how to manually concat a char **args to char *args - c

so I'm trying to write a function that concats a char**args to a char*args
What I have so far is":
char *concat(char **array)
{
int size = 0;
int i=0;
int j=0;
int z=0;
while (array[i]!=NULL)
{
printf(" %s \n", array[i]);
size = size + sizeof(array[i])-sizeof(char); //get the total size, minus the
//size of the null pointer
printf("%d \n",size);
i++;
}
size = size+1; //add 1 to include 1 null termination at the end
char *newCommand = (char*) malloc(size);
i=0;
while(i<sizeof(newCommand))
{
j=0;
z=0;
while (array[j][z]!='\0')
{
newCommand[i] = array[j][z];
i++;
z++;
}
j++;
}
newCommand[sizeof(newCommand)-1]='\0';
return newCommand;
}
this doesn't seem to work. Anyone know what's wrong?

I'd do it like this (untested):
int size = 0;
int count = 0;
while (array[count]) {
size += strlen(array[i]);
count++;
}
char *newCommand = malloc(size + 1);
char *p = newCommand;
newCommand[0] = 0; // Null-terminate for the case where count == 0
for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
strcpy(p, array[i]);
p += strlen(array[i]);
}
First, your size calculation was wrong. You wanted the size of the strings, but sizeof(array[i]) gives you the size of a single element in your array which is a pointer and thus 4 (32-bit) or 8 (64-bit). You need to use strlen instead.
Next, your manual copying was also off. It's easier to do it with a moving pointer and strcpy (which is to be avoided normally but we've calculated the sizes with strlen already so it's OK here). The use of strcpy here also takes care of null termination.

Main issue is that you keep using sizeof() with a pointer argument, whereas I think you are trying to get the size of the corresponding array.
sizeof() can only give you information that's available at compile time, such as the sizes of raw types like char and int, and the sizes of arrays with a fixed length such as a char[10]. The sizes of the strings pointed to by a char* is only computable at run time, because it depends on the exact values passed to your function.
For sizeof(newCommand) you probably need size, and for sizeof(array[i]), you probably need strlen(array[i]).

Related

Converting int list to string - C

I was trying to convert a list of integers into a compact string but I get a segmentation fault.
The code is the following:
int *factors = job_factorization(number, size);
char buffer[250] = { 0 };
for (int i = 0; i < *size; i++) {
sprintf( &buffer[i], "%d ", *factors);
factors++;
}
The job_factorization function returns the head of the list (it works, I have already tested it), and it sets the value pointed to by size to the actual size of the list (so the number of integers).
I cannot figure out what is wrong, does anyone have any idea?
Note these remarks:
sprintf( &buffer[i], "%d ", *factors); does not convert the number at the end of the previous conversion.
sprintf does not check for buffer overflow: if size is large enough, it will eventually write beyond the end of the buffer.
modifying factors is probably not a good idea as this pointer should be freed after use.
Here is an alternative:
int *factors = job_factorization(number, size);
char buffer[1024];
size_t pos = 0;
for (int i = 0; pos < sizeof buffer && i < *size; i++) {
pos += snprintf(buffer + pos, sizeof buffer - pos, "%d ", factors[i]);
}
You could also use 2 loops to compute the size needed for the conversion and allocate the space needed.

how to allocate arrays (in array of pointers) C -- can it be done in one line? with malloc

