Related
I wrote this function to read a line from a file:
const char *readLine(FILE *file) {
if (file == NULL) {
printf("Error: file pointer is null.");
exit(1);
}
int maximumLineLength = 128;
char *lineBuffer = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * maximumLineLength);
if (lineBuffer == NULL) {
printf("Error allocating memory for line buffer.");
exit(1);
}
char ch = getc(file);
int count = 0;
while ((ch != '\n') && (ch != EOF)) {
if (count == maximumLineLength) {
maximumLineLength += 128;
lineBuffer = realloc(lineBuffer, maximumLineLength);
if (lineBuffer == NULL) {
printf("Error reallocating space for line buffer.");
exit(1);
}
}
lineBuffer[count] = ch;
count++;
ch = getc(file);
}
lineBuffer[count] = '\0';
char line[count + 1];
strncpy(line, lineBuffer, (count + 1));
free(lineBuffer);
const char *constLine = line;
return constLine;
}
The function reads the file correctly, and using printf I see that the constLine string did get read correctly as well.
However, if I use the function e.g. like this:
while (!feof(myFile)) {
const char *line = readLine(myFile);
printf("%s\n", line);
}
printf outputs gibberish. Why?
If your task is not to invent the line-by-line reading function, but just to read the file line-by-line, you may use a typical code snippet involving the getline() function (see the manual page here):
#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main(void)
{
FILE * fp;
char * line = NULL;
size_t len = 0;
ssize_t read;
fp = fopen("/etc/motd", "r");
if (fp == NULL)
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
while ((read = getline(&line, &len, fp)) != -1) {
printf("Retrieved line of length %zu:\n", read);
printf("%s", line);
}
fclose(fp);
if (line)
free(line);
exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}
FILE* filePointer;
int bufferLength = 255;
char buffer[bufferLength]; /* not ISO 90 compatible */
filePointer = fopen("file.txt", "r");
while(fgets(buffer, bufferLength, filePointer)) {
printf("%s\n", buffer);
}
fclose(filePointer);
In your readLine function, you return a pointer to the line array (Strictly speaking, a pointer to its first character, but the difference is irrelevant here). Since it's an automatic variable (i.e., it's “on the stack”), the memory is reclaimed when the function returns. You see gibberish because printf has put its own stuff on the stack.
You need to return a dynamically allocated buffer from the function. You already have one, it's lineBuffer; all you have to do is truncate it to the desired length.
lineBuffer[count] = '\0';
realloc(lineBuffer, count + 1);
return lineBuffer;
}
ADDED (response to follow-up question in comment): readLine returns a pointer to the characters that make up the line. This pointer is what you need to work with the contents of the line. It's also what you must pass to free when you've finished using the memory taken by these characters. Here's how you might use the readLine function:
char *line = readLine(file);
printf("LOG: read a line: %s\n", line);
if (strchr(line, 'a')) { puts("The line contains an a"); }
/* etc. */
free(line);
/* After this point, the memory allocated for the line has been reclaimed.
You can't use the value of `line` again (though you can assign a new value
to the `line` variable if you want). */
//open and get the file handle
FILE* fh;
fopen_s(&fh, filename, "r");
//check if file exists
if (fh == NULL){
printf("file does not exists %s", filename);
return 0;
}
//read line by line
const size_t line_size = 300;
char* line = malloc(line_size);
while (fgets(line, line_size, fh) != NULL) {
printf(line);
}
free(line); // dont forget to free heap memory
A complete, fgets() solution:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#define MAX_LEN 256
int main(void)
{
FILE* fp;
fp = fopen("file.txt", "r");
if (fp == NULL) {
perror("Failed: ");
return 1;
}
char buffer[MAX_LEN];
while (fgets(buffer, MAX_LEN, fp))
{
// Remove trailing newline
buffer[strcspn(buffer, "\n")] = 0;
printf("%s\n", buffer);
}
fclose(fp);
return 0;
}
Output:
First line of file
Second line of file
Third (and also last) line of file
Remember, if you want to read from Standard Input (rather than a file as in this case), then all you have to do is pass stdin as the third parameter of fgets() method, like this:
while(fgets(buffer, MAX_LEN, stdin))
Appendix
Removing trailing newline character from fgets() input
how to detect a file is opened or not in c
readLine() returns pointer to local variable, which causes undefined behaviour.
To get around you can:
Create variable in caller function and pass its address to readLine()
Allocate memory for line using malloc() - in this case line will be persistent
Use global variable, although it is generally a bad practice
Use fgets() to read a line from a file handle.
Some things wrong with the example:
you forgot to add \n to your printfs. Also error messages should go to stderr i.e. fprintf(stderr, ....
(not a biggy but) consider using fgetc() rather than getc(). getc() is a macro, fgetc() is a proper function
getc() returns an int so ch should be declared as an int. This is important since the comparison with EOF will be handled correctly. Some 8 bit character sets use 0xFF as a valid character (ISO-LATIN-1 would be an example) and EOF which is -1, will be 0xFF if assigned to a char.
There is a potential buffer overflow at the line
lineBuffer[count] = '\0';
If the line is exactly 128 characters long, count is 128 at the point that gets executed.
As others have pointed out, line is a locally declared array. You can't return a pointer to it.
strncpy(count + 1) will copy at most count + 1 characters but will terminate if it hits '\0' Because you set lineBuffer[count] to '\0' you know it will never get to count + 1. However, if it did, it would not put a terminating '\0' on, so you need to do it. You often see something like the following:
char buffer [BUFFER_SIZE];
strncpy(buffer, sourceString, BUFFER_SIZE - 1);
buffer[BUFFER_SIZE - 1] = '\0';
if you malloc() a line to return (in place of your local char array), your return type should be char* - drop the const.
