Deleting items from a structure - c

I have the following linked list:
struct scoreentry_node {
struct scoreentry_node *next;
int score;
char name[1];
}
;
typedef struct scoreentry_node *score_entry;
I'm trying to write a function that removes all nodes that contain a certain name. Here is what I have so far but I'm not sure I'm right:
score_entry disqualify(score_entry a, char* name)
{
score_entry tmp = a;
while (tmp != NULL){
if (strcmp(tmp->name, name) == 0)
{
score_entry trash = tmp;
tmp = tmp->next;
free(trash);
}
else { tmp = tmp->next; }
}
return a;
}
It gives me heap error's .. Any suggestions?

score_entry disqualify(score_entry a, char* name)
{
score_entry new_front = a, tmp;
// delete "wrong" entries from the front
while (new_front != NULL){
if (strcmp(new_front->name, name) == 0)
{
score_entry trash = new_front;
new_front = new_front->next;
free(trash);
}
else
{
// first list entry is valid
// delete "wrong" entries from inside the list
tmp = new_front;
while ( tmp->next != NULL )
{
if ( strcmp(tmp->next->name,name)==0 )
{
score_entry trash = tmp->next;
tmp->next = tmp->next->next;
free(trash);
} else
{
tmp = tmp->next;
}
}
}
}
return new_front;
}
You should also obtain some book related to common data structures - you seem to be interested in the stuff, and it could be a great help for you.

If you delete a member from the list you must fix the gap this creates by linking the 'next' pointer of the previous entry to the following entry. The code below does that. Note that I have changed score_entry so that the typedef no longer contains the pointer - I prefer not to disguise types. Notice that the function returns the head which might have changed if we deleted the first entry in the list.
typedef struct scoreentry_node score_entry;
static score_entry *
disqualify(score_entry *head, const char *name)
{
score_entry *se = head;
score_entry *prev = head;
while (se) {
if (!strcmp(se->name, name)) {
score_entry *next = se->next;
if (head == se) {
head = next;
} else {
prev->next = next;
}
free(se);
se = next;
} else {
prev = se;
se = se->next;
}
}
return head;
}

You're using strcmp on a non-null-terminated string (tmp->name). I'm assuming it's not null-terminated as it's only of length 1. Seems like you're really comparing a character, not a string, so a simple character equality operator would be the right thing to do.

Related

i want to make sure that my linked list work

Is this a right way to do a linked list ? I am having a problem in a big school project and now i want to make sure that this is true.
void addnode(int a){
struct house* tmp = houses[i].next;
while (tmp != NULL) {
tmp = tmp->next;
}
tmp = (struct house*)malloc(sizeof(struct house));
tmp->id=a;
tmp->next=NULL;
}
i figured out that the error can be in other parts of the code. Now i will share the parts i suspect i hope you can help me.
houses[i] is an array of linked lists. if houses[i].id==-1 it is empty
struct house get_house_byid(int id) {
for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
if (houses[i].id != -1) {
if (houses[i].id == id) {
return houses[i];
}
if (houses[i].next != NULL) {
struct house* tmp = houses[i].next;
while (tmp != NULL) {
if (tmp->id == id) {
return *tmp;
}
tmp = tmp->next;
}
}
}
}
struct house housep;
housep.id = -1;
return housep;//if it cant find that id it returns housep
}
There may be other issues with your code that is not shown, but there are issues with addnode:
addnode does not set the head of the list (i.e. houses[i].next).
Thus, the newly added node is never connected to anything [and is a memory leak].
Ignoring the [obvious] typo/syntax error: void addnode{int a} instead of void addnode(int a).
The loop on tmp discards the pointer to the tail of the list. We need a separate variable (e.g. prev).
Note that i is global. That's fine, but the function would be cleaner if i was an argument to addnode instead.
Don't cast the return of malloc: Do I cast the result of malloc?
Here's is some refactored code. It is annotated:
void
addnode(int i,int a)
{
struct house *tmp;
struct house *prev;
// find the tail of the list
prev = NULL;
for (tmp = houses[i].next; tmp != NULL; tmp = tmp->next)
prev = tmp;
// allocate the new node
tmp = malloc(sizeof(*tmp));
tmp->id = a;
tmp->next = NULL;
// append to the tail of the [non-empty] list
if (prev != NULL)
prev->next = tmp;
// add to front of the empty list
else
houses[i].next = tmp;
}

