Velocity Reviews - Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings while concatenating

Velocity Reviews (http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/index.php)

- C Programming (http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/f42-c-programming.html)

- - Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings while concatenating (http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t949073-trying-to-figure-out-how-to-dynamically-re-allocate-strings-while-concatenating.html)

Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings while concatenating

Hello. I am not a professional programmer and only program now and then. So please forgive me if my question sounds silly or naive.

I am trying to find out how to dynamically lengthen a string while concatenating in C, as it is easily possible to do so in C++ or Python (two other languages I have used).

I patched up the following code:

Code:

# include <stdio.h>

# include <stdlib.h>

# include <string.h>



void strappend ( char * a, char * b )

{

a = ( char * ) realloc ( a, strlen ( a ) + strlen ( b ) ) ;

strcat ( a, b ) ;

}



void main ( void )

{

char * name = "my name is" ;

strappend ( name, " this or " ) ;

strappend ( name, "that." ) ;

printf ( "%s\n", name ) ;

}

But it aborts with an error saying: "./strappend: realloc(): invalid pointer: 0x000000000040073c ***". No matter how many times I execute it that hex number remains the same.

Can anyone kindly point me to what I am doing wrong with realloc? I have never really used malloc/realloc stuff so I am probably botching things up somewhere but I'm not sure where.

Thanks!

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings whileconcatenating

Le 04/08/2012 16:12, Shriramana Sharma a écrit :
> a = ( char * ) realloc ( a, strlen ( a ) + strlen ( b ) ) ;
.....................................^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+1 for the ending \0

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings whileconcatenating

Le 04/08/2012 16:12, Shriramana Sharma a écrit :
> char * name = "my name is" ;

Oh, and you can't do that, too.

char * name = strdup("my name is");

Otherwise the string will be a constant, not a valid malloc() pointer.

(building with -Werror=write-strings might be a good idea)

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings while concatenating

Hey very nice thank you very much for that guidance! :-) It's now working.

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings while concatenating

"Shriramana Sharma" <jamadagni@gmail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:eb47af15-f8ff-4737-983d-3f54307c1081@googlegroups.com...
> Hello. I am not a professional programmer and only program now and then.
> So please forgive me if my question sounds silly or naive.
>
> I am trying to find out how to dynamically lengthen a string while
> concatenating in C, as it is easily possible to do so in C++ or Python
> (two other languages I have used).
>
> I patched up the following code:
>
>

Code:

> # include <stdio.h>

> # include <stdlib.h>

> # include <string.h>

>

> void strappend ( char * a, char * b )

> {

> a = ( char * ) realloc ( a, strlen ( a ) + strlen ( b ) ) ;

> strcat ( a, b ) ;

> }

Code:



You are changing a in this function, but a is restored on leaving it. So you

need to declare

void strappend ( char ** a, char * b )



strlen ( a ) + strlen ( b )

is not enough! You need to add 1 char for the terminating 0.



> void main ( void )

> {

> char * name = "my name is" ;

> strappend ( name, " this or " ) ;

> strappend ( name, "that." ) ;

> printf ( "%s\n", name ) ;

> }

>

You are reallocating memory in strappend, but not freeing it. This short
program is ok. The reallocated "name" is still in reach and automatically
freed on exiting your program. But be careful in a more complex program!

I doubt that realloc is allowed on the initial value of "name", since it was
not malloc'ed. In fact it is a pointer aiming at constant memory segment.
Maybe
char * name = strdup("my name is");
works better.

> But it aborts with an error saying: "./strappend: realloc(): invalid
> pointer: 0x000000000040073c ***". No matter how many times I execute it
> that hex number remains the same.
>
> Can anyone kindly point me to what I am doing wrong with realloc? I have
> never really used malloc/realloc stuff so I am probably botching things up
> somewhere but I'm not sure where.
>
> Thanks!

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings whileconcatenating

On 8/4/2012 10:12 AM, Shriramana Sharma wrote:
> Hello. I am not a professional programmer and only program now and then. So please forgive me if my question sounds silly or naive.
>
> I am trying to find out how to dynamically lengthen a string while concatenating in C, as it is easily possible to do so in C++ or Python (two other languages I have used).
>
> I patched up the following code:
>
>

Code:

> # include <stdio.h>

> # include <stdlib.h>

> # include <string.h>

>

> void strappend ( char * a, char * b )

Code:



Aside: `strappend' is a reserved name (anything starting with

`str...' is reserved), and it's conceivable you could get into trouble.

Change the name.