Here is my several hours... Reading whole file line by line.
char * readline(FILE *fp, char *buffer)
{
int ch;
int i = 0;
size_t buff_len = 0;
buffer = malloc(buff_len + 1);
if (!buffer) return NULL; // Out of memory
while ((ch = fgetc(fp)) != '\n' && ch != EOF)
{
buff_len++;
void *tmp = realloc(buffer, buff_len + 1);
if (tmp == NULL)
{
free(buffer);
return NULL; // Out of memory
}
buffer = tmp;
buffer[i] = (char) ch;
i++;
}
buffer[i] = '\0';
// Detect end
if (ch == EOF && (i == 0 || ferror(fp)))
{
free(buffer);
return NULL;
}
return buffer;
}
void lineByline(FILE * file){
char *s;
while ((s = readline(file, 0)) != NULL)
{
puts(s);
free(s);
printf("\n");
}
}
int main()
{
char *fileName = "input-1.txt";
FILE* file = fopen(fileName, "r");
lineByline(file);
return 0;
}
const char *readLine(FILE *file, char* line) {
if (file == NULL) {
printf("Error: file pointer is null.");
exit(1);
}
int maximumLineLength = 128;
char *lineBuffer = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * maximumLineLength);
if (lineBuffer == NULL) {
printf("Error allocating memory for line buffer.");
exit(1);
}
char ch = getc(file);
int count = 0;
while ((ch != '\n') && (ch != EOF)) {
if (count == maximumLineLength) {
maximumLineLength += 128;
lineBuffer = realloc(lineBuffer, maximumLineLength);
if (lineBuffer == NULL) {
printf("Error reallocating space for line buffer.");
exit(1);
}
}
lineBuffer[count] = ch;
count++;
ch = getc(file);
}
lineBuffer[count] = '\0';
char line[count + 1];
strncpy(line, lineBuffer, (count + 1));
free(lineBuffer);
return line;
}
char linebuffer[256];
while (!feof(myFile)) {
const char *line = readLine(myFile, linebuffer);
printf("%s\n", line);
}
note that the 'line' variable is declared in calling function and then passed, so your readLine function fills predefined buffer and just returns it. This is the way most of C libraries work.
There are other ways, which I'm aware of:
defining the char line[] as static
(static char line[MAX_LINE_LENGTH]
-> it will hold it's value AFTER returning from the function). -> bad,
the function is not reentrant, and
race condition can occur -> if you
call it twice from two threads, it
will overwrite it's results
malloc()ing the char line[], and
freeing it in calling functions ->
too many expensive mallocs, and,
delegating the responsibility to free the buffer to another function (the most elegant solution is to call malloc and free on any buffers in same function)
btw, 'explicit' casting from char* to const char* is redundant.
btw2, there is no need to malloc() the lineBuffer, just define it char lineBuffer[128], so you don't need to free it
btw3 do not use 'dynamic sized stack arrays' (defining the array as char arrayName[some_nonconstant_variable]), if you don't exactly know what are you doing, it works only in C99.
void readLine(FILE* file, char* line, int limit)
{
int i;
int read;
read = fread(line, sizeof(char), limit, file);
line[read] = '\0';
for(i = 0; i <= read;i++)
{
if('\0' == line[i] || '\n' == line[i] || '\r' == line[i])
{
line[i] = '\0';
break;
}
}
if(i != read)
{
fseek(file, i - read + 1, SEEK_CUR);
}
}
what about this one?
Implement method to read, and get content from a file (input1.txt)
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
void testGetFile() {
// open file
FILE *fp = fopen("input1.txt", "r");
size_t len = 255;
// need malloc memory for line, if not, segmentation fault error will occurred.
char *line = malloc(sizeof(char) * len);
// check if file exist (and you can open it) or not
if (fp == NULL) {
printf("can open file input1.txt!");
return;
}
while(fgets(line, len, fp) != NULL) {
printf("%s\n", line);
}
free(line);
}
Hope this help. Happy coding!
You should use the ANSI functions for reading a line, eg. fgets. After calling you need free() in calling context, eg:
...
const char *entirecontent=readLine(myFile);
puts(entirecontent);
free(entirecontent);
...
const char *readLine(FILE *file)
{
char *lineBuffer=calloc(1,1), line[128];
if ( !file || !lineBuffer )
{
fprintf(stderr,"an ErrorNo 1: ...");
exit(1);
}
for(; fgets(line,sizeof line,file) ; strcat(lineBuffer,line) )
{
if( strchr(line,'\n') ) *strchr(line,'\n')=0;
lineBuffer=realloc(lineBuffer,strlen(lineBuffer)+strlen(line)+1);
if( !lineBuffer )
{
fprintf(stderr,"an ErrorNo 2: ...");
exit(2);
}
}
return lineBuffer;
}
My implement from scratch:
FILE *pFile = fopen(your_file_path, "r");
int nbytes = 1024;
char *line = (char *) malloc(nbytes);
char *buf = (char *) malloc(nbytes);
size_t bytes_read;
int linesize = 0;
while (fgets(buf, nbytes, pFile) != NULL) {
bytes_read = strlen(buf);
// if line length larger than size of line buffer
if (linesize + bytes_read > nbytes) {
char *tmp = line;
nbytes += nbytes / 2;
line = (char *) malloc(nbytes);
memcpy(line, tmp, linesize);
free(tmp);
}
memcpy(line + linesize, buf, bytes_read);
linesize += bytes_read;
if (feof(pFile) || buf[bytes_read-1] == '\n') {
handle_line(line);
linesize = 0;
memset(line, '\0', nbytes);
}
}
free(buf);
free(line);
Provide a portable and generic getdelim function, test passed via msvc, clang, gcc.
/*
* An implementation conform IEEE Std 1003.1-2017:
* https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/functions/getdelim.html
*
* <nio.h>:
* https://github.com/junjiemars/c/blob/c425bd0e49df35a2649327664d3f6cd610791996/src/posix/nio.h
* <nio.c>:
* https://github.com/junjiemars/c/blob/c425bd0e49df35a2649327664d3f6cd610791996/src/posix/nio.c
*
*/
#include <errno.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <limits.h>
/*
* LINE_MAX dependents on OS' implementations so check it first.
