Kernel Device Driver "dereferencing 'void *' pointer - c

I am learning how to write device drivers for linux, and I have a question regarding the use of generic data structures.
I have an assignment, which I have fully functional...so I'm not asking you to do my homework...
This assignment requires a device to be able to enqueue and dequeue elements from a fifo buffer. I made the buffer "generic" so that any element size could be used(and specified at runtime). The source is included below(note this is not the kernel version, but the error is the same)...kernel version requires kmalloc, copy_to/from_user() etc...
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
struct RB_Buffer
{
void* RBData;
unsigned int getindex; //index to remove element
unsigned int putindex; //index to put element at
unsigned int capacity; //max elements buffer holds
unsigned int elemCount; //num elements inserted
unsigned int elemSize; //size of each element
};
void* RB_kcreate(int numElements, unsigned int elementSize);
int putring(struct RB_Buffer *rbptr, void* data);
int getring(struct RB_Buffer *rbptr, void* data);
//Creates a Ring buffer of specified number of elements and element size.
//Returns void* pointer pointing to the RB_Buffer struct. This pointer can
//then be used on putring and getring functions.
void* RB_kcreate(int numElements, unsigned int elementSize)
{
struct RB_Buffer *newBuf = malloc(sizeof(struct RB_Buffer));
if(newBuf == NULL) return 0;
newBuf->RBData = (void*)malloc(elementSize*numElements);//, GFP_KERNEL);
if(newBuf->RBData == NULL)
{
free(newBuf);
return 0;
}
newBuf->capacity = numElements;
newBuf->elemSize = elementSize;
newBuf->getindex = 0;
newBuf->putindex = 0;
newBuf->elemCount = 0;
return newBuf;
}
//puts an element in the buffer. Returns -1 if full, 0 on success
//send data through void* data argument
int putring(struct RB_Buffer *rbptr, void* data)
{
int i = 0;
if ( rbptr->elemCount >= rbptr->capacity )
return -1;
memcpy(&rbptr->RBData[rbptr->putindex * rbptr->elemSize], data, rbptr->elemSize);
rbptr->putindex++;
if (rbptr->putindex >= rbptr->capacity )
rbptr->putindex = 0;
rbptr->elemCount++;
return 0;
}
//removes an element in the buffer. Returns -1 if empty, 0 on success
//data is returned through the data pointer
int getring(struct RB_Buffer *rbptr, void *data)
{
if ( !rbptr->elemCount )
return -1;
rbptr->elemCount--;
memcpy(data, &rbptr->RBData[rbptr->getindex * rbptr->elemSize], rbptr->elemSize);
rbptr->getindex++;
if ( rbptr->getindex >= rbptr->capacity )
rbptr->getindex = 0;
return 0;
}
When I compile this into a kernel module, I get the warnings:
kringbuf_generic.c:53: warning: dereferencing ‘void *’ pointer
kringbuf_generic.c:72: warning: dereferencing ‘void *’ pointer
The error occurs here in putring(in memcpy)
if ( rbptr->elemCount >= rbptr->capacity )
return -1;
memcpy(&rbptr->RBData[rbptr->putindex * rbptr->elemSize], data, rbptr->elemSize);
rbptr->putindex++;
and here in getring, in the memcpy() function
rbptr->elemCount--;
memcpy(data, &rbptr->RBData[rbptr->getindex * rbptr->elemSize], rbptr->elemSize);
rbptr->getindex++;
Obviously since this is a kernel module, it is not really known who will use this, and the fixing the buffer element size would limit the usage of this buffer.
Is there any way to get rid of the warnings? Or is there some fundamental thing I should be doing differently when developing such code?

I think the problem is that this code:
rbptr->RBData[rbptr->getindex * rbptr->elemSize]
Is trying to index into the array pointed at by RBData, which is of type void *. You can't meaningfully make this operation work on a void* pointer, because indexing into an array in C requires you to know the size of the elements in the array, and by definition a void* is an a pointer to elements of an unknown type.
Most compilers let you do this anyway by implicitly casting the void* to a char* and just reading raw byte values. However, it's really not a good idea to do this, since the operation isn't well-defined.
To fix this and silence the warning, consider explicitly typecasting the RBData field to a char* before dereferencing it:
((char *)rbptr->RBData)[rbptr->getindex * rbptr->elemSize]
Or alternatively, just store it as a char* in your struct to avoid having to repeatedly do this typecast.
Hope this helps!