is there a simple one liner I can use in C to allocate arrays in (pointer of arrays)
This line creates 10 pointers of arrays
char *out[10];
I can't do this
char *out[100]=(char[10][100])malloc(sizeof(char)*10*100);
error: cast specifies array type
same error with
char *out[10]=(char*[10])malloc(sizeof(char)*10*100);
do I need to do it in loop like this
int main()
{
char *out[10];
int x=0;
while(x<10)
{
*(out+x)=malloc(sizeof(char)*100);// is this line correct?
x++;
}
*out[0]='x';
printf("%c\n",out[0][0]);
free(out);
return 0;
}
but this cause warning that
req.c:75:3: warning: attempt to free a non-heap object ‘out’ [-Wfree-nonheap-object]
75 | free(out);
so do I need to allocate and free each array in (array of pointers) in loop
Can't I do allocation and free arrays in array of pointer in one line instead of loop?
or is there anything thing in my loop wrong too
To allocate an array of pointers to strings, you need to do:
char** out = malloc(sizeof(char*[10]));
The whole point of using this form is that each pointer in that array of pointers can be allocated with individual size, as is common with strings. So it doesn't make sense to allocate such with a "one-liner", or you are using the wrong type for the task.
In case you don't need individual sizes but are rather looking for a char [10][100] 2D array with static size, then the correct way to allocate such is:
char (*out)[100] = malloc(sizeof(char[10][100]));
You can allocate the full array in one single step and have pointers inside that array:
char *out[10];
data = malloc(100); //sizeof(char) is 1 by definition
for (int x=0; x<10; x++) {
out[i] = data + x * 10;
}
*out[0] = 'x';
printf("%c\n",out[0][0]);
free(data); // you must free what has been allocated
int i;
char** out = (char**)malloc(sizeof(char*)*10);
for(i = 0; i<10;i++)
out[i] = (char*)malloc(sizeof(char)*100);
out[1][1] = 'a';
OR with same dimensions
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
void main()
{
int r = 10, c = 100; //Taking number of Rows and Columns
char *ptr, count = 0, i;
ptr = (char*)malloc((r * c) * sizeof(char)); //Dynamically Allocating Memory
for (i = 0; i < r * c; i++)
{
ptr[i] = i + 1; //Giving value to the pointer and simultaneously printing it.
printf("%c ", ptr[i]);
if ((i + 1) % c == 0)
{
printf("\n");
}
}
free(ptr);
}

Accessing string that was passed as argument causes stack buffer overflow

I'm studying C at uni and am trying to access the string (the string representation of a binary-number) that was passed into a function to convert it into the integer-representation of that string.
Eg. "011" should return 3.
The string is the first 3 bits in a bitstream that's inputted in reverse.
char * temp_holder = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * 4);
int index_of_holder = 0;
for(int i = 2; i >= 0; i--){
printf("%c", buffer[i]);
temp_holder[index_of_holder] = buffer[i];
}
printf("\n");
int decimalValue = fromBinaryToInt(&temp_holder, 3);
printf("DECIMAL_VALUE: %d\n", decimalValue);
The fromBinaryToInt function is:
int fromBinaryToInt(char *string[], int length){
for(int i = 0; i < length; i++){
printf("%c", *string[i]);
}
int int_rep = strtol(*string, (char **)NULL, 2);
printf("REP: %d\n", int_rep);
return int_rep;
}
The subsequent error I get is:
==21==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: stack-buffer-overflow on address 0x7ffda9f47a08 at pc 0x000000500cdf bp 0x7ffda9f47980 sp 0x7ffda9f47978
- READ of size 8 at 0x7ffda9f47a08 thread T0
I thought this could be due to the null-terminating character so I played around with modifying the length variable (+/- 1) in the for-loop within fromBinaryToInt but that hasn't changed anything.
I also considered the for-loop only accessing the first element and nothing more - but my understanding is I've sent through the memory address and the length of the block so the for-loop should have access to the indexes.
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Cheers :)
In this code:
int index_of_holder = 0;
for(int i = 2; i >= 0; i--){
printf("%c", buffer[i]);
temp_holder[index_of_holder] = buffer[i];
}
index_of_holder is never changed, so all the characters are put in temp_holder[0]. The rest of temp_holder remains uninitialized.
This:
int fromBinaryToInt(char *string[], int length)
declares string to be an array of pointers to char. It is indeed passed &temp_holder, which may be considered to be a pointer to the first element of an array of one pointer to char. However, a more normal usage is to declare a simple pointer to char
int fromBinaryToInt(char *string, int length)
and pass it temp_holder, as in fromBinaryToInt(temp_holder, 3).
As it is, where it is used here:
printf("%c", *string[i]);
This takes element i of the array. When i is 0 in the loop, that is fine, it takes the first element, which exists and is a pointer to char, and then deferences it with * and prints that. However, when i is 1, it attempts to take the second element of the array. That element does not exist, and the resulting behavior is undefined.
If the parameter were merely char *string, then this printf could be:
printf("%c", string[i]);
and, in calling strtol, you would simply pass string rather than *string:
int int_rep = strtol(string, (char **)NULL, 2);
Firstly, bug in below line, index_of_holder remains same all the time, please increment it.
temp_holder[index_of_holder] = buffer[i];
Secondly, in fromBinaryToInt() string is single pointer only so you can't do *string[i]); in the next printf statement.
Here is the working code
int fromBinaryToInt(char *string, int length){
for(int i = 0; i < length; i++){
printf("%c", string[i] ); /*since string is single pointer now you can do like before you did */
}
int int_rep = strtol(string, (char **)NULL, 2);
printf("REP: %d\n", int_rep);
return int_rep;
}
int main() {
char * temp_holder = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * 4);
char buffer[4] ="011";
int index_of_holder = 0;
for(int i = 2; i >= 0; i--){
printf("%c", buffer[i]);
temp_holder[index_of_holder] = buffer[i];
index_of_holder++;
}
printf("\n");
int decimalValue = fromBinaryToInt(temp_holder, 3);/* no need to pass address of temp_holder */
printf("DECIMAL_VALUE: %d\n", decimalValue);
return 0;
}