* https://github.com/junjiemars/c/blob/c425bd0e49df35a2649327664d3f6cd610791996/src/posix/nlim_auto_check
*/
#define NM_LINE_MAX 4096 /* Linux */
#if (MSVC)
typedef SSIZE_T ssize_t;
# if !defined(SSIZE_MAX)
# define SSIZE_MAX ((ssize_t)((size_t)((ssize_t)-1) >> 1))
# endif
#endif
ssize_t getdelim(char **restrict lineptr, size_t *restrict n, int delimiter,
FILE *restrict stream);
#if defined(getline)
# undef getline
#endif
#define getline(lp, n, f) getdelim((lp), (n), 0x0a, (f))
ssize_t
getdelim(char **restrict lineptr, size_t *restrict n, int delimiter,
FILE *restrict stream)
{
int c;
char *p, *p1;
ssize_t len;
if (NULL == lineptr || NULL == n || NULL == stream
|| (UCHAR_MAX < delimiter || delimiter < 0))
{
errno = EINVAL;
return EOF;
}
if (feof(stream) || ferror(stream))
{
return EOF;
}
if (0 == *lineptr)
{
if (0 == *n)
{
*n = NM_LINE_MAX;
}
*lineptr = malloc(*n);
if (0 == *lineptr)
{
return EOF;
}
}
p = *lineptr;
len = 0;
while (EOF != (c = fgetc(stream)))
{
if (SSIZE_MAX == (ssize_t) len)
{
errno = EOVERFLOW;
return EOF;
}
if ((size_t) len == (*n - 1))
{
*n <<= 1;
p1 = realloc(*lineptr, *n);
if (0 == p1)
{
return EOF;
}
*lineptr = p1;
p = p1 + len;
}
*p++ = (char) c;
len++;
if (c == delimiter)
{
break;
}
}
if (ferror(stream))
{
return EOF;
}
*p = 0;
return len;
}
int
main(void)
{
FILE *fp;
char *line = NULL;
size_t len = 0;
ssize_t read;
fp = fopen("/some-file", "r");
if (fp == NULL)
exit(1);
while ((read = getline(&line, &len, fp)) != -1) {
printf("Retrieved line of length %zu :\n", read);
printf("%s", line);
}
if (ferror(fp)) {
/* handle error */
}
free(line);
fclose(fp);
return 0;
}
You make the mistake of returning a pointer to an automatic variable.
The variable line is allocated in the stack and only lives as long as the function lives.
You are not allowed to return a pointer to it, because as soon as it returns the memory will be given elsewhere.
const char* func x(){
char line[100];
return (const char*) line; //illegal
}
To avoid this, you either return a pointer to memory which resides on the heap eg. lineBuffer
and it should be the user's responsibility to call free() when he is done with it.
Alternatively you can ask the user to pass you as an argument a memory address on which to write the line contents at.
I want a code from ground 0 so i did this to read the content of dictionary's word line by line.
char temp_str[20]; // you can change the buffer size according to your requirements And A single line's length in a File.
Note I've initialized the buffer With Null character each time I read line.This function can be Automated But Since I need A proof of Concept and want to design a programme Byte By Byte
#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
int i;
char temp_ch;
FILE *fp=fopen("data.txt","r");
while(temp_ch!=EOF)
{
i=0;
char temp_str[20]={'\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0'};
while(temp_ch!='\n')
{
temp_ch=fgetc(fp);
temp_str[i]=temp_ch;
i++;
}
if(temp_ch=='\n')
{
temp_ch=fgetc(fp);
temp_str[i]=temp_ch;
}
printf("%s",temp_str);
}
return 0;
}
I need to allocate memory using malloc or calloc, for a large file that looks like this:
2357 VKLYKK
7947 1WTFWZ
3102 F2IXK3
2963 EXMW55
2865 50CJES
2510 8PC1AI
There are around 10K of lines in that .txt file. How can I allocate the required memory?
What is the program supposed to do? The program has to read the whole .txt file. Sort it by the first number and send output to out.txt. But since the the input of the file is huge it won't let me.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#pragma warning(disable : 4996)
typedef struct {
int number;
char order[10];
} Data;
int sorting(const void *a, const void *b)
{
Data *dataA = (Data *)a;
Data *dataB = (Data *)b;
// return (dataA->number - dataB->number); // Ascending order
return (dataB->number - dataA->number); // Descending order
}
int main()
{
FILE *fp;
FILE *f = fopen("out.txt", "w");
Data data[20];
char *line[150]
int i = 0;
char file_name[10] = "";
printf("enter file name: ");
scanf("%s", &file_name);
fp = fopen(file_name, "r");
if (fp == NULL)
{
printf("\n%s\" File not found!", file_name);
exit(1);
}
while (1)
{
if (fgets(line, 150, fp) == NULL)
break;
char *pch;
pch = strtok(line, " ");
data[i].number = atoi(pch);
pch = strtok(NULL, " ");
strcpy(data[i].order, pch);
i++;
}
printf("#################\n");
printf("number\torder\n");
for (int k = 0; k < 10; k++)
{
printf("%d\t%s", data[k].number, data[k].order);
}
qsort(data, 10, sizeof(Data), sorting);
printf("\n#################\n");
printf("number\torder\n");
for (int k = 0; k < 10; k++)
{
printf("%d\t%s", data[k].number, data[k].order);
fprintf(f, "%d\t%s", data[k].number, data[k].order);
}
fclose(fp);
fclose(f);
return 0;
}
If your file contains 10,000 lines or so, your while loop will quickly overrun your data array (which you declared with only 20 elements). If the number of lines is not known in advance, the best way to do this is with a growing array. Start by initialing data (and new dataSize and dataCount variables) as follows:
int dataSize = 0;
int dataCount = 0;
Data *data = NULL;
Then as you use up the space in the array, when it reaches dataSize entries you will have to grow your array. Something like this:
while (1) {
if (dataCount >= dataSize) {
Data *new;
dataSize += 1000;
new = realloc(data,dataSize * sizeof *data);
if (new == NULL) {
perror("realloc");
free(data);
return 2;
}
data = new;
}
int cnt = fscanf(fp,"%d %9s", &data[dataCount].number, data[dataCount].order);
if (cnt == EOF)
break;
if (cnt != 2) {
printf("Error reading data\n");
return 1;
}
dataCount++;
}
When the while loop finishes (if there were no errors), the data array will contain all of the data, and dataCount will be the total number of data items found.