Related

Why is a double-void pointer required here? Dynamic "generic" array

I tried to implement a form of collections-library. I do it all the time, when learning a new language, because it teaches most of the language details.
So, I started with a form of "generic" dynamic array. Well it is not really generic, because it just holds pointers to the actual data.
But to be honest, I don't fully understand, why I need a double void pointer here.
The Vector struct defined in my header file (I declared every method and #include in the header file, but I omitted this here to keep the code readable. I also ommitted some bounds checks)
typedef struct {
size_t capacity; //the allocated capacity
size_t length; //the actual length
void **data; //here I don't fully understand, why I need a double pointer.
} Vector;
Here is my implementation of a few methods, where the compiler complains when I use a single void pointer in my struct, so void *data instead of void **data.
#include "utils.h"
const size_t INITIAL_SIZE = 16;
//Creates a new empty vector.
Vector *vec_new(void) {
printf("sizeof Vector is: %ld", sizeof(Vector));
Vector *vec = malloc(sizeof(Vector));
vec->length = 0;
vec->capacity = INITIAL_SIZE;
void *data = calloc(INITIAL_SIZE, sizeof(void*));
if(data == NULL) {
free(vec->data);
fprintf(stderr, "Error allocating memory.");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
vec->data = data;
return vec;
}
//This method appends the specified value at the end of the vector.
void vec_push(Vector *vec, void *data) {
if(vec->length == vec->capacity-1) {
vec_resize(vec);
}
vec->data[vec->length] = data;
vec->length += 1;
}
//gets the value at the specified index or NULL if index is out of bounds.
void *vec_get(Vector *vec, size_t index) {
return vec->data[index];
}
//Resizes the vector to 1.5x its current capacity.
void vec_resize(Vector *vec) {
vec->capacity *= 1.5;
void *data = realloc(vec->data, sizeof(void*) * vec->capacity);
if(data == NULL) {
free(vec->data);
fprintf(stderr, "Error allocating memory.");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
vec->data = data;
}
It seems like here is where the magic happens, which i do not yet understand:
void *data = malloc(...);
vec->data = data;
Malloc/calloc return a void pointer, so i either have to declare an actual type or just using the returned void pointer. So the first line is clear.
vec->data is, under the assumption I do not use a double pointer in the struct definition equivalent to (*vec).data as far as I understand it. So basically this line should assing a void pointer to a void pointer.
Can maybe someone explain it to me in simple terms, why exactly a single void pointer is not enough here or where I might misunderstand something.
But to be honest, I don't fully understand, why I need a double void pointer here.
Some background first - maybe you already know that:
A pointer of the type someType * is a pointer to some variable of the type someType or to an array of variables of the type someType.
A pointer of the type someType ** is a pointer to a variable of the type someType * - this means: A pointer to a pointer to a variable of the type someType.
A pointer of the type void * is a pointer to anything; because the compiler does not know to what kind of element this pointer points to, it is not possible to access such an element directly.
In contrast to this, it is known what variable a pointer of the type void ** points to: It points to a variable of the type void *.
Why you need void** in this position:
The key are the lines:
vec->data[vec->length] = data;
...
return vec->data[index];
In these lines, the code accesses the data vec->data points to. For this reason, vec->data cannot be void * but it must be xxx * while xxx is the type of data the pointer vec->data points to. And because vec->data points to a pointer of the type void *, xxx is void * so xxx * is void **.
vec->data = data;
Your observation is correct: vec->data is of the type void ** and data is of the type void *.
The reason is that malloc() returns some memory and the compiler does not know which kind of data is stored in this memory. So the value returned by malloc() is void * and not void **.
In the automotive industry, you would use an explicit pointer cast like this:
vec->data = (void **)data;
The expression (xxx *)y tells the compiler that the pointer y points to some data of the type xxx. So (void **) tells the compiler that the pointer points to an element of the type void *.
However, in desktop applications you often don't write the (void **).
If you have a pointer of the type
T *p1;
where T is some type specifier as for example void then pointer to this pointer will be declared like
T **p2 = &p1.
In this call of calloc
calloc(INITIAL_SIZE, sizeof(void*))
you are going to allocate an array of pointers of the type void *. The function returns a pointer to the first element of the allocated array. So you need to write
void **data = calloc(INITIAL_SIZE, sizeof(void*));
To make it more clear let's assume that you need to allocate dynamically an integer array. In this case you will write
int *data = calloc( INITIAL_SIZE, sizeof( int ) );
So dereferencing the pointer data like *data you will get an object of the type int more precisely the first element of the allocated array.
When elements of the array have the type void * then dereferencing the pointer data like *data you must to get a pointer of the type void * (the first element of the allocated array). So to make the operation correct the pointer data shall have the type void **.

