I know how to pass an unknown amount of arguments from unknown types to a function.
I mean something like this:
char* plugins_entry(const char* data, ...);
Now I am trying to pass a struct besides a few other arguments to that function. I have the same struct declared (or defined?) in both files (main.c and plugins.c). But when I try to "filter" the irc struct passed from the main.c out and parse the data in the irc struct from the plugins.c, I don't get anything usefull. When I call the function I get a segementation fault.
This is the important part from the main.c:
struct irc_data {
char nick[32];
char user[32];
char host[64];
char chan[32];
char message[512];
int is_ready;
};
....
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
....
struct irc_data *irc = malloc(sizeof(struct irc_data));
....
(*lib_plugin)("r",irc); // call the function in plugins.c
....
}
And here the hole plugins.c:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdarg.h>
#include <string.h>
struct irc_data{
char nick[32];
char user[32];
char host[64];
char chan[32];
char message[512];
int is_ready;
};
char* plugins_entry(const char* data, ...) {
int i;
struct irc_data *irc = malloc(sizeof(struct irc_data));
va_list args;
va_start(args, data);
for(i=0; data[i] != '\0'; ++i){
if(data[i] == 'r'){
irc = data[i];
}
}
va_end(args);
printf("\n\n------------------------\n");
printf("What we got here: %s\n",irc->nick);
printf("\n------------------------\n\n");
return "done";
}
So, I am pretty sure that I am doing something wrong with the pointers.
Could you please help me out here?
Thank you
~ Tectu
The line irc = data[i] doesn't make any sense. You need to call va_arg:
if(data[i] == 'r') {
irc = va_arg(args, struct irc *);
}
Also, the malloc in plugins_entry is useless, it will only leak memory.
You don't extract the pointer to the struct using va_args(). With that, you should be able to directly use your struct:
struct irc_data *irc = va_args(args, struct irc *);
Note that you don't need to use malloc in this function as long as you don't want to copy explicitly. As your struct is already located on the heap (it's malloc'ed in main.c), you can just use it directly by using the pointer.
Related
So I am working on a project in C that requires that I pass pointers to a struct into functions. The project is structured as follows:
struct structName {
unsigned short thing2;
char thing1[];
};
void function_1(struct structName *s) {
strcpy(s->thing1, "Hello");
printf("Function 1\n%s\n\n", s->thing1); // prints correctly
}
void function_2(struct structName *s) {
// can read thing2's value correctly
// thing1 comes out as a series of arbitrary characters
// I'm guessing it's an address being cast to a string or something?
printf("Function 2\n%s\n\n", s->thing1); // prints arbitrary characters ('É·/¨')
}
int main() {
struct structName s;
function_1(&s);
printf("Main\n%s\n\n", s.thing1);
function_2(&s);
printf("Main 2\n%s\n\n", s.thing1);
}
This code outputs the following:
Function 1
Hello
Main
Hello
Function 2
É·/¨
Main 2
É·/¨
Obviously, the program has more than just what I've written here; this is just a simplified version; so if there's anything I should check that might be causing this let me know. In all honesty I reckon it's probably just a stupid rookie error I'm making somewhere.
[EDIT: Seems like s.thing1 is being mutated in some way in the call to function_2(), since the odd value is replicated in main() - I should point out that in my program the printf()s are located right before the function call and in the first line of the function, so there's no chance that it's being written to by anything I'm doing. I've updated the example code above to show this.]
Thanks in advance!
The structure contains a flexible member at its end, if you declare a static object with this type, the length of this member will be zero, so strcpy(s->thing1, "Hello"); will have undefined behavior.
You are supposed to allocate instances of this type of structure with enough extra space to handle whatever data you wish to store into the flexible array.
Here is an example:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
typedef struct pstring {
size_t length;
char data[];
} pstring;
pstring *allocate_pstring(const char *s) {
size_t length = strlen(s);
pstring *p = malloc(sizeof(*p) + length + 1);
if (p != NULL) {
p->length = length;
strcpy(p->data, s);
}
return p;
}
void free_pstring(pstring *p) {
free(p);
}
int main() {
pstring *p = allocate_pstring("Hello");
printf("Main\n%.*s\n\n", (int)p->length, p->data);
free_pstring(p);
return 0;
}
Say I have a simple struct, such as this one:
struct myStruct {
uint8_t arr[10];
};
All I want to be able to do is to modify the contents of that array. However, it seems that I cannot assign the array directly (ie, I can't do something like pointerToThisStruct->arr = anArrayofSizeTen).
So here is my main method:
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
uint8_t test[10] = {0};
myStruct *struc;
struc->arr = test; //can't do this
memcpy(struc->arr, test, sizeof(test));
}
Now, I understand that direct copying over won't work, but why is memcpy also giving me a segfault? How exactly am I supposed to modify the struct array?