Note that I used fscanf instead of fgets, as this eliminates the need for intermediate step like calls to atoi and strcpy. I also put in some simple error checking. I chose 1000 as the growth increment, though you can change that. But too small and it fragments the heap more rapidly, and too big requires larger amounts of memory too quickly.
this line
char* line[150];
creates an array of 150 char pointers, this is not what you want if you are reading one line like this
if (fgets(line, 150, fp) == NULL) break;
I suspect you wanted one line of 150 chars
so do
char line[150];
You can use qsort to sort the array of lines, but that may not be the best approach. It may be more effective to insert the lines into a data structure that can be easily traversed in order. Although this simple minded solution is very much less than ideal, here's a simple-minded example of inserting into a tree. This sorts the lines lexicographically; modifying it to sort numerically based on the line is a good exercise.
/* Build an (unbalanced) binary search tree of lines in input. */
#include <stddef.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
static void * xrealloc(void *buf, size_t num, size_t siz, void *end);
FILE * xfopen(const char *path, const char *mode);
struct entry {
const char *line;
struct entry *node[2];
};
static struct entry *
new_node(const char *line)
{
struct entry *e = calloc(1, sizeof *e);
if( e == NULL ){
perror("calloc");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
e->line = line;
return e;
}
/*
* Note that this tree needs to be rebalanced. In a real
* project, we would use existing libraries.
*/
static struct entry *
lookup(struct entry **lines, const char *line)
{
struct entry *t = *lines;
if( t ){
int cmp = strcmp(line, t->line);
return lookup(&t->node[cmp > 0], line);
} else {
return *lines = new_node(line);
}
}
/* In-order descent of the tree, printing one line per entry */
static void
print_table(const struct entry *t)
{
if( t ){
print_table(t->node[0]);
printf("%s", t->line);
print_table(t->node[1]);
}
}
static void *
xrealloc(void *buf, size_t num, size_t siz, void *endvp)
{
char **endp = endvp;
ptrdiff_t offset = endp && *endp ? *endp - (char *)buf : 0;
buf = realloc(buf, num * siz);
if( buf == NULL ){
perror("realloc");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
if( endp != NULL ){
*endp = buf + offset;
}
return buf;
}
int
main(int argc, char **argv)
{
FILE *ifp = argc > 1 ? xfopen(argv[1], "r") : stdin;
struct entry *lines = NULL;
char *line = NULL;
size_t cap = 0;
while( getline(&line, &cap, ifp) > 0 ){
(void) lookup(&lines, line);
line = NULL;
}
print_table(lines);
}
FILE *
xfopen(const char *path, const char *mode)
{
FILE *fp = path[0] != '-' || path[1] != '\0' ? fopen(path, mode) :
*mode == 'r' ? stdin : stdout;
if( fp == NULL ){
perror(path);
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
return fp;
}
I'm somehow having troubles creating a dynamic array of strings in C. I'm not getting the expected results and I want to know why ?
readLine() function will read each line seperately and will do some changes if necessary :
char *readLine(FILE *f, size_t *len)
{
char *line = NULL;
ssize_t nread;
if (f == NULL)
{
return NULL;
}
if ((nread = getline(&line, len, f)) != -1)
{
if (line[nread - 1] == '\n')
{
line[strlen(line)-1] = '\0';
*len = strlen(line);
}
return line;
}
else
{
return NULL;
}
}
readFile() function will return an array of strings after reading all of the lines using readLine and then storing them into an array of strings :
char **readFile(const char *filename, size_t *fileLen)
{
char *result;
int idx = 0;
char **array = calloc(1, sizeof(char*) );
if (filename == NULL || fileLen == NULL)
{
return NULL;
}
FILE *f = fopen(filename, "r");
if (f == NULL)
{
return NULL;
}
while (1)
{
result = readLine(f, fileLen);
if (result == NULL)
break;
else
{
*(array + idx) = malloc(LENGTH * sizeof(char *));
strncpy(array[idx], result, strlen(result) + 1);
idx++;
array = realloc(array, (idx + 1) * sizeof(char *));
}
}
return array;
}
In main I created a temporary file to test my functions but it didn't work properly :
int main()
{
char filename[] = "/tmp/prefXXXXXX";
int fd;
size_t len = 0;
FILE *f;
if (-1 == (fd = mkstemp(filename)))
perror("internal error: mkstemp");
if (NULL == (f = fdopen(fd, "w")))
perror("internal error: fdopen");
for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++)
fprintf(f, "%d\n", i);
fclose(f);
char **number = readFile(filename, &len);
for (int i = 0; i < sizeof(number) / sizeof(number[0]); i++)
printf("number[%i] = %s\n", i, number[i]);
return 0;
}
When I execute the program, I get the following output:
number[0] = 0
What am I doing wrong here ?
There are lots of issues in that code, it's difficult to find where to start...
Let's look at each function.
char *readLine(FILE *f, size_t *len)
{
char *line = NULL;
ssize_t nread;
if (f == NULL)
{
return NULL;
}
if ((nread = getline(&line, len, f)) != -1)
{
if (line[nread - 1] == '\n')
{
line[strlen(line)-1] = '\0';
*len = strlen(line);
}
return line;
}
else
{
return NULL;
}
}
There is not much wrong here. But manpage for geline tells us:
If *lineptr is set to NULL before the call, then getline() will
allocate a buffer for storing the line. This buffer should be
freed by the user program even if getline() failed.
You do not free the buffer if nread==-1 but only do return NULL; possibly causing a memory leak.
You should also check whether len==NUL as you already do it with f.
Then look at the next function:
char **readFile(const char *filename, size_t *fileLen)
{
char *result;
int idx = 0;
char **array = calloc(1, sizeof(char*) );
if (filename == NULL || fileLen == NULL)
{
return NULL;
}
FILE *f = fopen(filename, "r");
if (f == NULL)
{
return NULL;
}
while (1)
{
result = readLine(f, fileLen);
if (result == NULL)
break;
else
{
*(array + idx) = malloc(LENGTH * sizeof(char *));
strncpy(array[idx], result, strlen(result) + 1);
idx++;
array = realloc(array, (idx + 1) * sizeof(char *));
}
}
return array;
}
In this function you fail to free(array) in case you hit a return NULL; exit.
readLine puts strlen(result) into filelen. Why don't you use it to allocate memory? Instead you take some unknown fixed length LENGTH that may or may not be sufficient to hold the string. Instead you should use fileLen+1 or strlen(result)+1 as you do it with strncpy.