How to get struct address inside array of structs?

I'm trying to get struct's address.
I want to get address in an int *, and I want to change address by adding numbers to the int *. I tried several ways, but I can't solve it.
struct num_d {
unsigned char data;
unsigned char pad1;
unsigned char pad2;
unsigned char pad3;
};
struct num_d **m = malloc(sizeof(struct num_d *) * row);
for (int i = 0; i < row; i++)
{
m[i] = malloc(sizeof(struct num_d) * col);
}
How can I get m[0][0]'s address in an int *?
first things first lets typedef your struct, so we can type less and be more clear:
typedef struct num_d num_d;
void pointer
A pointer to void is a "generic" pointer type. A void * can be converted to any other pointer type without an explicit cast. we cannot de-reference a void * or do pointer arithmetic with it; you must convert it to a complete data type pointer first (like int* e.g.) then do the de-refrence or the pointer arithmetic.
Now, malloc() return a void* which points to the allocated heap buffer (if malloc successed in allocation other wise null is the return value).
you code become:
num_d** m = malloc(sizeof(num_d*) * row); /*m is an array of void* pointers (not initialized)*/
for (int i = 0; i < row; i++)
{
m[i] = malloc(sizeof(num_d) * col); /*in each element in m you have a void* that points to struct num_d on the heap*/
}
the sizeof(void*) is the same as sizeof any pointer (except function pointers in some machines/os).
putting it all together
How can I get m[0][0]'s address in an int *?
This is a wrong question! because m is an array of void* to "num_d structs" (holding the num_d heap address).
if you want the start address of the i-th num_d struct in the array m, then, just return the void* in the index i in this array m[i]. and if you want to cast it just cast it (no need actually) just assign it:
int* ptr = m[i];
Take in mind that compilers will warn you, regarding the assignment above (but this assignment is supported and legal) :
warning: initialization from incompatible pointer type [-Wincompatible-pointer-types]
or (no need again):
int* ptr = (int*)m[i];
I don't know why you need such behavior, it makes more sense to cast to num_d*
if you want the address of the first data member in the struct num_d, then you must cast to the appropriate data type to get the expected data:
unsigned char data = ((num_d*)m[i])->data;
unsigned char* p_data = &((num_d*)m[i])->data;
You don't need to have the address in an int* in order to be adding to it. The way that [] works, is that it adds to the pointer and dereferences.
You can just add to *(m[0] + 1) to get the second element.
How about:
int *ptr = (int *) m[0];

