)
{
perror("semctl");
exit(1);
}
if (semctl(semid_2, 0, IPC_RMID, arg_2) == -1)
{
perror("semctl");
exit(1);
}
puts("FINE");
return 0;
}
cliente.c
#include "cliente.h"
/**
inside this function child do some thing.
1. at this point it give control to parent after it create a message
2. at this point it remove the message
*/
void messaggio(int numero_clienti, int num_j){
key_t key, key_2;
int semid, semid_2;
struct sembuf sb[numero_clienti];
int i_c;
for (i_c = 0; i_c < numero_clienti; i_c++) {
sb[i_c].sem_num = i_c;
sb[i_c].sem_op = -1;
sb[i_c].sem_flg = 0;
}
struct sembuf sb_2 = {0, -1, 0};
if ((key = ftok("cliente0.txt", 'J')) == -1) {
perror("ftok");
exit(1);
}
if ((semid = semget(key, 1, 0)) == -1) {
perror("semget");
exit(1);
}
if ((key_2 = ftok("cliente1.txt", 'J')) == -1) {
perror("ftok");
exit(1);
}
if ((semid_2 = semget(key_2, 1, 0)) == -1) {
perror("semget");
exit(1);
}
//creation of a message
//1. Restart parent
sb_2.sem_op = 1;
if (semop(semid_2, &sb_2, 1) == -1)
{
perror("semop");
exit(1);
}
puts("cambio sem");
//stop itself
sb[num_j].sem_op = -1;
if (semop(semid, &sb[num_j], 1) == -1)
{
perror("semop");
exit(1);
}
//here it can move again
puts("remove message");
puts("Figlio: sono tornato attivo, mio padre aspetta");
}

Answer 1

1st you do
nome_file = (char*) malloc(sizeof(char*));
which allocates 4 or 8 bytes (depending on the platform you compile on: 32 or 64bit).
Then you do
sprintf(nome_file, "./cliente%d.txt", i);
The latter writes to invalid memory, as "./cliente%d.txt" is 14+1 characters long plus the potenial number of digits from i if i>9 or and addtional sign if i<0.
To fix this allocate what is needed:
nome_file = malloc(13 + 10 + 1 + 1); /* 13 for the filename,
10 for the digits,
1 for a potential sign,
1 the C-"strings" 0-terminator. */
This is a really ugly bug, which is expected to be the main issue in your code.
Also in the sources (you linked) in function read_line() you allocate memory, which you do not properly initialise, but later depend on its content.
main.c:20
char* myb2 = (char*) malloc(sizeof(char*));
malloc() does not initialise the memory it allocates, so either do:
char * myb2 = calloc(1, sizeof(char*));
of add and addtional call to
memset(mb2, 0, sizeof(char*));
after the call to malloc().
This bug is nasty either.
Also^2 you should build using gcc's options -std=c99 -D_XOPEN_SOURCE.
That is because:
You are using C constructs available from C99 on only. Typically VLAs, so tell the compiler to treat the code as being C99 code by explcitly stating -std=c99
To #define _XOPEN_SOURCE is issued by gcc, for some header you include in your project.
Also^3 you seem to be not necessarily count the correct number of client(file)s, at least not if your files a distributed as per the archive you linked:
main.c:82
system("ls cliente* | wc -l");
Change this to be:
system("ls cliente*.txt | wc -l");
If the bug described above should return more files then there actually are the following code fails as well from a certain value of i on:
main.c:176
fd = open(nome_file, O_RDONLY);
The result of the above operation is NOT tested. The possible invalid fd is used and the infamous undefined behaviour is taking over. Everything can happen.
As a final note: It's mostly never a bug in the tools we are using.