C: parallel processes and pick the last but one - c

I have to write a program in C that uses processes, not threads (I'm writing in UNIX):
the father generate 7 children.
every child generate a random integer and begin an empty for statement from 0 to that random int.
at the end, the father calls wait and print the pid of the last but one process that has terminated.
this is what I'm trying:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/shm.h>
#include <sys/ipc.h>
int main(){
int n = 7;
int i,r, random;
pid_t pid;
pid_t pid_padre;
int *shared_memory;
int segment_id;
int size = 1024;
int ciclo;
pid_padre = getpid();
printf("Inizio programma:\n");
printf("Processo Padre: [%d]\n", pid_padre);
segment_id = shmget(IPC_PRIVATE, size, S_IRUSR | S_IWUSR);
shared_memory = shmat(segment_id, NULL, 0);
for(i=0;i<n;i++) {
shared_memory[i] = 0;
}
for(i=0;i<n;i++) {
pid =fork();
if (pid == 0) {
random = rand();
for(ciclo=0; ciclo<random; ciclo++);
for (r=0; r<n; r++) {
if (shared_memory[r] == 0) {
//printf("figlio %d\n",getpid() );
//shared_memory[r] = (int)getpid();
break;
}
}
break;
}
}
if (getpid() == pid_padre) {
wait(NULL);
//sleep(3);
for(i=0;i<n;i++) {
printf("array, figlio %d, pid \n",i , shared_memory[i]);
}
shmdt(shared_memory);
shmctl(segment_id, IPC_RMID, NULL);
}
return 0;
}
edit: what's wrong in my code: at the end, it does print nothing instead of pids, it prints
"array, figlio 1, pid "
instead of "array, figlio 1, pid 3898" for example

Related

System call how to make parent wait for child

This is my code system call in C.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
int n;
int i;
pid_t pid;
int time = 1000;
int sum = 0;
int main(void) {
printf("n: ");
scanf("%d", &n);
pid = fork();
if (pid < 0) {
printf("Fork Failed");
exit(-1);
} else if (pid == 0) {
//child
for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) {
sum += i;
}
printf("Sum of 1 to %d: %d\n", n, sum); // this is ok
} else {
// parent
wait(&time);
printf("Sum of 1 to %d: %d\n", n, sum); // this always return 0;
}
return 0;
}
I don't know why in parent's code block, the sum is always equal to 0.
How to make parent wait for child or am I doing something wrong ?
Waiting for the child works. However, your expectations are wrong.
Apparently you think that computations in the child process after the fork are visible in the parent process. They are not. The child is a new copy of the parent program at the time of fork. At that time, the parent's sum is 0 and stays that way.
There are several mechanisms to pass data from child to parent (the search term is interprocess communication, IPC).
exit() status
files
shared memory
pipes
signals
message queues
anything else I have missed
The issue here is the variable sum is not shared by the parent & child process, after fork() call the child will have its own copy of the variable sum.
Use shmget(),shmat() from POSIX api. Or use pthread which will share the same memory space for the newly created thread.
Update---
Added the shared memory to your code hopes this helps.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <sys/shm.h>
int n;
int i;
pid_t pid;
int time = 1000;
int main(void) {
int shmid;
int *sum;
printf("n: ");
scanf("%d", &n);
/*request the shared memory from the OS using the shmget()*/
shmid = shmget(IPC_PRIVATE, sizeof(int), 0777|IPC_CREAT);
pid = fork();
if (pid < 0) {
printf("Fork Failed");
exit(-1);
} else if (pid == 0) {
//child
/* shmat() returns a char pointer which is typecast here
to int and the address is stored in the int pointer. */
sum = (int *) shmat(shmid, 0, 0);
for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) {
*sum += i;
}
printf("Sum of 1 to %d: %d\n", n, *sum); // this is ok
/* each process should "detach" itself from the
shared memory after it is used */
shmdt(sum);
} else {
// parent
wait(&time);
sum = (int *) shmat(shmid, 0, 0);
printf("Sum of 1 to %d: %d\n", n, *sum); // this always return 0;
shmdt(sum);
/*delete the cretaed shared memory*/
shmctl(shmid, IPC_RMID, 0);
}
return 0;
}
Refer for more info- https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/shmget.2.html

