Why does this malloc not work in C? - c

Just trying to make a kind of hash table with each node being a linked list.
Having trouble just initializing the space, what am I doing wrong?
#include <stdlib.h>
typedef struct entry {
struct entry *next;
void *theData;
} Entry;
typedef struct HashTable {
Entry **table;
int size;
} HashTable;
int main(){
HashTable *ml;
ml = initialize();
return 0;
}
HashTable *initialize(void)
{
HashTable *p;
Entry **b;
int i;
if ((p = (HashTable *)malloc(sizeof(HashTable *))) == NULL)
return NULL;
p->size = 101;
if ((b = (Entry **)malloc(p->size * sizeof(Entry **))) == NULL)
return NULL;
p->table = b;
for(i = 0; i < p->size; i++) {
Entry * b = p->table[i];
b->theData = NULL;
b->next = NULL;
}
return p;
}

You need to change sizeof(HashTable*) to sizeof(HashTable) and similarly sizeof(Entry **) to sizeof(Entry *) . And the second thing is for every Entry you need to allocate memory using malloc again inside the loop.

if ((p = malloc(sizeof(HashTable))) == NULL)
return NULL;
p->size = 101;
if ((b = malloc(p->size * sizeof(Entry *))) == NULL)
return NULL;
I believe removing the malloc() result casts is best practice.
Plus, as #Naveen was first to point out you also need to allocate memory for each Entry.

Firstly your sizeofs are wrong. T * = malloc( num * sizeof(T)) is correct. You can also use calloc.
You are reusing b for different purposes so it is quite confusing. Not generally good using a single character variable.
p->table which was b is allocated but not initialised, i.e. it doesn't point to anything useful, then you are trying to dereference it.
You need to fill it will Entry* pointers first, and they must be pointing to valid Entry structs if you are going to dereference those.
Your process probably dies on the line b>theData = NULL

Also, you can statically declare your HashTable, either locally, or in some region high enough in the stack that the stack is non-ascending (in memory) while it is used and pass a pointer to the HashTable to your initialize function to avoid a malloc. malloc is slow.
So in main, you can do:
HashTable table;
InitializeHashTable(&table);
// use table (no need to free)
// just do not return table

Related

deallocating array of struct pointers in c implementation of priority queue

I have an issue freeing my array of struct pointers for a priority queue that I am implementing. I create two dynamic arrays of node pointers with a fixed size from client c program. The array heapMap contains node pointers that map to each created node with a specific ID integer value and the array heap is the heap array that contains the nodes with respect to their current values.
Everything seems to work, however, my pq_free function seems to cause errors or doesn't properly deallocate the arrays. Any help would be appreciated
Structures
typedef struct node_struct{
int ID;
double val;
}NODE;
struct pq_struct {
char heapType;
int max;
int inUse;
NODE ** heap; //BOTH have a specific capacity
NODE **heapMap; //array of pointers to each
};
This is the function I use to allocate memory for the structure.
PQ * pq_create(int capacity, int min_heap){
PQ * newQueue = (PQ*) malloc(sizeof(PQ)); //Allocate memory for a new heap
newQueue->max = capacity;
newQueue->inUse = 0;
int inUse = 1;//1 in use by default, the 0th point in the array is left alone intentionally
//If min_heap == 0, it it is a max heap, any other value is a min heap.
if(min_heap != 0){
newQueue->heapType = 'm';
}else{
newQueue->heapType = 'M';
}
//Allocate memory for heapMap and heap..
newQueue->heap = (NODE**) malloc(sizeof(NODE*)*capacity); //array of nodes, the heap
newQueue->heapMap = (NODE**) malloc(sizeof(NODE*) * capacity);//array of node pointers, the HEAPMAP
int i = 0;
for (i = 0; i < capacity + 1;i++) {
newQueue->heapMap[i] = NULL;
}
//return PQ pointer
return newQueue;
}
This is my pq_free function that doesn't seem to work properly. Thanks for help in advance.
void pq_free(PQ * pq){
//free all nodes
NODE * temp;
NODE ** temp2;
int i;
for (i = 0; i < pq->inUse; i++) {
if (pq->heapMap[i] != NULL) {
temp = pq->heapMap[i];
free(temp);
}
}
//pq->heapMap = NULL;
free(pq->heap);
free(pq->heapMap);
free(pq);
}
As I was once railed on this site for doing this, I feel obligated to do the same to you. You shouldn't cast malloc because it is automatically cast to the assigned data type and can lead to some bad situations.
Other than that how are the individual nodes allocated? What errors specifically are given? I think you are also walking off your heapMap as you allocate capacity but iterate over capacity + 1 elements.