C pointer "type ** name" versus "type * name[]" as argument

I had a bit of a confusion. Below is a very simple example which works:
#include <stdlib.h>
typedef struct
{
unsigned char one: 1;
unsigned char two:1;
unsigned char three: 1;
unsigned char four: 1;
} nibble_bits;
typedef union
{
unsigned char all : 4;
nibble_bits bits;
} nibble;
void initArr(nibble ** arrLoc, unsigned int size)
{
nibble * start = arrLoc[0];
int i =0;
for (i=0; i<size; i++)
{
start[i].all = 0;
}
}
int main()
{
nibble * fourNibbles = (nibble *) malloc(4 * sizeof(nibble));
initArr(&fourNibbles,4);
}
This compiles fine with no warnings. However, when I change the first line in main:
nibble * fourNibbles = (nibble *) malloc(4 * sizeof(nibble));
to:
nibble fourNibbles[4];
I get the following:
warning: main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:150: warning: passing argument 1 of ‘initArr’ from incompatible pointer type
Upon running, I get a "Bus error 10".
Seems to me like the lines are doing the same thing, except that the malloc is allocating space for the array on the heap and the array declaration is on the stack. But (I thought) either way "fourNibbles" is of type "pointer to nibble", and hence the address of "fourNibbles" would be pointer to pointer to nibble (nibble **).
What am I missing here?
These are not even remotely the same. This
nibble * fourNibbles = (nibble *) malloc(4 * sizeof(nibble));
declares a pointer fourNibbles, while this
nibble fourNibbles[4];
declares an array. Arrays and pointers are two completely different things, which (at object level) have nothing in common. Trying to use them interchangeably in object contexts (like & operator) will only lead to disaster. There lots of information on this topic here on SO (search for "array pointer difference") as well as in this [de-facto standard] C FAQ: http://c-faq.com/aryptr/index.html
There is another thing that draws attention in your code though. Your function
void initArr(nibble ** arrLoc, unsigned int size)
is specifically tailored to the first variant, since it requires a pointer to a pointer as its first argument. It will not work if you attempt to force a pointer to an array to the first argument (which you already had a chance to observe firsthand).
However, the real question here is why your initArr function is written in such a bizarre way. This sequence
void initArr(nibble ** arrLoc, unsigned int size)
{
...
nibble * start = arrLoc[0];
...
start[i].all = 0;
looks rather unusual. Why are you passing a pointer to a pointer instead of an ordinary single-level pointer? E.g. you could simply do
void initArr(nibble *start, unsigned size)
{
unsigned i;
for (i = 0; i < size; ++i)
start[i].all = 0;
}
This version would be called as
initArr(fourNibbles,4); /* note: no `&` operator */
and it would be compatible with both malloc-ed arrays and explicitly declared arrays.
P.S. In C language a better idiom for malloc is
nibble * fourNibbles = malloc(4 * sizeof *fourNibbles);
Note that in this variant type name nibble is mentioned only once.
You are missing that the address of an array has a different type from the pointer that the plain array name becomes when used in an expression.
That is:
int *a1 = ...;
int a2[] = { ... };
some_func(&a1);
some_func(&a2);
cannot be correct unless some_func() expects a void *. The first call passes an int ** — a pointer to pointer to int; the second call passes an int (*)[] — a pointer to array of int. Drop the & from the array.
However, in your code, the problems are more complex. Because the function expects a nibble **, you have problems. What you should be doing is passing a nibble *:
void initArr(nibble *arrLoc, unsigned int size)
{
for (unsigned int i = 0; i < size; i++)
start[i].all = 0;
}
int main(void)
{
nibble *fourNibbles_1 = (nibble *) malloc(4 * sizeof(nibble));
nibble fourNibbles_2[4];
initArr(fourNibbles_1, 4);
initArr(fourNubbles_2, 4);
initArr(&fourNubbles_2[0], 4);
}
Your actual code is doing some really rather weird stuff. How much damage it is doing may depend on how big a pointer is compared to a nibble.

How do I correctly use a void pointer in C?