Going through an allocated array

Let's say I wanna print the values of an array of type int.
int *num = malloc(5 * sizeof(int));
How do I do that? I would obviously like to stop after I've gone through all the values I put, which there are 5 of them.
Note that I'm not looking to do something like:
for (int i=0;i<5;i++)
I want to knwo what happens in the examples I gave.
while(*num) {
printf("%d", *num);
num++;
}
OR
while(num != NULL) {
printf("%d", *num);
num++;
}
Arrays in C don't carry their length. You have to pass the length along with the array.
The easiest way is with a variable:
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 5; ++i)
printf("%d ", num[i]);
The trick with the ending NUL is normally used only for strings, the end of the string is marked with a NUL char ('\0'). Naturally, if you are building and consuming the array yourself, nothing prevents you from making up a similar convention. You can, for instance, mark the end of the array with -1:
int *num = malloc(5 * sizeof(int));
num[4] = -1;
int *p;
for (p = num; *p != -1; ++p)
printf("%d ", *p);
When you are using the allocated array in a way you are showing
int *num = malloc(5 * sizeof(int));
Then the only way to know the end is to use the size used to allocate the array. Like
int i = 0;
while(i < 5) // 5 here is the size used wile allocating
{
printf("%d", num[i]);
i++;
}
You need to store the length of the array somewhere. Some other strategies are placing a terminator or sentinel value at the end of the array (though that value will not be valid for actual content):
int *num = calloc(6, sizeof(int));
num[5] = -1;
int i;
for (i = 0; num[i] != -1; i++) {
//...
}
Or embed the length of the array as its first element:
int *num = malloc(6 * sizeof(int));
int len = num[0];
int i;
for (i = 1; i < len; i++) {
// ...
}
(Note, Flexible arrays is a better way to express the second example)
Both the above show how to store the length in the array itself, and make use of an extra element for this purpose.
while(*num) {
printf("%d", *num);
num++;
}
Well, this continues until *num is zero. This works fine if no valid entry can contain a zero and you have set the last entry (or the first invalid entry) to zero. This is called a sentinel value.
while(num != NULL) {
printf("%d", *num);
num++;
}
This won't work. Incrementing num won't make make it NULL. Why would it?
If you have some particular number of values you want to output, you have two basic choices. You can pass the number of values you want to output to the output code and just count as you output that number of values. Or you can use a "sentinel" value to mark the end. If zero is not a valid value you would ever want to print, you can use zero as a sentinel. Don't forget to allocate space for the sentinel.

