Passing an array created from fscanf into a new function - c

I have successfully fscanf a text file and saved in to an array E2N1. I am trying to pass this into a function as a pointer but it is not working. Whenever I try to call E2N1[0][0], it says that E2N is neither an array or a pointer. I've been looking all over for a solution on this.
(Sorry E2N was meant to be E2N1)
I use fscanf as:
int E2N1[noz.rowE2N][Q.N];
FILE* f = fopen("E2N.txt", "r");
for(i=0; i<noz.rowE2N; i++){
for (j=0; j<Q.N; j++){
fscanf(f,"%d",&E2N1[i][j]);
}
fscanf(f,"\n");
}
fclose(f);
and again I can't pass E2N1 into function.
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
The function is:
double *dudtF = stiffness(&U, &massM, &noz, &newV, &E2N1, &I2E, &B2E, &PP, &QQ);
and I write the function header as:
double *stiffness(double *U, double *massM, MESH *meshN, double *V1, int *E2N1, int *I2E, int *B2E, ordApprox *pp, ordApprox *qq)
V1, I2E, B2E are three arrays and I'm trying to do the same with them as I am trying to do with E2N1.

The funny thing about arrays is that they actually act as pointers.
if you have array char a[3] the variable is equivalent to char* p the same way if you have array char b[3][4] the variable b is equivalent to char** q. In other words, you should consider changing the handling in the method to take reference to reference (and possibly once more to reference) to integer.
Try google... here are some results I've got.
http://www.dailyfreecode.com/code/illustrate-2d-array-int-pointers-929.aspx
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~ab/15-123S09/lectures/Lecture%2006%20-%20%20Pointer%20to%20a%20pointer.pdf

You don't need to pass as &E2N1, just pass as E2N1 no & as array name itself translates to pointer.
double *dudtF = stiffness(&U, &massM, &noz, &newV, E2N1, &I2E, &B2E, &PP, &QQ);
Also, you need to take it as int ** as its 2-dimensional array.
double *stiffness(double *U, double *massM, MESH *meshN, double *V1, int **E2N1, int *I2E, int *B2E, ordApprox *pp, ordApprox *qq)

Here is the example how to transfer matrix from one function to another ...
void foo (int **a_matrix)
{
int value = a_matrix[9][8];
a_matrix[9][8] = 15;
}
void main ()
{
#define ROWS 10
#define COLUMNS 10
int **matrix = 0;
matrix = new int *[ROWS] ;
for( int i = 0 ; i < ROWS ; i++ )
matrix[i] = new int[COLUMNS];
matrix[9][8] = 5;
int z = matrix[9][8] ;
foo (matrix);
z = matrix[9][8] ;
}

You cannot reference a multi-dimensional array passed to a function by point referencing as in the following:
int iVals[10][10];
foo(iVals);
void foo(int** pvals)
{
// accessing the array as follows will cause an access violation
cout << pvals[0][1]; // access violation or unpredictable results
}
You will need to specify the second dimension to the array in the function prototype
for example:
foo(int ivals[][10])
{
cout << ivals[0][1]; // works fine
}
If do not know the dimensions, then I would suggest you follow the principles outlined here:
void foo(int *p, int r, int c)
{
for(int i=0; i<r; i++)
{
for(int j=0; j<c; j++)
{
printf("%d\n", p[i*c+j]);
}
}
}
int c[6][6];
// pointer to the first element
foo(&c[0][0], 6, 6);
// cast
foo((int*)c, 6, 6);
// dereferencing
foo(c[0], 6, 6);
// dereferencing
foo(*c, 6, 6);
I hope this helps.
Alternatively you could use SAFEARRAY - see:
http://limbioliong.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/passing-multi-dimensional-managed-array-to-c-part-2/

Related

Passing multidimensional array in another way?