C - Check if index of struct array is uninitialized

I'm making a HashMap in C but am having trouble detecting when a Node has been initialized or not.
Excerpts from my code below:
static struct Node
{
void *key, *value;
struct Node *next;
};
struct Node **table;
int capacity = 4;
table = malloc(capacity * sizeof(struct Node));
// At this point I should have a pointer to an empty Node array of size 4.
if (table[0] != NULL)
{
// This passes
}
I don't see what I can do here. I've read tons of other posts of this nature and none of their solutions make any sense to me.
malloc does not initialize the memory allocated. You can use calloc to zero-initialize the memory.
// Not sizeof(struct Node)
// table = calloc(capacity, sizeof(struct Node));
table = calloc(capacity, sizeof(*table));
After that, it will make sense to use:
if (table[0] != NULL)
{
...
}
I suggest you consider something like a HashMapCollection type that you create with a set of functions to handle the various memory operations you need.
So you might have code something like the following. I have not tested this nor even compiled it however it is a starting place.
The FreeHashMapCollection() function below would process a HashMapCollection to free up what it contains before freeing up the management data structure. This may not be what you want to do so that is something for you to consider.
The idea of the following is to have a single pointer for the HashMapCollection struct and the array or list of HashMapNode structs immediately follows the management data so a single free() would free up everything at once.
typedef struct _TAGHashMapNode {
void *key, *value;
struct _TAGHashMapNode *next;
} HashMapNode;
typedef struct {
int iCapacity; // max number of items
int iSize; // current number of items
HashMapNode *table; // pointer to the HashMapNode table
} HashMapCollection;
Then have a function to allocate a HashMapCollection of a particular capacity initialized properly.
HashMapCollection *AllocateHashMapCollection (int iCapacity)
{
HashMapCollection *p = malloc (sizeof(HashMapCollection) + iCapacity * sizeof(HashMapNode));
if (p) {
p->table = (HashMapNode *)(p + 1);
p->iCapacity = iCapacity;
p->iSize = 0;
memset (p->table, 0, sizeof(HashMapNode) * iCapacity);
}
return p;
}
HashMapCollection *ReallocHashMapCollection (HashMapCollection *p, int iNewCapacity)
{
HashMapCollection *pNew = realloc (p, sizeof(HashMapCollection) + sizeof(HashMapNode) * iNewCapacity);
if (pNew) {
pNew->table = (HashMapNode *)(pNew + 1);
if (p == NULL) {
// if p is not NULL then pNew will have a copy of that.
// if p is NULL then this is basically a malloc() so initialize pNew data.
pNew->iCapacity = pNew->iSize = 0;
}
if (iNewCapacity > pNew->iCapacity) {
// added more memory so need to zero out that memory.
memset (pNew->table + iCapacity, 0, sizeof(HashMapNode) * (iNewCapacity - pNew->iCapacity));
}
pNew->iCapacity = iNewCapacity; // set our new current capacity
p = pNew; // lets return our new memory allocated.
}
return p; // return either old pointer if realloc() failed or new pointer
}
void FreeHashMapCollection (HashMapCollection *p)
{
// go through the list of HashMapNode items and free up each pair then
// free up the HashMapCollection itself.
for (iIndex = 0; iIndex < p->iCapacity; iIndex++) {
if (p->table[iIndex].key) free (p->table[iIndex].key);
if (p->table[iIndex].value) free (p->table[iIndex].value);
// WARNING ***
// if these next pointers are actually pointers inside the array of HashMapNode items
// then you would not do this free as it is unnecessary.
// this free is only necessary if next points to some memory area
// other than the HashMapNode table of HashMapCollection.
if (p->table[iIndex].next) free (p->table[iIndex].next);
// even though we are going to free this, init to NULL
p->table[iIndex].key = NULL;
p->table[iIndex].value = NULL;
p->table[iIndex].next = NULL;
}
free (p); // free up the memory of the HashMapCollection
}