Can someone explain why I do not get the value of the variable, but its memory instead?
I need to use void* to point to "unsigned short" values.
As I understand void pointers, their size is unknown and their type is unknown.
Once initialize them however, they are known, right?
Why does my printf statement print the wrong value?
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
void func(int a, void *res){
res = &a;
printf("res = %d\n", *(int*)res);
int b;
b = * (int *) res;
printf("b =%d\n", b);
}
int main (int argc, char* argv[])
{
//trial 1
int a = 30;
void *res = (int *)a;
func(a, res);
printf("result = %d\n", (int)res);
//trial 2
unsigned short i = 90;
res = &i;
func(i, res);
printf("result = %d\n", (unsigned short)res);
return 0;
}
The output I get:
res = 30
b =30
result = 30
res = 90
b =90
result = 44974
One thing to keep in mind: C does not guarantee that int will be big enough to hold a pointer (including void*). That cast is not a portable thing/good idea. Use %p to printf a pointer.
Likewise, you're doing a "bad cast" here: void* res = (int*) a is telling the compiler: "I am sure that the value of a is a valid int*, so you should treat it as such." Unless you actually know for a fact that there is an int stored at memory address 30, this is wrong.
Fortunately, you immediately overwrite res with the address of the other a. (You have two vars named a and two named res, the ones in main and the ones in func. The ones in func are copies of the value of the one in main, when you call it there.) Generally speaking, overwriting the value of a parameter to a function is "bad form," but it is technically legal. Personally, I recommend declaring all of your functions' parameters as const 99% of the time (e.g. void func (const int a, const void* res))
Then, you cast res to an unsigned short. I don't think anybody's still running on a 16-bit address-space CPU (well, your Apple II, maybe), so that will definitely corrupt the value of res by truncating it.
In general, in C, typecasts are dangerous. You're overruling the compiler's type system, and saying: "look here, Mr Compiler, I'm the programmer, and I know better than you what I have here. So, you just be quiet and make this happen." Casting from a pointer to a non-pointer type is almost universally wrong. Casting between pointer types is more often wrong than not.
I'd suggest checking out some of the "Related" links down this page to find a good overview of how C types an pointers work, in general. Sometimes it takes reading over a few to really get a grasp on how this stuff goes together.
(unsigned short)res
is a cast on a pointer, res is a memory address, by casting it to an unsigned short, you get the address value as an unsigned short instead of hexadecimal value, to be sure that you are going to get a correct value you can print
*(unsigned short*)res
The first cast (unsigned short*)res makes a cast on void* pointer to a pointer on unsigned short. You can then extract the value inside the memory address res is pointing to by dereferencing it using the *
If you have a void pointer ptr that you know points to an int, in order to access to that int write:
int i = *(int*)ptr;
That is, first cast it to a pointer-to-int with cast operator (int*) and then dereference it to get the pointed-to value.
You are casting the pointer directly to a value type, and although the compiler will happily do it, that's not probably what you want.
A void pointer is used in C as a kind of generic pointer. A void pointer variable can be used to contain the address of any variable type. The problem with a void pointer is once you have assigned an address to the pointer, the information about the type of variable is no longer available for the compiler to check against.
In general, void pointers should be avoided since the type of the variable whose address is in the void pointer is no longer available to the compiler. On the other hand, there are cases where a void pointer is very handy. However it is up to the programmer to know the type of variable whose address is in the void pointer variable and to use it properly.
Much of older C source has C style casts between type pointers and void pointers. This is not necessary with modern compilers and should be avoided.
The size of a void pointer variable is known. What is not known is the size of the variable whose pointer is in the void pointer variable. For instance here are some source examples.
// create several different kinds of variables
int iValue;
char aszString[6];
float fValue;
int *pIvalue = &iValue;
void *pVoid = 0;
int iSize = sizeof(*pIvalue); // get size of what int pointer points to, an int
int vSize = sizeof(*pVoid); // compile error, size of what void pointer points to is unknown
int vSizeVar = sizeof(pVoid); // compiles fine size of void pointer is known
pVoid = &iValue; // put the address of iValue into the void pointer variable
pVoid = &aszString[0]; // put the address of char string into the void pointer variable
pVoid = &fValue; // put the address of float into the void pointer variable
pIvalue = &fValue; // compiler error, address of float into int pointer not allowed
One way that void pointers have been used is by having several different types of structs which are provided as an argument for a function, typically some kind of a dispatching function. Since the interface for the function allows for different pointer types, a void pointer must be used in the argument list. Then the type of variable pointed to is determined by either an additional argument or inspecting the variable pointed to. An example of that type of use of a function would be something like the following. In this case we include an indicator as to the type of the struct in the first member of the various permutations of the struct. As long as all structs that are used with this function have as their first member an int indicating the type of struct, this will work.
struct struct_1 {
int iClass; // struct type indicator. must always be first member of struct
int iValue;
};
struct struct_2 {
int iClass; // struct type indicator. must always be first member of struct
float fValue;
};
void func2 (void *pStruct)
{
struct struct_1 *pStruct_1 = pStruct;
struct struct_2 *pStruct_2 = pStruct;
switch (pStruct_1->iClass) // this works because a struct is a kind of template or pattern for a memory location
{
case 1:
// do things with pStruct_1
break;
case 2:
// do things with pStruct_2
break;
default:
break;
}
}
void xfunc (void)
{
struct struct_1 myStruct_1 = {1, 37};
struct struct_2 myStruct_2 = {2, 755.37f};
func2 (&myStruct_1);
func2 (&myStruct_2);
}
Something like the above has a number of software design problems with the coupling and cohesion so unless you have good reasons for using this approach, it is better to rethink your design. However the C programming language allows you to do this.
There are some cases where the void pointer is necessary. For instance the malloc() function which allocates memory returns a void pointer containing the address of the area that has been allocated (or NULL if the allocation failed). The void pointer in this case allows for a single malloc() function that can return the address of memory for any type of variable. The following shows use of malloc() with various variable types.
void yfunc (void)
{
int *pIvalue = malloc(sizeof(int));
char *paszStr = malloc(sizeof(char)*32);
struct struct_1 *pStruct_1 = malloc (sizeof(*pStruct_1));
struct struct_2 *pStruct_2Array = malloc (sizeof(*pStruct_2Array)*21);
pStruct_1->iClass = 1; pStruct_1->iValue = 23;
func2(pStruct_1); // pStruct_1 is already a pointer so address of is not used
{
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 21; i++) {
pStruct_2Array[i].iClass = 2;
pStruct_2Array[i].fValue = 123.33f;
func2 (&pStruct_2Array[i]); // address of particular array element. could also use func2 (pStruct_2Array + i)
}
}
free(pStruct_1);
free(pStruct_2Array); // free the entire array which was allocated with single malloc()
free(pIvalue);
free(paszStr);
}
If what you want to do is pass the variable a by name and use it, try something like:
void func(int* src)
{
printf( "%d\n", *src );
}
If you get a void* from a library function, and you know its actual type, you should immediately store it in a variable of the right type:
int *ap = calloc( 1, sizeof(int) );
There are a few situations in which you must receive a parameter by reference as a void* and then cast it. The one I’ve run into most often in the real world is a thread procedure. So, you might write something like:
#include <stddef.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <pthread.h>
void* thread_proc( void* arg )
{
const int a = *(int*)arg;
/** Alternatively, with no explicit casts:
* const int* const p = arg;
* const int a = *p;
*/
printf( "Daughter thread: %d\n", a );
fflush(stdout); /* If more than one thread outputs, should be atomic. */
return NULL;
}
int main(void)
{
int a = 1;
const pthread_t tid = pthread_create( thread_proc, &a );
pthread_join(tid, NULL);
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
If you want to live dangerously, you could pass a uintptr_t value cast to void* and cast it back, but beware of trap representations.
printf("result = %d\n", (int)res); is printing the value of res (a pointer) as a number.
Remember that a pointer is an address in memory, so this will print some random looking 32bit number.
If you wanted to print the value stored at that address then you need (int)*res - although the (int) is unnecessary.
edit: if you want to print the value (ie address) of a pointer then you should use %p it's essentially the same but formats it better and understands if the size of an int and a poitner are different on your platform
void *res = (int *)a;
a is a int but not a ptr, maybe it should be:
void *res = &a;
The size of a void pointer is known; it's the size of an address, so the same size as any other pointer. You are freely converting between an integer and a pointer, and that's dangerous. If you mean to take the address of the variable a, you need to convert its address to a void * with (void *)&a.