#include <stdio.h>
void arraypass(int from, int to, int a[][2]);
int main()
{
setbuf(stdout, NULL);
int t1 = 0, t2 = 0;
int testArray[10][2];
for (t1 = 0; t1 < 10; t1++)
{
testArray[t1][t2] = t1 + 1;
}
t2++;
for (t1 = 0; t1 < 10; t1++)
{
testArray[t1][t2] = t1 + 10;
}
arraypass(1,5,testArray);
return 0;
}
void arraypass(int from, int to, int a[][2])
{
int b;
for (b = from; b <= to; b++)
{
printf("%d ",a[b][0]);
printf("%d\n",a[b][1]);
}
}
Why is it that
int a[][2]
works, but not
int a[][]
for the argument definitions in this?
void arraypass(int from, int to, int a[][2]);
And, is there a way to possibly pass an entire multidimensional array at once, or do I need to perform some kind of loop?
For the compiler, a vector is a hidden pointer to its first item.
For example:
int a[2];
a[0]=0;
a[1]=1;
is the same of:
int a[2];
*(a+0)=0;
*(a+1)=1;
When you pass a multidimensional array (o a simple array) you should use pointers instead of a vector:
void arraypass(int from, int to, int **a);
and then if you want to use it you could do something like this:
void arraypass(int from, int to, int **a){
int i,j;
for(i=from; i<end; i++) {
for(j=0; j<2; j++) {
printf("%d",a[i][j]);
}
}
You have to remember that arrays decays to pointers. That means, when they are (for example) passed as arguments to functions the function receives a pointer.
What int a[][2] does, is the same as int (*a)[2], which means that a is a pointer to an array of two int. That is different from a pointer to an array of any other dimension, which is why you don't have to specify the primary "dimension" (as that to the compiler is the same as a pointer) but you do have to specify the other "dimension(s)".
This is related to this answer in the C FAQ.
Because the function receives a pointer when an array is passed to a function, the compiler needs to know the dimensionality of the array that the pointer will be to (in this case, two), but doesn't care how long the sequence of pointers to two-element arrays is going to be.

C, passing 2 dimensional array

I haven't used pure C in a few years now, but I can't seem to make this really basic use case work. Here is the simple use-case in simple C, the actual situation is wrapped in the HDF library, but I need to start with this, first.
#include <stdio.h>
void print_data(float **data, int I, int J)
{
for(int i=0;i<I;i++)
{
for(int j=0;j<J;j++)
printf("%02.2f\t", data[i][j]);
printf("\n");
}
}
void initialize_data(float **data, int I, int J)
{
for(int i=0;i<I;i++)
for(int j=0;j<J;j++)
data[i][j] = i * 6 + j + 1;
}
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
float data[4][6];
int I=4;
int J=6;
initialize_data((float **)data, 4,6);
print_data((float **)data, 4, 6);
return 0;
}
The above program will cause a failure and raise a EXC_BAD_ACCESS signal. GDB outputs:
Program received signal EXC_BAD_ACCESS, Could not access memory.
Reason: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at address: 0x00007fff5fc0131a
0x0000000100000de6 in initialize_data (data=0x7fff5fbff348, I=4, J=6) at simple.c:16
16 data[i][j] = i * 6 + j + 1;
I know this is really stupid simple, but I'm at my wits' ends trying to figure out this simple thing. Could someone point me in the right direction for this?
void print_data(float **data, int I, int J)
expects an array of pointers to (the first element of arrays of) float.
But when you pass
float data[4][6];
you pass a pointer to float[6].
So in print_data, an access to
data[i]
reads sizeof(float*) bytes at an offset of i * sizeof(float*) bytes after what address data holds, and interprets these bytes as a float* that it then dereferences (after adding a suitable offset) in data[i][j].
So when you pass your 2D array, some float values are interpreted as pointers and then followed. That often leads to a segmentation fault.
You can either declare
void print_data(float (*data)[6], int I, int J)
and pass your 2D array, or you need to pass an array of pointers,
float *rows[4];
for(i = 0; i < 4; ++i) {
rows[i] = &data[i][0];
}
and pass rows. Or, the third possibility is to pass and expect a flat array
void initialize_data(float* data, int I, int J) {
for(i = 0; i < I; ++i) {
for(j = 0; j < J; ++j) {
data[i*J + j] = whatever;
}
}
}
and pass &data[0][0] from main.
A bi-dimensionnal array is not evaluated as a pointer to pointer, so you need to use an array of a pointer to array in your prototype:
void print_data(float data[4][6]);
void print_data(float (*data)[6]);