A flexible list with indefinite number of nodes

I am supposed to make a linked list that takes in strings and prints them out in the reverse order. Normally I'd ask the number of nodes that need to be created, and then ask for the data in a for loop until we're done.
typedef struct word_st {
string word; // string is meant to be a pointer to a struct
word_st *next;
}
But the problem is, the number of nodes isn't known until runtime. So I have to keep asking for data until the user is done. I'm not really sure where to start/how to do that and can't seem to find anything on the internet either. So a hint would be very helpful.
I have my insert function and the print function looks fairly simple too.
word_t *insert_2(word_t* head, string text) {
word_t * p = NULL;
word_t * temp = (word_t*) malloc(sizeof(word_t));
temp -> word = text;
temp -> next = NULL;
if(head == NULL) {
head = temp;
} else {
p = head;
} while(p -> next != NULL) {
p = p -> next;
}
p -> next = temp;
return head;
}
In reverse, replace next by prev:
typedef struct word_st {
string word; // string is meant to be a pointer to a struct
word_st * prev;
}
And the function:
word_t *insert_2(word_t* head, string text) {
word_t * nextHead = (word_t*) malloc(sizeof(word_t));
nextHead -> word = text;
nextHead -> prev = NULL;
// Check first element of LIFO
if( head == NULL ) {
return nextHead;
}
nextHead -> prev = head;
return nextHead;
}
I hope It compiles and work.
Note:
for(word_t * head = last ; head->prev != NULL ; head = head->prev )
{
// Do the job
;
}

Why do these code snippets behave differently?

I am relatively new to C, and have been learning about linked lists with pointers.
I learned that
(*foo).bar is the same ad foo->bar.
foo->bar is used because it is more readable.
Therefore I do not understand why these code snippets behave differently:
1)
void appendCourse(CourseNode** pLL, Course c){
CourseNode * root = *pLL;
CourseNode* last = makeCourseNode(c);
if(root != NULL){
CourseNode node = *root;
while(node.pNext != NULL){
node = *node.pNext;
}
node.pNext = last;
} else {
*pLL = last;
}
}
and
2)
void appendCourse(CourseNode** pLL, Course c){
CourseNode * root = *pLL;
CourseNode* last = makeCourseNode(c);
if(root != NULL){
CourseNode *node = root;
while(node->pNext != NULL){
node = node->pNext;
}
node->pNext = last;
} else {
*pLL = last;
}
}
to me it looks like 1) should behave as if dereferencing first, then member access. Sort of like (*foo).bar
but 1) doesn't seem to work right at all, it can only successfully add the first element.
2) does however add all elements into the linked list.
In case this helps: my structs and other method:
typedef struct CourseNode {
struct CourseNode* pNext;
Course course;
} CourseNode;
typedef struct
{
StudentNode *pWaitlistHead; // Waitlist for this course
char szCourseId[12]; // Course Identifier
char szRoom[15]; // Room number of the course
char szDays[15]; // What days the course will meet, ex: MWF, TR, etc
char szTimes[15]; // Meeting Time, ex: 10:00-11:15am
int iAvailSeats; // Number of available seats in the course
double dFee; // Additional fees for the course
} Course;
CourseNode* makeCourseNode(Course c){
CourseNode * node = malloc(sizeof(CourseNode));
node->pNext = NULL;
node->course = c;
return node;
}
CourseNode node = *root;
while(node.pNext != NULL){
node = *node.pNext;
}
This creates a new CourseNode called node. The value of that new CourseNode is modified, but that has no affect on the linked list.
CourseNode *node = root;
while(node->pNext != NULL){
node = node->pNext;
}
Here, node points to a CourseNode that is on the linked list.
The simplest way to understand the difference is that the first code excerpt creates new CourseNodes. It's like the difference between these two:
int foo (int *i)
{
int *j = i; // j is a pointer to the same int i points to
*j = 2; // this changes the value of the int i points to
int j = *i; // this creates a new int
j = 2; // this changes the value of that new int
}

Making a cpnode function?

I am trying to make a function that copies a node. I am trying to have the program on error or NULL return NULL, I can only have one return statement
I have the following code and I am not sure what else to do from here.. Any tips/advice I would greatly appreciate
Node *cpnode(Node *curNode)
{
if (curNode == NULL) return NULL;
Node *result = malloc(sizeof *result);
result -> value = curNode -> value;
result -> next = cpnode(curNode -> next;
return(result);
}
EDIT:
I have edited my code when trying to compile I am getting errors such as
Node has no member named 'value' and 'next'. Why is that?
Also I know I can easily return NULL on my if statement and at the end return with my result but how could I just have only one return statement with NULL on error?
To define my Node would I have to do something like this:
Node *cpnode(Node *curNode)
{
struct Node{
*result;
*value;
*next;
}
if (curNode == NULL) return NULL;
Node *result = malloc(sizeof *result);
result -> value = curNode -> value;
result -> next = cpnode(curNode -> next;
return(result);
}
There are several issues with your code: your Node structure isn't properly defined and you're using it as a type which you didn't typedef; your text talks about copying a node but your code copies a linked list of nodes; result doesn't seem like it should be part of the Node structure; your code isn't syntactically correct (e.g. missing paren).
Here's a rework of your code into something that compiles and runs. Since you didn't specify the type for value, I'm assuming it's a string below but you can change that to whatever you want:
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
typedef struct Node
{
char *value;
struct Node *next;
} Node;
Node *copyNodes(Node *currentNode)
{
Node *result = NULL;
if (currentNode != NULL)
{
if ((result = malloc(sizeof *result)) != NULL)
{
result->value = currentNode->value;
result->next = copyNodes(currentNode->next);
}
}
return result;
}
void freeNodes(Node *currentNode)
{
if (currentNode != NULL)
{
if (currentNode->next != NULL)
{
freeNodes(currentNode->next);
currentNode->next = NULL;
}
}
free(currentNode);
}
int main()
{
Node a, b;
b.value = "last";
b.next = NULL;
a.value = "first";
a.next = &b;
Node *c = copyNodes(&a);
printf("%s\n", c->next->value);
freeNodes(c);
return 0;
}
If we make a copy of all the nodes using malloc(), then when finished, we need to free all the copies in a similar fashion to how they were created. That's what the function freeNodes() does.