C casting from uint32_t* to void *

I have a question about pointer casting for C.
if I have a function with this signature:
uint8_t input_getc(void)
which reads user input from STDIN.
Then I have a pointer
void* buffer
that I store return values from input_getc() in. What would be the proper way to cast this?
//read user input
for(i = 0; i < SIZE; ++i)
{
uint8_t temp = input_getc();
//copy to void* buffer
*(uint8_t *)(buffer + i) = temp //WAY #1
*(buffer + i) = (void *)temp; //WAY #2
}
Are both of these the same?
Thanks
As it is right now, neither of those methods will compile. Since buffer is a void* you can't do arithmetic on it since it has an unknown size.
It's not entirely clear exactly where you are trying to store it. If you're just trying to store the uint8_t into the memory location pointed by buffer with offset i, then it can be done like this:
((uint8_t*)buffer)[i] = temp;
EDIT :
Okay, apparently arithmetic on void* is allowed in C, but not in C++. However, doing so it still considered unsafe behavior.
See this question: Pointer arithmetic for void pointer in C
One way to do this is:
*(((uint8_t*)buffer)+i) = temp;
i am not understanding what do you mean by
copying to `void* buffer`
but if you are doing following thing then way1 is right
int main()
{
int i;
char a[10];
void *buffer;
buffer = &a; // buffer is void* type pointer and its pointing to some buffer then
for(i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
{
uint8_t temp = 65;
//copy to void* buffer
*(uint8_t *)(buffer + i) = temp; //WAY #1
}
printf("\n %s",a);
}
BIG Edit :
IN WAY1
you are adding +i offcet with void * buffer and still whole result is void* then you are typecasting that whole result with uint8_t* then accesing that value so it works
but in way2 you are adding +i offcet with void * buffer still whole result is void* and then you are accesing that value ...which is completely wrong..
you will get warning/error here
warning: dereferencing ‘void *’ pointer
One more Edit :
you can not dereferencing void* pointer but you can do arrithmetic operation with pointer value (not its pointe value)

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