You are also using size of wrong type. You allocate a pointer to char, not char*. As size of char is defined to be 1 you can just drop the size part here.
Then, the length parameter for strncpy should hold the length of the destination, not the source. Otherwise it is completely useless to use strncpy at all.
As you already (should) use the string length to allocate the memory, just use strncpy.
Then, just passing fileLen to the next function does not make sense. In readLine it means length of a line while in readFile that would not make any sense. Instead it should mean number of lines. And as we just came to the topic... You should pass some value to the caller.
Finally, you should not assign the return value of realloc directly to the varirable you passed into it. In case of an error, NULL is returned and you cannot access or free the old pointer any longer.
This block should look like this:
{
array[idx] = malloc(fileLen+1);
strcpy(array[idx], result);
idx++;
void *temp = realloc(array, (idx + 1) * sizeof(char *));
if (temp != NULL)
array = temp;
// TODO: else <error handling>
}
}
*fileLen = idx;
return array;
}
This still has the flaw that you have allocated memory for one more pointer that you do not use. You can change this as further optimization.
Lastly the main function:
int main()
{
char filename[] = "/tmp/prefXXXXXX";
int fd;
size_t len = 0;
FILE *f;
if (-1 == (fd = mkstemp(filename)))
perror("internal error: mkstemp");
if (NULL == (f = fdopen(fd, "w")))
perror("internal error: fdopen");
for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++)
fprintf(f, "%d\n", i);
fclose(f);
char **number = readFile(filename, &len);
for (int i = 0; i < sizeof(number) / sizeof(number[0]); i++)
printf("number[%i] = %s\n", i, number[i]);
return 0;
}
char **number = readFile(filename, &len); You get an array holding all the lines of a file. number is a very poor name for this.
You return NULL from readFile in case of an error. You should check for that after calling.
Then you forgot that arrays are not pointers and pointers are not arrays. They behave similar in many places but are very different at the same time.
i < sizeof(number) / sizeof(number[0])
Here number is a pointer and its size of the size of a pointer. Also number[0] is a pointer again. Different type, but same size.
What you want is the number of lines which you get from readFile. Use that variable.
This part should look like this:
char **all_lines = readFile(filename, &len);
if (all_lines != NULL)
{
for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
printf("all_lines[%i] = %s\n", i, all_lines[i]);
And you should not forget that you have allocated a lot of memory which you should also free.
(This might not strictly be necessary when you terminate your program, but you should keep in mind to clean up behind you)
if (all_lines != NULL)
{
for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
printf("all_lines[%i] = %s\n", i, all_lines[i]);
for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
free(all_lines[i];
free(all_lines);
}
I have a file with tab delimited data. I want to read the every line into a Structure. I have a code to read the data to char buffer. But I want to load the data into a Structure.
This is My sample data.
empname1\t001\t35\tcity1
empname2\t002\t35\tcity2
My Structure definition .
struct employee
{
char *empname;
char *empid;
int age;
char *addr;
};
My sample program to read data to a char array buffer
char buffer[BUF_SIZE]; /* Character buffer */
input_fd = open (fSource, O_RDONLY);
if (input_fd == -1) {
perror ("open");
return 2;
}
while((ret_in = read (input_fd, &buffer, BUF_SIZE)) > 0){
// Do Some Process
}
Here I want to load the content to a structure variable instead of the character buffer. How I can achieve that?
Well, a possible solution could be
Read a complete line from the file using fgets().
tokenize the input buffer based on the required delimiter [tab in your case] using strtok().
allocate memory (malloc()/ realloc()) to a pointer variable of your structure.
copy the tokenized inputs into the member variables.
Note:
1. fgets() reads and stores the trailing \n.
2. Please check carefully how to use strtok(). The input string should be mutable.
3. Allocate memory to pointers before using them. IMO, use statically allocated array as struct employee member variables.
You can use the fscanf function. Open a file as a stream then use the fscanf to get a input from the file.
int fscanf(FILE *stream, const char *format, ...);
FILE *fp=fopen(fsource,"r+");
struct employee detail;
fscanf(fp,"%s %s %d %s",detail.empname,detail.empid,&detail.age,detail.addr);
Make sure that allocation of memory to the variables.
Or else you can use the strtok function. That time you have to use the sscanf function.
You can use fscanf to read each line from file, strtok to tokenize the line read.
Since your structure members are pointers, allocate memory appropriately.
The following minimal code does exactly what you want.
#define SIZE 50
FILE *fp = NULL;
int i = 0;
struct employee var = {NULL, NULL, 0, NULL};
char line[SIZE] = {0}, *ptr = NULL;
/* 1. Open file for Reading */
if (NULL == (fp = fopen("file.txt","r")))
{
perror("Error while opening the file.\n");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
/* 2. Allocate Memory */
var.empname = malloc(SIZE);
var.empid = malloc(SIZE);
var.addr = malloc(SIZE);
/* 3. Read each line from the file */
while (EOF != fscanf(fp, "%s", line))
{
/* 4. Tokenise the read line, using "\" delimiter*/
ptr = strtok(line, "\\");
var.empname = ptr;
while (NULL != (ptr = strtok(NULL, "\\")))
{
i++;
/* 5. Store the tokens as per structure members , where (i==0) is first member and so on.. */
if(i == 1)
var.empid = ptr;
else if(i == 2)
var.age = atoi(ptr);
else if (i == 3)
var.addr = ptr;
}
i = 0; /* Reset value of i */
printf("After Reading: Name:[%s] Id:[%s] Age:[%d] Addr:[%s]\n", var.empname, var.empid, var.age, var.addr);
}
Working Demo: http://ideone.com/Kp9mzN
Few things to Note here:
This is guaranteed to work, as long as your structure definition (and order of members) remains the same (see manipulation of value i).
strtok(line, "\\");, Second argument is just escaping (first \) the actual \ character.
Clarification from the OP:
In your structure definition, third member is an int, however you're trying to read t35 into it (which is a string).