You need to declare an actual myStruct. Not a pointer to one. Declaring a pointer to one doesn't actually allocate any memory for the struct.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <string.h>
struct myStruct {
uint8_t arr[10];
};
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
int i;
uint8_t test[10] = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9};
struct myStruct struc;
memcpy(struc.arr, test, sizeof(struc.arr));
printf("struc.arr[] = ");
for( i=0; i < sizeof(test); i++ )
{
printf("%d ", struc.arr[i]);
}
printf("\n");
return( 0 );
}
You are getting a segmentation fault because you didn't allocate your struct pointer.
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
uint8_t test[10] = {0};
struct myStruct *struct = malloc(sizeof(struct myStruct));
if (!struc)
return -1;
memcpy(struc->arr, test, sizeof(test));
free(struc);
return 0;
}
But, as #Chimera mentioned, you perfectly can not use a point and directly a heap-allocated structure, and access to its inner fields with the . operator
I created a structure and wanted to assign the values to a Function Pointer of another structure. The sample code I wrote is like below. Please see what else I've missed.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
struct PClass{
void *Funt;
}gpclass;
struct StrFu stringfunc;
struct StrFu{
int a ;
char c;
};
Initialise(){
}
main()
{
stringfunc.a = 5;
stringfunc.c = 'd';
gpclass.Funt = malloc(sizeof(struct StrFu));
gpclass.Funt = &stringfunc;
memcpy(gpclass.Funt,&stringfunc,sizeof(struct StrFu));
printf("%u %u",gpclass.Funt->a,gpclass.Funt->c);
}
There are several problems:
A function pointer is not the same as void *, in fact you cannot rely on being able to convert between them.
You shouldn't cast the return value of malloc() in C.
You shouldn't call malloc(), then overwrite the returned pointer.
You don't need to use malloc() to store a single pointer, just use a pointer.
You shouldn't use memcpy() to copy structures, just use assignment.
There are two valid main() prototypes: int main(void) and int main(int argc, char *argv[]), and you're not using either.
there is lots of problem in your code , I try to correct it ,hope it will help
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
struct PClass{
void *Funt;
}gpclass;
struct StrFu{
int a ;
char c;
};
struct StrFu stringfunc;
int main()
{
stringfunc.a = 5;
stringfunc.c = 'd';
gpclass.Funt = malloc(sizeof(struct StrFu));
gpclass.Funt = &stringfunc;
memcpy(gpclass.Funt,&stringfunc,sizeof(struct StrFu));
printf("%d %c",((struct StrFu*)gpclass.Funt)->a,((struct StrFu*)gpclass.Funt)->c);
return 0;
}
it outputs
5 d
I have a structure as follows
struct a
{
char* ap;
char* inputs[10];
int e;
};
then I have created an array of this structure like struct a list [100];
now i want to fille the array inputs[10] and for that I am using the syntax to access the first location :
ip=0;
inp=0;
list[ip].inputs[inp]
but I am gettin the error "error C2107: illegal index, indirection not allowed" on compiling the code
please suggest how to access the array location inside array of structure.
regards
priya
Here you use array of character pointer in your structure. So Initially you allocate memory for you structure by creation list of 100. I think you didn't create memory for you array of character pointer. You have to create memory for each of character pointer. So I suggest example code.
#include <stdio.h>
struct a
{
char* ap;
char* inputs[10];
int e;
};
int main()
{
int ip=0;
int inp=0;
struct a list[100];
list[ip].inputs[inp]= (char*)malloc(25);
scanf("%s",list[ip].inputs[inp]);//Or other copy function to fill string
printf("output %s",list[ip].inputs[inp]);
}
Working fine on my pc.. here is my code..
#include <stdio.h>
struct a
{
char* ap;
char* inputs[10];
int e;
};
int main()
{
int ip=0;
int inp=0;
struct a list[100];
list[ip].inputs[inp] = 'A';
printf("This: %c", list[ip].inputs[ip]);
return 0;
}
OUTPUT= This: A
let me know whether it helped or not..
The struct themselves do not have data. You need to create objects of the struct type and set the objects ...
struct a
{
char* ap;
char* inputs[10];
int e;
};
/* I like to separate the type definition from the object creation */
struct a list [3];
list [0].inputs[0] = "Choclate";
list [0].inputs[1] = "Almond";
list [0].inputs[2] = "Rasberry";
Hope it ll usefull. Also refer this article
I want to learn more about using function pointers in C structs as a way to emulate objects-oriented programming, but in my search, I've just found questions like this where the answer is simply to use a function pointer without describing how that would work.