Processes with group of 2 semaphores and shared memory

I write a program containing two processes: the first one contains a group of two semaphores and creates the child process that reads all data in the shared memory segment and prints them.
In the second one, the child process computes the data using a compute function that returns 0 when all data are computed. It transmits them to the parent through the shared memory segment.
To write data:
On the 1st semaphore the child makes P and the parent make V.
On the 2nd semaphore the child makes V and the parent make P.
But as I'm new in this topic and still getting hardness to understand, it seems like I'm doing something wrong because it's not working as it has to be.
Here is my code:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <semaphore.h>
#include <sys/shm.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
int sum =0;
int compute(int data){
sum += data;
return sum;
}
int main(){
int i;
int shm_id;
int data;
pid_t pid;
key_t shm_key;
sem_t *sem;
// unsigned int sem_value =2;
shm_key = ftok("/dev/null", 65);
shm_id = shmget(shm_id, sizeof(int), 0644 | IPC_CREAT);
if (shm_id < 0){
perror("shmgget");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
// data = shmat(shm_id, NULL, 0);
sem = sem_open("semaphore", O_CREAT | O_EXCL, 0644, 2);
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++){
pid = fork();
if (pid < 0)
{
perror("fork");
sem_unlink("semaphore");
sem_close(sem);
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
else if (pid == 0)
{
break;
}
}
if (pid == 0)
{
puts("Enter the data:");
scanf("%d", &data);
//child process
sem_wait(sem);
printf("Child - %d is in critical section\n", i);
sleep(1);
puts("Enter the data:");
scanf("%d", &data);
// *shrd_value += data;
printf("Child - %d: new value of data = %d\n", i, data);
printf("Child - %d: sum of whole data by far = %d\n", i, compute(data));
sem_post(sem);
exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}
else if (pid > 0)
{
//parent process
while (pid = waitpid(-1, NULL, 0))
{
if (errno == ECHILD)
{
break;
}
}
puts("All children exited");
shmdt(&data);
shmctl(shm_id, IPC_RMID, 0);
sem_unlink("semaphore");
sem_close(sem);
exit(0);
}
}
Output:
Enter the data:
Enter the data:
2
Child - 0 is in critical section
1Enter the data:
Child - 1 is in critical section
Enter the data:
3
Child - 0: new value of data = 3
Child - 0: sum of whole data by far = 3
2
Child - 1: new value of data = 2
Child - 1: sum of whole data by far = 2
All children exited
I have also modified the way they write to shared memory: they write directly at the address given by shmat call that is missing in your code.
I have fixed some bugs and simplifed the code (removed the array - added detailed logging especially before and after entering the critial section):
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <semaphore.h>
#include <sys/shm.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
int main(){
int i;
int shm_id;
pid_t pid;
int *addr;
int data;
pid_t current_pid;
key_t shm_key;
sem_t *sem;
shm_key = ftok("/dev/null", 65);
shm_id = shmget(shm_key, sizeof(int), 0644 | IPC_CREAT);
if (shm_id < 0){
perror("shmget");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
sem_unlink("semaphore");
sem = sem_open("semaphore", O_CREAT, 0644, 1);
if (sem == SEM_FAILED) {
perror("sem_open");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
addr = (int *) shmat(shm_id, (void *) 0, 0);
if (addr == (void *) -1) {
perror("shmat");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
*addr = 0;
for (i = 0; i < 2; i++){
pid = fork();
if (pid < 0)
{
perror("fork");
sem_close(sem);
sem_unlink("semaphore");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
}
if (pid == 0)
{
current_pid = getpid();
printf("Child %d: waiting for critical section \n", current_pid);
sem_wait(sem);
printf("Child %d: enters in critical section \n", current_pid);
printf("child %d: Enter the data:\n", current_pid);
scanf("%d", &data);
printf("Child %d: new value of data = %d\n", current_pid, data);
printf("Child %d: sum of whole data so far = %d\n", current_pid, *addr += data);
sem_post(sem);
printf("Child %d exits from critical section\n", current_pid);
exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}
else if (pid > 0)
{
//parent process
while (pid = waitpid(-1, NULL, 0))
{
if (errno == ECHILD)
{
break;
}
}
puts("All children exited");
shmdt(addr);
shmctl(shm_id, IPC_RMID, 0);
sem_close(sem);
sem_unlink("semaphore");
exit(0);
}
exit(0);
}
Note that semaphore initial value must be 1 to have a true critical section for 2 processes.
I have also removed the sleep calls and we can see that one of the process is waiting:
Child 22514: waiting for critical section
Child 22514: enters in critical section
child 22514: Enter the data:
Child 22515: waiting for critical section
333
Child 22514: new value of data = 333
Child 22514: sum of whole data so far = 333
Child 22514 exits from critical section
Child 22515: enters in critical section
child 22515: Enter the data:
666
Child 22515: new value of data = 666
Child 22515: sum of whole data so far = 999
Child 22515 exits from critical section
All children exited
All children exited
Here's the code with producer and consumer process
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <fcntl.h> // O_CREAT, O_EXEC
#include <errno.h> // errno, ECHILD
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/shm.h> // shmat(), IPC_RMID
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <semaphore.h> // sem_open(), sem_destroy(), sem_wait()...
#include <sys/types.h> // key_t, sem_t, pid_t
#include <pthread.h>
#define BUFF 10
typedef struct data{
int buff[BUFF];
int size;
int index;
}DATA;
int main(int argc, char const *argv[])
{
sem_t *full, *empty, *access;
key_t shm_key;
int shm_id;
full = sem_open ("fullname", O_CREAT , 0644, 15);
empty = sem_open ("empty", O_CREAT , 0644, 0);
access = sem_open ("access", O_CREAT , 0644, 1);
if (argc!=2)
{
exit(1);
}
int value=atoi(argv[1]);
//initialize a shared variable in shared memory
shm_key = ftok("/dev/null", 60);
shm_id = shmget(shm_key, sizeof(DATA), 0);
// shared memory error check
if (shm_id < 0){
shm_id = shmget(shm_key, sizeof(DATA), 0644 | IPC_CREAT);
DATA *data = (DATA*) shmat (shm_id, NULL, 0);
data->size=0;
data->index=0; //index
}
printf("Shared memory id: %d\n",shm_id );
printf("Checking buffer...,\n");
//If in the buffer have free space then will wait for consumer to consume the data\n"
sem_wait(empty);
printf("\nLocking buffer to produce data\n");
sem_wait(access);
//initialize a shared variable in shared memory
shm_key = ftok("/dev/null", 60);
shm_id = shmget(shm_id, sizeof(DATA), 0644 | IPC_CREAT);
// shared memory error check
if (shm_id < 0){
perror("semaphore");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
//Shared variable
DATA *data = (DATA*) shmat (shm_id, NULL, 0);
int index=(data->size + data->index) % 15;
data->buff[index]=value;
data->size++;
printf("%d is located in %d on the buffer\n",value,index );
//consusming
// attach data to shared memory
index=data->index;
value=data->buff[index];
printf("%d now consumed\n",value );
data->size--;
data->index++;
sem_post(access);
sem_post(full);
return 0;
}