So var.age = atoi(ptr); will give you 0,
You could change the structure definition, making third member as char * and allocating memory like other members.
Or change file contents, making sure an int is present as the third value.
I think this may be what you are looking for
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdbool.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
struct employee
{
char *empname;
char *empid;
int age;
char *addr;
};
int readEmploee(char *line, struct employee *employee)
{
char *token;
char *saveptr;
char *endptr;
if ((employee == NULL) || (line == NULL))
return 0;
token = strtok_r(line, "\t", &saveptr);
if (token == NULL)
return 0;
employee->empname = strdup(token);
token = strtok_r(NULL, "\t", &saveptr);
if (token == NULL)
return 0;
employee->empid = strdup(token);
token = strtok_r(NULL, "\t", &saveptr);
if (token == NULL)
return 0;
employee->age = strtol(token, &endptr, 10);
if (*endptr != '\0')
return 0;
token = strtok_r(NULL, "\t", &saveptr);
if (token == NULL)
return 0;
employee->addr = strdup(token);
return 1;
}
char *mygetline(int fd)
{
char *line;
size_t length;
size_t count;
char character;
line = malloc(128);
if (line == NULL)
return NULL;
length = 0;
count = 1;
do
{
if (read(fd, &character, 1) != 1) /* end of file probably reached */
{
free(line);
return NULL;
}
else if (character != '\n')
{
if (length > 128 * count)
{
char *temp;
temp = realloc(line, 128 * count);
if (temp == NULL)
{
free(line);
return NULL;
}
line = temp;
count += 1;
}
line[length++] = character;
}
} while (character != '\n');
line[length] = 0;
return line;
}
struct employee *readFile(const char *const fSource, size_t *count)
{
struct employee *employees;
int employeeCount;
int input_fd;
char *line;
if ((count == NULL) || (fSource == NULL))
return NULL;
*count = 0;
employees = NULL;
employeeCount = 0;
input_fd = open (fSource, O_RDONLY);
if (input_fd == -1)
{
perror ("open");
return NULL;
}
while ((line = mygetline(input_fd)) != NULL)
{
struct employee employee;
if (readEmploee(line, &employee) != 0)
{
struct employee *temp;
temp = realloc(employees, (1 + employeeCount) * sizeof(struct employee));
if (temp != NULL)
employees = temp;
employees[employeeCount++] = employee;
}
free(line);
}
*count = employeeCount;
return employees;
}
int
main()
{
size_t count;
size_t index;
struct employee *employees;
employees = readFile("somesamplefile.txt", &count);
if (employees == NULL)
return 1;
for (index = 0 ; index < count ; index++)
{
struct employee current;
current = employees[index];
fprintf(stderr, "%s, %s, %d, %s\n", current.empname, current.empid, current.age, current.addr);
if (current.empname != NULL)
free(current.empname);
if (current.empid != NULL)
free(current.empid);
if (current.addr != NULL)
free(current.addr);
}
free(employees);
return 0;
}
I wrote this function to read a line from a file:
const char *readLine(FILE *file) {
if (file == NULL) {
printf("Error: file pointer is null.");
exit(1);
}
int maximumLineLength = 128;
char *lineBuffer = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * maximumLineLength);
if (lineBuffer == NULL) {
printf("Error allocating memory for line buffer.");
exit(1);
}
char ch = getc(file);
int count = 0;
while ((ch != '\n') && (ch != EOF)) {
if (count == maximumLineLength) {
maximumLineLength += 128;
lineBuffer = realloc(lineBuffer, maximumLineLength);
if (lineBuffer == NULL) {
printf("Error reallocating space for line buffer.");
exit(1);
}
}
lineBuffer[count] = ch;
count++;
ch = getc(file);
}
lineBuffer[count] = '\0';
char line[count + 1];
strncpy(line, lineBuffer, (count + 1));
free(lineBuffer);
const char *constLine = line;
return constLine;
}
The function reads the file correctly, and using printf I see that the constLine string did get read correctly as well.
However, if I use the function e.g. like this:
while (!feof(myFile)) {
const char *line = readLine(myFile);
printf("%s\n", line);
}
printf outputs gibberish. Why?
If your task is not to invent the line-by-line reading function, but just to read the file line-by-line, you may use a typical code snippet involving the getline() function (see the manual page here):
#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main(void)
{
FILE * fp;
char * line = NULL;
size_t len = 0;
ssize_t read;
fp = fopen("/etc/motd", "r");
if (fp == NULL)
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
while ((read = getline(&line, &len, fp)) != -1) {
printf("Retrieved line of length %zu:\n", read);
printf("%s", line);
}
fclose(fp);
if (line)
free(line);
exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}
FILE* filePointer;
int bufferLength = 255;
char buffer[bufferLength]; /* not ISO 90 compatible */
filePointer = fopen("file.txt", "r");
while(fgets(buffer, bufferLength, filePointer)) {
printf("%s\n", buffer);
}
fclose(filePointer);
In your readLine function, you return a pointer to the line array (Strictly speaking, a pointer to its first character, but the difference is irrelevant here). Since it's an automatic variable (i.e., it's “on the stack”), the memory is reclaimed when the function returns. You see gibberish because printf has put its own stuff on the stack.
You need to return a dynamically allocated buffer from the function. You already have one, it's lineBuffer; all you have to do is truncate it to the desired length.
lineBuffer[count] = '\0';
realloc(lineBuffer, count + 1);
return lineBuffer;
}
ADDED (response to follow-up question in comment): readLine returns a pointer to the characters that make up the line. This pointer is what you need to work with the contents of the line. It's also what you must pass to free when you've finished using the memory taken by these characters. Here's how you might use the readLine function:
char *line = readLine(file);
printf("LOG: read a line: %s\n", line);
if (strchr(line, 'a')) { puts("The line contains an a"); }
/* etc. */
free(line);
/* After this point, the memory allocated for the line has been reclaimed.