Manipulating dynamic array through functions in C

I am learning how to use dynamic arrays in C. What I want to do is to create a dynamic array data, and put "1" into the first entry using the function test().
void test(void)
{
data[0] = 1;
}
int main(void)
{
int *data = malloc(4 * sizeof *data);
test();
return 0;
}
This compiles in Visual Studio 2010 but the program crashes when run. Instead of using test(), using data[0] = 1 works.
My (newbie) guess is that I need to pass a pointer to data to function test(). How should I write this?
Attempt
void test(int *data)
{
data[0] = 1;
}
Then, in main use test(data) instead of just test().
Edit
The attempt works. However, is this a "proper" way of doing it?
When you use a local variable in C, (dynamic or static, array or not), you need to pass it to the function that will be using it. That's what's wrong with your initial code, test() doesn't know anything about data.
When you declare an array, (dynamic or static) you can pass it to the function in the same ways. The following code is pretty pointless, but it illustrates that using a dynamic array is really no different than a static array.
void assign_function(int arr[], int len_of_arr, int *arr2, int len_of_arr2);
void print_function(int *arr, int len_of_arr, int arr2[], int len_of_arr2);
int main()
{
int data[2] = {0}; // static array of 2 ints
int *data2 = malloc(3 * sizeof(int)); // dynamic array of 3 ints
assign_function(data, 2, data2, 3);
print_function(data2, 3, data, 2);
free(data2); // One difference is you have to free the memory when you're done
return 0;
}
So we can pass the arrays, be they dynamic or static, via array[] or as a pointer, but we need to pass an int along as well so we know how big the array is.
void assign_function(int arr[], int len_of_arr, int *arr2, int len_of_arr2)
{
int count;
for(count = 0; count < len_of_arr; count++) //This is the static array
arr[count] = count;
for(count = 0; count < len_of_arr2; count++) //This is the dynamic array
arr2[count] = count;
}
Then just for fun I reverse which array is pass in arr and arr2 here, and also how they're accessed:
void print_function(int *arr, int len_of_arr, int arr2[], int len_of_arr2)
{
int count;
for(count = 0; count < len_of_arr; count++) //This is the dynamic array now
printf("arr[%d] = %d\n", count, *(arr+count));
for(count = 0; count < len_of_arr2; count++) //And this is the static array
printf("arr2[%d] = %d\n", count, *(arr2+count));
}
Point being, passing via [] or as a pointer, and accessing via [] or a deferenced pointer is up to you, both are fine, both work. I try to avoid pointers when I can as they tend to be hard to read and more error prone when writing.
You can pass arrays dynamically in two ways :
Using a simple pointer and then using pointer arithmetic to manipulate
void test (int * data, int i)
{
*(data + i) = 1; //This sets data[i] = 1
}
Or this way :
void test(int data[], int i)
{
data[i] = 1; //This is the more familiar notation
}
Either of these ways is the 'proper' way to go about this.
The variable 'data' in test is locally scoped. It's not the same 'data' that is in main. You should pass a pointer to 'data' through the parameters of test().

Creating an array of int arrays in C?

Let us say I have the following method prototype:
void mix_audio(int *vocal_data_array, int *instrumental_data_array, int *mixed_audio_array, FOURTH ARGUMENT)
{
}
How would I:
Initialize an array_of_arrays before the above argument so as to pass it as the fourth argument?
In the method, make it so that the first value of my array_of_arrays is the array called vocal_data, that the second value of my array is instrumental_data_array and the third value is mixed_audio_array.
How would I later then loop through all the values of the first array within the array_of_arrays.
I hope I'm not asking too much here. I just thought it would be simple syntax that someone could spit out pretty quickly :)
Thanks!
EDIT 1
Please note that although I've showed by my example an array_of_arrays of length 3 I'm actually looking to create something that could contain a variable length of arrays.
Simple array of arrays and a function showing how to pass it. I just added fake values to the arrays to show that something was passed to the function and that I could print it back out. The size of the array, 3, is just arbitrary and can be changed to whatever sizing you want. Each array can be of a different size (known as a jagged array). It shows your three criteria:
Initialization, Assigning values to each index of arrayOfArrays, The function demonstrates how to extract the data from the array of arrays
#include <stdio.h>
void mix_audio(int *arr[3]);
int main() {
int *arrayOfArrays[3];
int vocal[3] = {1,2,3};
int instrumental[3] = {4,5,6};
int mixed_audio[3] = {7,8,9};
arrayOfArrays[0] = vocal;
arrayOfArrays[1] = instrumental;
arrayOfArrays[2] = mixed_audio;
mix_audio(arrayOfArrays);
return(0);
}
void mix_audio(int *arr[3]) {
int i;
int *vocal = arr[0];
int *instrumental = arr[1];
int *mixed_audio = arr[2];
for (i=0; i<3; i++) {
printf("vocal = %d\n", vocal[i]);
}
for (i=0; i<3; i++) {
printf("instrumental = %d\n", instrumental[i]);
}
for (i=0; i<3; i++) {
printf("mixed_audio = %d\n", mixed_audio[i]);
}
}
From your question it sounds like you actually want a struct containing your arrays, something like:
struct AudioData {
int* vocal_data_array;
unsigned int vocal_data_length;
int* instrumental_data_array;
unsigned int instrumental_data_length;
int* mixed_audio_array;
unsigned int mixed_audio_length;
};
For the array allocation using the example of an array of integers:
int** x = malloc (sizeof (int*) * rows);
if (! x) {
// Error
}
for (int i = 0; i < rows; ++i) {
x[i] = malloc (sizeof (int) * columns);
if (! x[i]) {
// Error
}
}