Handler for SIGCHLD signals

The code doesn't work and it goes in loop. I think the error is in the gestore method, that is a handler for SIGCHLD signals. This is the first time I use a handler to capture SIGCHLD signals.
This program continue to casually extracts from 0 to argv[1] until a number appears argv[1] times.
If it's not clear you can test my old program that I put at the end of question.
Can you help me finding the error?
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <signal.h>
int a;
void gestore(int segnale);
int main(int argc, char * argv[]){
int n = atoi(argv[1]), i, pid;
int * vec;
vec = malloc((n+1)*sizeof(*vec));
memset (vec, 0, sizeof(*vec));
char * newargv[] = {argv[0], argv[1] , NULL};
for(i = 0; i < n; i++){
pid = fork();
if (pid == 0)
execve("./throw-dice", newargv, NULL);
signal(SIGCHLD, gestore);
vec[WEXITSTATUS(a)]++;
}
while(vec[i] != n){
for(i = 1; i < n+1 && vec[i] != n; i++){
if(vec[i] != 0){
pid = fork();
if (pid == 0)
execve("./throw-dice", newargv, NULL);
signal(SIGCHLD, gestore);
vec[WEXITSTATUS(a)]++;
}
}
}
printf("The value %d is appeared %d times!\n", i, vec[i]);
while (wait(&a) != -1);
free(vec);
}
void gestore(int segnale){
signal(segnale, SIG_IGN);
waitpid(WAIT_ANY, &a, WNOHANG);
signal(segnale, gestore);
}
My goal was to modify my old program (that works) changing the way I capture the exit status of childs. From syncronically with "wait" to asyncronically with a gestore method that handle SIGCHLD signals.
This is my old program:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
int main(int argc, char * argv[]){
int n = atoi(argv[1]), a, i, pid;
int * vec;
vec = malloc((n+1)*sizeof(*vec));
memset (vec, 0, sizeof(*vec));
char * newargv[] = {argv[0], argv[1] , NULL};
for(i = 0; i < n; i++){
pid = fork();
if (pid == 0)
execve("./throw-dice", newargv, NULL);
wait(&a);
vec[WEXITSTATUS(a)]++;
}
while(vec[i] != n){
for(i = 1; i < n+1 && vec[i] != n; i++){
if(vec[i] != 0){
pid = fork();
if (pid == 0)
execve("./throw-dice", newargv, NULL);
wait(&a);
vec[WEXITSTATUS(a)]++;
}
}
}
printf("The value %d is appeared %d times\n", i, vec[i]);
while (wait(&a) != -1);
free(vec);
}
//throw-dice.c
#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main(int argc, char * argv[]) {
int n, val;
// Must have an argument
if (argc < 2) {
exit(-1);
}
// the 1st argument must be a positive number
if ((n = atoi(argv[1])) <= 0) {
exit(-1);
}
// sleep(1); // sleep a bit
srand(getpid()); // initialize the random seed with PID
val = rand() % n + 1;
printf("(PID=%d): got number %d\n", getpid(), val);
exit(val);
}

why does creating a fork in the middle of my program change my pid variable's value before the program runs?