You can't use the value of `line` again (though you can assign a new value
to the `line` variable if you want). */
//open and get the file handle
FILE* fh;
fopen_s(&fh, filename, "r");
//check if file exists
if (fh == NULL){
printf("file does not exists %s", filename);
return 0;
}
//read line by line
const size_t line_size = 300;
char* line = malloc(line_size);
while (fgets(line, line_size, fh) != NULL) {
printf(line);
}
free(line); // dont forget to free heap memory
A complete, fgets() solution:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#define MAX_LEN 256
int main(void)
{
FILE* fp;
fp = fopen("file.txt", "r");
if (fp == NULL) {
perror("Failed: ");
return 1;
}
char buffer[MAX_LEN];
while (fgets(buffer, MAX_LEN, fp))
{
// Remove trailing newline
buffer[strcspn(buffer, "\n")] = 0;
printf("%s\n", buffer);
}
fclose(fp);
return 0;
}
Output:
First line of file
Second line of file
Third (and also last) line of file
Remember, if you want to read from Standard Input (rather than a file as in this case), then all you have to do is pass stdin as the third parameter of fgets() method, like this:
while(fgets(buffer, MAX_LEN, stdin))
Appendix
Removing trailing newline character from fgets() input
how to detect a file is opened or not in c
readLine() returns pointer to local variable, which causes undefined behaviour.
To get around you can:
Create variable in caller function and pass its address to readLine()
Allocate memory for line using malloc() - in this case line will be persistent
Use global variable, although it is generally a bad practice
Use fgets() to read a line from a file handle.
Some things wrong with the example:
you forgot to add \n to your printfs. Also error messages should go to stderr i.e. fprintf(stderr, ....
(not a biggy but) consider using fgetc() rather than getc(). getc() is a macro, fgetc() is a proper function
getc() returns an int so ch should be declared as an int. This is important since the comparison with EOF will be handled correctly. Some 8 bit character sets use 0xFF as a valid character (ISO-LATIN-1 would be an example) and EOF which is -1, will be 0xFF if assigned to a char.
There is a potential buffer overflow at the line
lineBuffer[count] = '\0';
If the line is exactly 128 characters long, count is 128 at the point that gets executed.
As others have pointed out, line is a locally declared array. You can't return a pointer to it.
strncpy(count + 1) will copy at most count + 1 characters but will terminate if it hits '\0' Because you set lineBuffer[count] to '\0' you know it will never get to count + 1. However, if it did, it would not put a terminating '\0' on, so you need to do it. You often see something like the following:
char buffer [BUFFER_SIZE];
strncpy(buffer, sourceString, BUFFER_SIZE - 1);
buffer[BUFFER_SIZE - 1] = '\0';
if you malloc() a line to return (in place of your local char array), your return type should be char* - drop the const.
Here is my several hours... Reading whole file line by line.
char * readline(FILE *fp, char *buffer)
{
int ch;
int i = 0;
size_t buff_len = 0;
buffer = malloc(buff_len + 1);
if (!buffer) return NULL; // Out of memory
while ((ch = fgetc(fp)) != '\n' && ch != EOF)
{
buff_len++;
void *tmp = realloc(buffer, buff_len + 1);
if (tmp == NULL)
{
free(buffer);
return NULL; // Out of memory
}
buffer = tmp;
buffer[i] = (char) ch;
i++;
}
buffer[i] = '\0';
// Detect end
if (ch == EOF && (i == 0 || ferror(fp)))
{
free(buffer);
return NULL;
}
return buffer;
}
void lineByline(FILE * file){
char *s;
while ((s = readline(file, 0)) != NULL)
{
puts(s);
free(s);
printf("\n");
}
}
int main()
{
char *fileName = "input-1.txt";
FILE* file = fopen(fileName, "r");
lineByline(file);
return 0;
}
const char *readLine(FILE *file, char* line) {
if (file == NULL) {
printf("Error: file pointer is null.");
exit(1);
}
int maximumLineLength = 128;
char *lineBuffer = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * maximumLineLength);
if (lineBuffer == NULL) {
printf("Error allocating memory for line buffer.");
exit(1);
}
char ch = getc(file);
int count = 0;
while ((ch != '\n') && (ch != EOF)) {
if (count == maximumLineLength) {
maximumLineLength += 128;
lineBuffer = realloc(lineBuffer, maximumLineLength);
if (lineBuffer == NULL) {
printf("Error reallocating space for line buffer.");
exit(1);
}
}
lineBuffer[count] = ch;
count++;
ch = getc(file);
}
lineBuffer[count] = '\0';
char line[count + 1];
strncpy(line, lineBuffer, (count + 1));
free(lineBuffer);
return line;
}
char linebuffer[256];
while (!feof(myFile)) {
const char *line = readLine(myFile, linebuffer);
printf("%s\n", line);
}
note that the 'line' variable is declared in calling function and then passed, so your readLine function fills predefined buffer and just returns it. This is the way most of C libraries work.
There are other ways, which I'm aware of:
defining the char line[] as static
(static char line[MAX_LINE_LENGTH]
-> it will hold it's value AFTER returning from the function). -> bad,
the function is not reentrant, and
race condition can occur -> if you
call it twice from two threads, it
will overwrite it's results
malloc()ing the char line[], and
freeing it in calling functions ->
too many expensive mallocs, and,
delegating the responsibility to free the buffer to another function (the most elegant solution is to call malloc and free on any buffers in same function)
btw, 'explicit' casting from char* to const char* is redundant.
btw2, there is no need to malloc() the lineBuffer, just define it char lineBuffer[128], so you don't need to free it
btw3 do not use 'dynamic sized stack arrays' (defining the array as char arrayName[some_nonconstant_variable]), if you don't exactly know what are you doing, it works only in C99.
void readLine(FILE* file, char* line, int limit)
{
int i;
int read;
read = fread(line, sizeof(char), limit, file);
line[read] = '\0';
for(i = 0; i <= read;i++)
{
if('\0' == line[i] || '\n' == line[i] || '\r' == line[i])
{
line[i] = '\0';
break;
}
}
if(i != read)
{
fseek(file, i - read + 1, SEEK_CUR);
}
}
what about this one?