Define a matrix and pass it to a function in C

I want to create a program in which I can pass a matrix to a function using pointers.
I initialized and scanned 2 matrices in the void main() and then I tried to pass them to a void add function. I think I am going wrong in the syntax of declaration and calling of the function. I assigned a pointer to the base address of my matrix. (for eg: int *x=a[0][0], *y=b[0][0]). What is the right declaration? How can I specify the dimensions?
Given a 2D array of
T a[N][M];
a pointer to that array would look like
T (*ap)[M];
so your add function prototype should look like
void add(int (*a)[COLS], int (*b)[COLS]) {...}
and be called as
int main(void)
{
int a[ROWS][COLS];
int b[ROWS][COLS];
...
add(a, b);
However, this code highlights several problems. First is that your add function is relying on information not passed via the parameter list, but via a global variable or symbolic constant; namely, the number of rows (the number of columns is explicitly provided in the type of the parameters). This tightly couples the add function to this specific program, and makes it hard to reuse elsewhere. For your purposes this may not be a problem, but in general you only want your functions to communicate with their callers through the parameter list and return values.
The second problem is that as written, your function will only work for matrices of ROWS rows and COLS columns; if you want to add matrices of different sizes within the same program, this approach will not work. Ideally you want an add function that can deal with matrices of different sizes, meaning you need to pass the sizes in as separate parameters. It also means we must change the type of the pointer that we pass in.
One possible solution is to treat your matrices as simple pointers to int and manually compute the offsets instead of using subscripts:
void add (int *a, int *b, size_t rows, size_t cols)
{
size_t i;
for (i = 0; i < rows; i++)
{
size_t j;
for (j = 0; j < cols; j++)
{
*(a + cols * i + j) += *(b + cols * i + j);
}
}
}
and call it like so:
int main(void)
{
int a[ROWS][COLS] = {...};
int b[ROWS][COLS] = {...};
int c[ROWS2][COLS2] = {...};
int d[ROWS2][COLS2] = {...};
...
add(a[0], b[0], ROWS, COLS);
add(c[0], d[0], ROWS2, COLS2);
...
}
The types of a[0] and b[0] are "COLS-element arrays of int"; in this context, they'll both be implicitly converted to "pointer to int". Similarly, c[0] and d[0] are also implicitly converted to int *. The offsets in the add() function work because 2D arrays are contiguous.
EDIT I just realized I was responding to caf's example, not the OP, and caf edited his response to show something very similar to my example. C'est la guerre. I'll leave my example as is just to show a slightly different approach. I also think the verbiage about passing information between functions and callers is valuable.
Something like this should do the trick.
#define COLS 3
#define ROWS 2
/* Store sum of matrix a and b in a */
void add(int a[][COLS], int b[][COLS])
{
int i, j;
for (i = 0; i < ROWS; i++)
for (j = 0; j < COLS; j++)
a[i][j] += b[i][j];
}
int main()
{
int a[ROWS][COLS] = { { 5, 10, 5} , { 6, 4, 2 } };
int b[ROWS][COLS] = { { 2, 3, 4} , { 10, 11, 12 } };
add(a, b);
return 0;
}
EDIT: Unless you want to specify the dimensions at runtime, in which case you have to use a flat array and do the 2D array arithmetic yourself:
/* Store sum of matrix a and b in a */
void add(int rows, int cols, int a[], int b[])
{
int i, j;
for (i = 0; i < rows; i++)
for (j = 0; j < cols; j++)
a[i * cols + j] += b[i * cols + j];
}
#caf has shown a good code example.
I'd like to point out that:
I assigned a pointer to the base
address of my matrix. (for eg: int
*x=a[0][0],*y=b[0][0]).
You are not assining a pointer to the base of the matrix. What this does is assign to the value pointed by x and y, the base value in a and b respectively.
The right way would be
int (*x)[] = a;
int (*y)[] = b;
or alternatively
int *x = &a[0][0];
int *y = &b[0][0];

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