My best guess is something like this
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
struct my_struct
{
int data;
struct my_struct* (*set_data) (int);
};
struct my_struct* my_struct_set_data(struct my_struct* m, int new_data)
{
m->data = new_data;
return m;
}
struct my_struct* my_struct_create() {
struct my_struct* result = malloc((sizeof(struct my_struct)));
result->data = 0;
result->set_data = my_struct_set_data;
return result;
}
int main(int argc, const char* argv[])
{
struct my_struct* thing = my_struct_create();
thing->set_data(1);
printf("%d\n", thing->data);
free(thing);
return 0;
}
But that give me compiler warnings warning: assignment from incompatible pointer type, so obviously I'm doing something wrong. Could someone please provide a small but complete example of how to use a function pointer in a C struct correctly?
My class taught in C does not even mention these. It makes me wonder whether these are actually used by C programmers. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using function pointers in C structs?
The answer given by Andy Stow Away fixes my compiler warning, but doesn't answer my second question. The comments to that answer given by eddieantonio and Niklas R answer my second question, but don't fix my compiler warning. So I'm pooling them together into one answer.
C is not object-oriented and attempting to emulate object-oriented design in C usually results in bad style. Duplicating methods called on structs so that they can be called using a pointer to the struct as I have in my example is no exception. (And frankly, it violates DRY.) Function pointers in structs are more useful for polymorphism. For example, if I had a struct vector that represented a generic container for a linear sequence of elements, it might be useful to store a comparison_func member that was a function pointer to allow sorting and searching through the vector. Each instance of the vector could use a different comparison function. However, in the case of a function that operates on the struct itself, it is better style to have a single separate function that is not duplicated in the struct.
This makes the answer to what is correct more complicated. Is what is correct how to make my above example compile? Is it how to reformat my above example so that it has good style? Or is it what is an example of a struct that uses a function pointer the way C programmer would do it? In formulating my question, I did not anticipate the answer being that my question was wrong. For completeness, I will provide an example of each answer to the question.
Fixing the Compiler Warning
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
struct my_struct
{
int data;
struct my_struct* (*set_data) (struct my_struct*, int);
};
struct my_struct* my_struct_set_data(struct my_struct* m, int new_data)
{
m->data = new_data;
return m;
}
struct my_struct* my_struct_create()
{
struct my_struct* result = malloc((sizeof(struct my_struct)));
result->data = 0;
result->set_data = my_struct_set_data;
return result;
}
int main(int argc, const char* argv[])
{
struct my_struct* thing = my_struct_create();
thing->set_data(thing, 1);
printf("%d\n", thing->data);
free(thing);
return 0;
}
Reformatting the Style
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
struct my_struct
{
int data;
};
void my_struct_set_data(struct my_struct* m, int new_data)
{
m->data = new_data;
}
struct my_struct* my_struct_create()
{
struct my_struct* result = malloc((sizeof(struct my_struct)));
result->data = 0;
return result;
}
int main(int argc, const char* argv[])
{
struct my_struct* thing = my_struct_create();
my_struct_set_data(thing, 1);
printf("%d\n", thing->data);
free(thing);
return 0;
}
Demonstrating a Use for Function Pointer in Structs
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
struct my_struct
{
void* data;
int (*compare_func)(const void*, const void*);
};
int my_struct_compare_to_data(struct my_struct* m, const void* comparable)
{
return m->compare_func(m->data, comparable);
}
struct my_struct* my_struct_create(void* initial_data,
int (*compare_func)(const void*, const void*))
{
struct my_struct* result = malloc((sizeof(struct my_struct)));
result->data = initial_data;
result->compare_func = compare_func;
return result;
}
int int_compare(const void* a_pointer, const void* b_pointer)
{
return *(int*)a_pointer - *(int*) b_pointer;
}
int string_compare(const void* a_pointer, const void* b_pointer)
{
return strcmp(*(char**)a_pointer, *(char**)b_pointer);
}
int main(int argc, const char* argv[])
{
int int_data = 42;
struct my_struct* int_comparator =
my_struct_create(&int_data, int_compare);
char* string_data = "Hello world";
struct my_struct* string_comparator =
my_struct_create(&string_data, string_compare);
int int_comparable = 42;
if (my_struct_compare_to_data(int_comparator, &int_comparable) == 0)
{
printf("The two ints are equal.\n");
}
char* string_comparable = "Goodbye world";
if (my_struct_compare_to_data(string_comparator,
&string_comparable) > 0)
{
printf("The first string comes after the second.\n");
}
free(int_comparator);
free(string_comparator);
return 0;
}
In your struct definition, change it to
struct my_struct
{
int data;
struct my_struct* (*set_data) (struct my_struct*,int);
};
and now use the above function pointer in main as
thing->set_data(thing,1);