Realloc behaviour using a pointer-to-pointer

I don't understand why when I run this code, the printf statements aren't working.
Here is the code:
typedef struct list {
int n;
struct list *next;
}List;
List **head;
List *tmp=malloc(sizeof(List));
tmp->n=34;
tmp->next=NULL;
List *tmp2=malloc(sizeof(List));
tmp2->n=45;
tmp2->next=NULL;
List *tmp3=malloc(sizeof(List));
tmp3->n=26;
tmp3->next=NULL;
head=malloc(sizeof(head));
head[0]=tmp;
head[1]=tmp2;
head=realloc(head,sizeof(head));
head[2]=tmp3;
printf("n of tmp:%d \n",head[0][0].n);
printf("n of tmp2:%d \n",head[1][0].n);
printf("n of tmp3:%d \n",head[2][0].n);
I think that the reason for that is probably realloc, but why ? I'm using it properly, no ? I have followed this tutorial http://www.tutorialspoint.com/c_standard_library/c_function_realloc.htm
Not only realloc, here
head = malloc(sizeof(head));
You allocate space for just one pointer, and then
head[0]=tmp;
head[1]=tmp2;
you try to store 2.
If you need space for 2 pointers, then the correct way is
head = malloc(2 * sizeof(*head));
/* ^ always dereference when using sizeof */
/* in this case it's not a problem, but in other cases it will be */
then you can fill the two elements, after checking the return value of malloc() so
head = malloc(2 * sizeof(*head));
if (head == NULL)
doSomething_But_DontDereference_head_mayBe_exit();
head[0] = tmp;
head[0] = tmp2;
Now, realloc(), what if realloc() returns NULL, and you alread overwrite the head pointer, now you can't do anything else with it, so
void *pointer;
pointer = realloc(head, 3 * sizeof(*head));
if (pointer == NULL)
doSomethingAndProbablyFree_head_and_abort();
head = pointer;
is much safer.
And also, note that you need to multiply the size of the pointer sizeof(*head) by the number of pointers you want to store.
ALWAYS CHECK THE RESULT OF malloc()
Your code is relatively broken. Here's a fairly sane way of going about this:
typedef struct list {
int n;
struct list *next;
} List;
int main() {
List *tmp1 = malloc(sizeof(List));
tmp1->n = 34;
tmp1->next = NULL;
List *tmp2 = malloc(sizeof(List));
tmp2->n = 45;
tmp2->next = NULL;
List *tmp3 = malloc(sizeof(List));
tmp3->n = 26;
tmp3->next = NULL;
List **head = malloc(2 * sizeof(List *));
head[0] = tmp1;
head[1] = tmp2;
head = realloc(head, 3 * sizeof(List *));
head[2] = tmp3;
printf("n of tmp1: %d\n", head[0]->n);
printf("n of tmp2: %d\n", head[1]->n);
printf("n of tmp3: %d\n", head[2]->n);
}
I haven't included this, but you should also verify that malloc() and realloc() return a non-null pointer.

Freeing memory of used data leads to Segmentation Fault

I wrote a hashtable and it basically consists of these two structures:
typedef struct dictEntry {
void *key;
void *value;
struct dictEntry *next;
} dictEntry;
typedef struct dict {
dictEntry **table;
unsigned long size;
unsigned long items;
} dict;
dict.table is a multidimensional array, which contains all the stored key/value pair, which again are a linked list.
If half of the hashtable is full, I expand it by doubling the size and rehashing it:
dict *_dictRehash(dict *d) {
int i;
dict *_d;
dictEntry *dit;
_d = dictCreate(d->size * 2);
for (i = 0; i < d->size; i++) {
for (dit = d->table[i]; dit != NULL; dit = dit->next) {
_dictAddRaw(_d, dit);
}
}
/* FIXME memory leak because the old dict can never be freed */
free(d); // seg fault
return _d;
}
The function above uses the pointers from the old hash table and stores it in the newly created one. When freeing the old dict d a Segmentation Fault occurs.
How am I able to free the old hashtable struct without having to allocate the memory for the key/value pairs again?
Edit, for completness:
dict *dictCreate(unsigned long size) {
dict *d;
d = malloc(sizeof(dict));
d->size = size;
d->items = 0;
d->table = calloc(size, sizeof(dictEntry*));
return d;
}
void dictAdd(dict *d, void *key, void *value) {
dictEntry *entry;
entry = malloc(sizeof *entry);
entry->key = key;
entry->value = value;
entry->next = '\0';
if ((((float)d->items) / d->size) > 0.5) d = _dictRehash(d);
_dictAddRaw(d, entry);
}
void _dictAddRaw(dict *d, dictEntry *entry) {
int index = (hash(entry->key) & (d->size - 1));
if (d->table[index]) {
dictEntry *next, *prev;
for (next = d->table[index]; next != NULL; next = next->next) {
prev = next;
}
prev->next = entry;
} else {
d->table[index] = entry;
}
d->items++;
}
best way to debug this is to run your code against valgrind .
But to you give some perspective :
when you free(d) you are expecting more of a destructor call on your struct dict which would internally free the memory allocated to the pointer to pointer to dictEntry
why do you have to delete the entire has table to expand it ? you have a next pointer anyways why not just append new hash entries to it ?
Solution is not to free the d rather just expand the d by allocating more struct dictEntry and assigning them to appropriate next.
When contracting the d you will have to iterate over next to reach the end and then start freeing the memory for struct dictEntrys inside of your d.
To clarify Graham's point, you need to pay attention to how memory is being accessed in this library. The user has one pointer to their dictionary. When you rehash, you free the memory referenced by that pointer. Although you allocated a new dictionary for them, the new pointer is never returned to them, so they don't know not to use the old one. When they try to access their dictionary again, it's pointing to freed memory.
One possibility is not to throw away the old dictionary entirely, but only the dictEntry table you allocated within the dictionary. That way your users will never have to update their pointer, but you can rescale the table to accomodate more efficient access. Try something like this:
void _dictRehash(dict *d) {
printf("rehashing!\n");
int i;
dictEntry *dit;
int old_size = d->size;
dictEntry** old_table = d->table;
int size = old_size * 2;
d->table = calloc(size, sizeof(dictEntry*));
d->size = size;
d->items = 0;
for (i = 0; i < old_size; i++) {
for (dit = old_table[i]; dit != NULL; dit = dit->next) {
_dictAddRaw(d, dit);
}
}
free(old_table);
return;
}
As a side note, I'm not sure what your hash function does, but it seems to me that the line
int index = (hash(entry->key) & (d->size - 1));
is a little unorthodox. You get a hash value and do a bitwise and with the size of the table, which I guess works in the sense that it will be guaranteed to be within (I think?) [0, max_size), I think you might mean % for modulus.
You are freeing a pointer which is passed in to your function. This is only safe if you know that whoever's calling your function isn't still trying to use the old value of d. Check all the code which calls _dictRehash() and make sure nothing's hanging on to the old pointer.
What does dictCreate actually do?
I think you're getting confused between the (fixed size) dict object, and the (presumably variable sized) array of pointers to dictEntries in dict.table.
Maybe you could just realloc() the memory pointed to by dict.table, rather than creating a new 'dict' object and freeing the old one (which incidentally, isn't freeing the table of dictentries anyway!)