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <errno.h>
useconds_t BEAUTY_SLEEP = 500;
int main() {
int remains = 0;
char whoami[50];
pid_t pid;
pid_t ppid;
printf("%d\n", pid); //debug
printf("%d\n", getppid()); //debug
fflush(stdout); //debug
while (1) {
if ((ppid = getppid()) == 2704 && (pid == 0)) {
pid = fork();
if (pid == -1) {
perror("fork()");
exit(1);
}
printf("%ld\n", (long)ppid);
puts("beep");
} else {
usleep(BEAUTY_SLEEP);
}
}
return 0;
}
When I comment out "pid = fork()" in the while loop above, printf("%d\n", pid) prints the proper default value, 0. However, when I restore the pid = fork() line, the print statement outputs a non-zero process ID. Any clue as to why the retroactive assignment is happening?

Working with semaphores and shared memory under Linux

I need to write a program that is creating a N amount of sub processes and every single one of them adds one to a shared memory variable. My idea is to use semaphores and shared memory, but the processes are not waiting for each other and the shared memory variable is also not working as I want it.
mydefs.h
#ifndef __MYDEFS__H__
#define __MYDEFS__H__
// Includes
#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <semaphore.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <memory.h>
#include <sys/ipc.h>
#include <sys/msg.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/shm.h>
#endif // __MYDEFS__H__
main.c
#include "mydefs.h"
#define PROC_COUNT 3
#define INITAL_MARKER_VALUE 0
#define PID_LEN 32
char mypid[PID_LEN];
int main()
{
int i, shm_id;
sem_t mutex;
if(sem_init(&mutex,1,1) < 0)
{
perror("semaphore initilization");
exit(0);
}
shm_id = shmget(IPC_PRIVATE, 4*sizeof(int), IPC_CREAT | 0666);
if (shm_id < 0) {
printf("shmget error\n");
}
int *shmpointer = shmat(shm_id,0,0);
memset(mypid, 0, sizeof(mypid));
sprintf(mypid, "%06d", getpid());
for(i = 0; i < PROC_COUNT; i++)
{
if (fork() == 0)
{
while(sem_wait(&mutex)!=0);
execl("slaveproc", "slaveproc", mypid, (char *)0);
shmpointer += 1;
sem_post(&mutex);
perror("\n Can't exec slave program. Cause ");
exit(1);
}
}
sleep(1);
printf("%d\n", *shmpointer);
return 0;
}
slaveproc.c
#include "mydefs.h"
int marker; // Marker value
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
master_pid = atoi(argv[1]);
printf("\n --------------------------------------");
printf("\n I'm the slave proc!");
printf("\n My pid: %d", getpid());
printf("\n My master's pid: %d", master_pid);
printf("\n --------------------------------------");
for(;;) pause();
return 0;
}
The problem (or at least "a problem") is that mutex is not in shared memory: it's allocated on the stack. When you fork(), the new process will have a completely separate copy from the old process, so calling sem_wait(&mutex) on one process will not affect the other process's mutex at all.
You should put mutex in the shared memory:
int main()
{
int i, shm_id;
shm_id = shmget(IPC_PRIVATE, sizeof(sem_t) + 4*sizeof(int), IPC_CREAT | 0666);
if (shm_id < 0) {
printf("shmget error\n");
}
int *shmpointer = shmat(shm_id,0,0);
sem_t *mutex = shmpointer;
shmpointer = (void*)shmpointer + sizeof(sem_t);
if(sem_init(mutex,1,1) < 0)
{
perror("semaphore initilization");
exit(0);
}
memset(mypid, 0, sizeof(mypid));
sprintf(mypid, "%06d", getpid());
for(i = 0; i < PROC_COUNT; i++)
{
if (fork() == 0)
{
while(sem_wait(mutex)!=0);
execl("slaveproc", "slaveproc", mypid, (char *)0);
shmpointer += 1;
sem_post(mutex);
perror("\n Can't exec slave program. Cause ");
exit(1);
}
}
sleep(1);
printf("%d\n", *shmpointer);
return 0;
}
You're also never writing to the memory in shmpointer (perhaps you meant (*shmpointer) += 1?), but I'll let you figure that out on your own.

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