How to empty a 2d char array in C?

I am still new with C and I am trying to empty a 2d char array. Here is the declaration:
char arg_array = (char**)calloc(strlen(buf), sizeof (char**));
for(i = 0; i<(strlen(buf)); i++)
{
arg_array[i] = (char*) calloc (strlen(buf), sizeof(char*));
}
Here is where I try to empty it:
void make_empty(char **arg_array)
{
int i;
for(i = 0; i <= BUFSIZ; i++)
{
arg_array[i][0] = '\0';
}
return;
}
Any help is appreciated
So, am I doing it right because this seems to give me segfaults when I try to add data to the array again and then print it?
Empty is just to have it empty - how can I explain more? lol
Try this:
void make_empty(char **arg_array, int rows, int cols)
{
int i,j;
for(i = 0; i <rows; i++)
{
for(j=0; j<cols;j++)
{
arg_array[i][j] = '\0';
}
}
return;
}
Where rows is number of rows and cols number of cols of your array.
P.S. This function clears the whole array as you should always do. As I commented before, putting '\0' as a first char in string does not clear the whole row, it only makes the rest of it ,,invisible'' for functions like printf. Check this link for more information: http://cplusplus.com/reference/clibrary/cstdio/printf/
There is no need to empty it. Often in C, memory allocation is done with malloc which simply returns to you a block of memory which is deemed owned by the caller. When calloc is called, as well as returning you a block of memory, the memory is guaranteed to be initialized to 0. This means for all intents and purposes it is already 'empty'.
Also I'm not quite sure if your code does what you are intending. Let me explain what it does at the moment:
char arg_array = (char**)calloc(strlen(buf), sizeof (char**));
This line is simply wrong. In C, there is no need to cast pointers returned from calloc because they are of type void *, which is implicitly casted to any other pointer type. In this case, you are storing it in a char type which makes no sense. If you do this:
char ** arg_array = calloc(strlen(buf), sizeof (char**));
Then it allocates an array of pointers of strlen(buf) length. So if buf is "hello" then you have now allocated an array which can store 5 pointers.
for(i = 0; i<(strlen(buf)); i++)
{
arg_array[i] = calloc (strlen(buf), sizeof(char*));
}
Again, I have removed the redundant cast. What this does is populates the array allocated earlier. Each index of the array now points to a char string of strlen(buf) * sizeof(char *) length. This is probably not what you want.
Your question is more clear to me now. It appears you want to remove the strings after populating them. You can do it two ways:
Either free each of the pointers and allocate more space later as you did before
Or set the first character of each of the strings to a null character
To free the pointers:
for(i = 0; i<(strlen(buf)); i++)
{
free(arg_array[i]);
}
To set the first character of each string to a null character:
for(i = 0; i<(strlen(buf)); i++)
{
arg_array[i][0] = '\0';
}
That is the same code as what you have originally and should be fine.
As proof, the following code will run without errors:
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
int main(void)
{
char * buf = "hello";
char ** arg_array = calloc(strlen(buf), sizeof (char**));
unsigned int i;
for(i = 0; i < strlen(buf); i++) {
arg_array[i] = calloc(strlen(buf),
sizeof(char *));
}
for(i = 0; i < strlen(buf); i++) {
arg_array[i][0] = '\0';
}
for(i = 0; i < strlen(buf); i++) {
free(arg_array[i]);
}
free(arg_array);
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
If your code is segfaulting, the problem is coming from somewhere else. Did you overwrite the arg_array variable? Are you sure BUFSIZE is equal to strlen(buf)?

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