An array of structures

How is an array of structures created in C without knowing the eventual amount of structures to be stored in the array?
I would like to loop in a for loop, create a tempStruct set its variables, add this to an array and then loop again, creating a new tempStruct and adding it to the array.
Im having some issues wrapping my head around how this is done in C while trying to relate from objective C.
Dynamically allocated arrays (using malloc) can be reallocated (using realloc).
Therefore the solution will look something like this:
malloc initial array (arbitrary size)
while still space in array, add structures
when array full, realloc to bigger size
goto 2
You could create a double linked list which points to parent and child
struct list{
list* next;
list* prev;
special_data* data;
}
easy to do and flexible
You can't create an array in C without knowing number of it's members up front.
Your options for adding are:
(Faster) Create new array with +1 element, copy entire array and add new element to the end
(Better) Create your own implementation of linked list (Linked list) which will dynamically allocate memory for each new member.
You can use malloc to create your structure.
Edit: The following demonstrates one way to do what you're asking by creating a linked list:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
typedef struct {
int data;
void* next;
} tempStruct;
#define NUM_STRUCTS 4
int main(void) {
tempStruct* cur_ptr;
tempStruct* root_ptr;
int i;
root_ptr = malloc(sizeof(tempStruct));
root_ptr -> data = 0;
root_ptr -> next = NULL;
cur_ptr = root_ptr;
for (i = 1; i < NUM_STRUCTS; i ++ ) {
tempStruct* new_ptr = malloc(sizeof(tempStruct));
new_ptr -> data = i;
new_ptr -> next = NULL;
cur_ptr -> next = new_ptr;
cur_ptr = cur_ptr -> next;
}
cur_ptr = root_ptr;
while (cur_ptr != NULL) {
printf("cur_ptr -> data = %d\n", cur_ptr -> data);
cur_ptr = cur_ptr -> next;
}
return 0;
}
If you really want to create something that acts more like an array, you'll need to allocate all your memory at the same time, using something like:
the_data = malloc(NUM_STRUCTS * sizeof(tempStruct);
Then you'll have to access the data with the dot operator (i.e. '.' (no quotes in your code).
struct foo {int bar;};
size_t i = 0, n = 8;
struct foo *arr = malloc(n * sizeof *arr);
int bar;
while ((bar = get_next_bar()) != -1) {
if (++i == n) { // no room for new element; expand array
arr = realloc(arr, n *= 2);
if (arr == NULL) abort; // see note below.
}
arr[i] = (struct foo){bar};
}
The number of assigned elements in the array is i+1. Don’t forget to free() the array when you’re done with it.
Note: In real programs you generally do not do p = realloc(p, s) directly. Instead you assign the result of realloc() to a new pointer, then do error detection & handling before clobbering your original pointer.

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