linked-list queue, endless loop

I use nested structure to define the linked-list queue:
queue.h:
#define QUEUE_MAX_SIZE 4096
struct QUEUE_NODE {
char *string;
struct QUEUE_NODE *next;
}queue_node;
struct COMMON_QUEUE {
struct QUEUE_NODE *q_node;
}common_queue;
=================================
queue.c:
/* here I define the operations */
struct COMMON_QUEUE *C_init_queue() {
struct QUEUE_NODE *head;
head = malloc(sizeof(struct QUEUE_NODE));
if (head==NULL) {
fprintf(stderr, "Insufficient memory!!!");
return NULL;
}
struct COMMON_QUEUE *new_queue;
new_queue = malloc(sizeof(struct COMMON_QUEUE));
if (new_queue==NULL) {
fprintf(stderr, "Insufficient memory!!!");
return NULL;
}
head->next = NULL;
head->string = NULL;
new_queue->q_node = head;
return new_queue;
}
int C_get_queue_length(struct COMMON_QUEUE *q) {
int count;
count = 0;
while (q->q_node->next!=NULL) {
count += 1;
q->q_node = q->q_node->next;
}
return count;
}
int C_enqueue(struct COMMON_QUEUE *q, char *in) {
if (C_get_queue_length(q)>=QUEUE_MAX_SIZE) {
fprintf(stderr, "Linked queue is full!!!");
return ERROR;
}
struct QUEUE_NODE *new_node;
new_node = malloc(sizeof(struct QUEUE_NODE));
if (new_node==NULL) {
return ERROR;
}
new_node->next = NULL;
new_node->string = NULL;
while (q->q_node->next!=NULL) {
q->q_node = q->q_node->next;
}
new_node->next = q->q_node->next;
q->q_node->next = q->q_node;
new_node->string = in;
return OK;
}
but when I use it in the main program, then it jumps into a endless loop, after backtracing, and I knew the problem is at:
while (q->q_node->next!=NULL) {
count += 1;
q->q_node = q->q_node->next;
}
but it seems correct, but I may make some mistake on my initialization of the two nested struct!
P.S. the I did not list the "free()".
This loop modifies the list while it traverses it. Specifically, it replaces q->q_node with q->q_node->next, which if nothing else will discard your entire loop.
while (q->q_node->next!=NULL) {
count += 1;
q->q_node = q->q_node->next;
}
If you want to correctly traverse the list, you need to declare a separate pointer that you use for traversal. Something like this:
int C_get_queue_length(struct COMMON_QUEUE *q) {
int count;
struct COMMON_QUEUE *p = q->q_node;
count = 0;
while (p->next != NULL) {
count += 1;
p = p->next;
}
return count;
}
The pointer p will step along the list without modifying the q_node pointers along the way.
You have a similar error in C_enqueue. You really want to use a separate pointer to walk the list, and not assign q->q_node during traversal. You can fix your C_enqueue similarly:
p = q->q_node;
while (p->next != NULL) {
p = p->next;
}
p->next = new_node; /* append the new node after where the list traversal stopped */
new_node->next = NULL; /* always NULL, because you always insert at the end */
One problem with your code is that your iterations through the queue are destructive: rather than using a temporary variable to iterate your linked list, you perform the iteration using the q_node itself. This leads to C_get_queue_length calls effectively destroying the queue, without freeing its nodes (a memory leak).
Here is an example of how to iterate a list non-destructively, using your "get length" method:
int C_get_queue_length(struct COMMON_QUEUE *q) {
int count;
count = 0;
struct QUEUE_NODE node = q->q_node;
while (node->next != NULL) {
count++;
node = node->next;
}
return count;
}
Your decision to pre-allocate one node when creating a queue is also questionable: it appears that the head node is unused, and also excluded from the count. This makes it easier to write the code to insert and delete nodes, but the same could be done with an extra level of indirection (i.e. a pointer to a pointer).

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