Implement method to read, and get content from a file (input1.txt)
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
void testGetFile() {
// open file
FILE *fp = fopen("input1.txt", "r");
size_t len = 255;
// need malloc memory for line, if not, segmentation fault error will occurred.
char *line = malloc(sizeof(char) * len);
// check if file exist (and you can open it) or not
if (fp == NULL) {
printf("can open file input1.txt!");
return;
}
while(fgets(line, len, fp) != NULL) {
printf("%s\n", line);
}
free(line);
}
Hope this help. Happy coding!
You should use the ANSI functions for reading a line, eg. fgets. After calling you need free() in calling context, eg:
...
const char *entirecontent=readLine(myFile);
puts(entirecontent);
free(entirecontent);
...
const char *readLine(FILE *file)
{
char *lineBuffer=calloc(1,1), line[128];
if ( !file || !lineBuffer )
{
fprintf(stderr,"an ErrorNo 1: ...");
exit(1);
}
for(; fgets(line,sizeof line,file) ; strcat(lineBuffer,line) )
{
if( strchr(line,'\n') ) *strchr(line,'\n')=0;
lineBuffer=realloc(lineBuffer,strlen(lineBuffer)+strlen(line)+1);
if( !lineBuffer )
{
fprintf(stderr,"an ErrorNo 2: ...");
exit(2);
}
}
return lineBuffer;
}
My implement from scratch:
FILE *pFile = fopen(your_file_path, "r");
int nbytes = 1024;
char *line = (char *) malloc(nbytes);
char *buf = (char *) malloc(nbytes);
size_t bytes_read;
int linesize = 0;
while (fgets(buf, nbytes, pFile) != NULL) {
bytes_read = strlen(buf);
// if line length larger than size of line buffer
if (linesize + bytes_read > nbytes) {
char *tmp = line;
nbytes += nbytes / 2;
line = (char *) malloc(nbytes);
memcpy(line, tmp, linesize);
free(tmp);
}
memcpy(line + linesize, buf, bytes_read);
linesize += bytes_read;
if (feof(pFile) || buf[bytes_read-1] == '\n') {
handle_line(line);
linesize = 0;
memset(line, '\0', nbytes);
}
}
free(buf);
free(line);
Provide a portable and generic getdelim function, test passed via msvc, clang, gcc.
/*
* An implementation conform IEEE Std 1003.1-2017:
* https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/functions/getdelim.html
*
* <nio.h>:
* https://github.com/junjiemars/c/blob/c425bd0e49df35a2649327664d3f6cd610791996/src/posix/nio.h
* <nio.c>:
* https://github.com/junjiemars/c/blob/c425bd0e49df35a2649327664d3f6cd610791996/src/posix/nio.c
*
*/
#include <errno.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <limits.h>
/*
* LINE_MAX dependents on OS' implementations so check it first.
* https://github.com/junjiemars/c/blob/c425bd0e49df35a2649327664d3f6cd610791996/src/posix/nlim_auto_check
*/
#define NM_LINE_MAX 4096 /* Linux */
#if (MSVC)
typedef SSIZE_T ssize_t;
# if !defined(SSIZE_MAX)
# define SSIZE_MAX ((ssize_t)((size_t)((ssize_t)-1) >> 1))
# endif
#endif
ssize_t getdelim(char **restrict lineptr, size_t *restrict n, int delimiter,
FILE *restrict stream);
#if defined(getline)
# undef getline
#endif
#define getline(lp, n, f) getdelim((lp), (n), 0x0a, (f))
ssize_t
getdelim(char **restrict lineptr, size_t *restrict n, int delimiter,
FILE *restrict stream)
{
int c;
char *p, *p1;
ssize_t len;
if (NULL == lineptr || NULL == n || NULL == stream
|| (UCHAR_MAX < delimiter || delimiter < 0))
{
errno = EINVAL;
return EOF;
}
if (feof(stream) || ferror(stream))
{
return EOF;
}
if (0 == *lineptr)
{
if (0 == *n)
{
*n = NM_LINE_MAX;
}
*lineptr = malloc(*n);
if (0 == *lineptr)
{
return EOF;
}
}
p = *lineptr;
len = 0;
while (EOF != (c = fgetc(stream)))
{
if (SSIZE_MAX == (ssize_t) len)
{
errno = EOVERFLOW;
return EOF;
}
if ((size_t) len == (*n - 1))
{
*n <<= 1;
p1 = realloc(*lineptr, *n);
if (0 == p1)
{
return EOF;
}
*lineptr = p1;
p = p1 + len;
}
*p++ = (char) c;
len++;
if (c == delimiter)
{
break;
}
}
if (ferror(stream))
{
return EOF;
}
*p = 0;
return len;
}
int
main(void)
{
FILE *fp;
char *line = NULL;
size_t len = 0;
ssize_t read;
fp = fopen("/some-file", "r");
if (fp == NULL)
exit(1);
while ((read = getline(&line, &len, fp)) != -1) {
printf("Retrieved line of length %zu :\n", read);
printf("%s", line);
}
if (ferror(fp)) {
/* handle error */
}
free(line);
fclose(fp);
return 0;
}
You make the mistake of returning a pointer to an automatic variable.
The variable line is allocated in the stack and only lives as long as the function lives.
You are not allowed to return a pointer to it, because as soon as it returns the memory will be given elsewhere.
const char* func x(){
char line[100];
return (const char*) line; //illegal
}
To avoid this, you either return a pointer to memory which resides on the heap eg. lineBuffer
and it should be the user's responsibility to call free() when he is done with it.
Alternatively you can ask the user to pass you as an argument a memory address on which to write the line contents at.
I want a code from ground 0 so i did this to read the content of dictionary's word line by line.
char temp_str[20]; // you can change the buffer size according to your requirements And A single line's length in a File.
Note I've initialized the buffer With Null character each time I read line.This function can be Automated But Since I need A proof of Concept and want to design a programme Byte By Byte
#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
int i;
char temp_ch;
FILE *fp=fopen("data.txt","r");
while(temp_ch!=EOF)
{
i=0;
char temp_str[20]={'\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0','\0'};
while(temp_ch!='\n')
{
temp_ch=fgetc(fp);
temp_str[i]=temp_ch;
i++;
}
if(temp_ch=='\n')
{
temp_ch=fgetc(fp);
temp_str[i]=temp_ch;
}
printf("%s",temp_str);
}
return 0;
}