> {

>         a = ( char * ) realloc ( a, strlen ( a ) + strlen ( b ) ) ;



The end of a string is marked by a '\0' character, which is *not*

included in the string's length.  The string "Hello" has length five,

but requires six bytes: 'H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', '\0'.  You are

allocating one byte less than you actually need.





>         strcat ( a, b ) ;



Functions that acquire resources can fail.  When realloc() cannot

find enough memory to satisfy your request, it returns NULL -- and if

you blindly use that NULL as the first argument to strcat(), you'll

be in Deep Trouble.  Get in the habit of always checking the returned

value before using it -- and this goes for any function that acquires

a resource, whether you're requesting memory or trying to open a file

or anything: If the function can fail, you should check for failure.



But even if realloc() and strcat() work fine, now what?  You began

with a pointer `a', which is a local variable inside strappend().  You

use realloc() to change that local variable; it changes.  But how will

your caller learn of the change?  Answer: It won't.  What happens in

strappend() stays in strappend().  The call to strappend() provided an

initial value for `a', but that's all: There is no "reverse path" from

`a' back to the expression that provided the value.  You will have to

get the value back to the caller by some other route, perhaps by

returning it as the value of the strappend() function (there are other

ways, but this seems simplest).



> }

>

> void main ( void )



Aside: `int main(void)'.



> {

>         char * name = "my name is" ;

>         strappend ( name, " this or " ) ;



No, no, no!  You can only RE-allocate memory that was dynamically

allocated to begin with, that is, memory that you earlier obtained

from realloc() or malloc() or calloc().  The variable `name' points

to memory that is statically allocated, not dynamic: If you attempt to

realloc() that non-dynamic memory, you get "undefined behavior."  (It

is likely that the specific message you're seeing is due to exactly

this problem.)



>         strappend ( name, "that." ) ;

>         printf ( "%s\n", name ) ;



As mentioned earlier, `name' has not been affected by what went

on inside strappend().



> }

>

>
> But it aborts with an error saying: "./strappend: realloc(): invalid pointer: 0x000000000040073c ***". No matter how many times I execute it that hex number remains the same.
>
> Can anyone kindly point me to what I am doing wrong with realloc? I have never really used malloc/realloc stuff so I am probably botching things up somewhere but I'm not sure where.

The comp.lang.c Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page at
<http://www.c-faq.com/> would make good reading. Section 4 is
all about pointers -- in fact, Question 4.8 specifically addresses
one of the problems in your code.

The C programming languages has many strengths, but hand-holding
is not among them. You need to be something of a shade-tree mechanic
or tinkerer (or even gearhead) to use C well. If you're an occasional
programmer and not much interested in fiddly low-level details, you
may be happier with a higher-level, more coddling language. I think
Mark Twain wrote that one lifetime is not long enough to master
German; something similar could be said of C.

--
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings while concatenating

Shriramana Sharma <jamadagni@gmail.com> writes:

> Hey very nice thank you very much for that guidance! :-) It's now
> working.

Take care. Many C programs appear to work, right up to the point where
they don't! I hope you have taken all the advice, not just the advice
in the message to which you replied.

Speaking of which, strdup is not a standard C function, so you should
check that it will available everywhere your program might run (or at
least everywhere your program might be compiled and linked).

--
Ben.

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings while concatenating

Shriramana Sharma <jamadagni@gmail.com> writes:
>Can anyone kindly point me to what I am doing wrong with realloc?

The result of an attempt should always be checked according
to me. The »free« below is not really required for this
small program, but would be helpful in many cases, where the
code is repeatedly executed in a program.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

char * strapp( char * * const a, char const * const b )
{ *a = realloc( *a, 1 + strlen( *a )+ strlen( b ));
if( *a )strcat( *a, b );
return *a; }

int main( void )
{ char const * const name_ = "my name is";
char * name = malloc( strlen( name_ )+ 1 );
if( name )
{ strcpy( name, name_ );
if( strapp( &name, " this or " ))
if( strapp( &name, "that." ))
printf( "%s\n", name );
free( name ); }}

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings whileconcatenating

On 8/4/2012 12:27 PM, pete wrote:
>[...]
> I see from your call to the free function,
> that you intend to free the allocated memory within main.
>
> If either call to strapp returns a null pointer,
> then your call to free, will free a null pointer instead.

... which is harmless, defined as a no-op.

--
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid

Re: Trying to figure out how to dynamically re-allocate strings whileconcatenating

On 8/4/2012 12:42 PM, pete wrote:
>[...]
> One thing that nobody else has mentioned,
> is that it is good programming practice
> to assign the return value of realloc
> to a temporary pointer first,
> and only to assign that value to your working pointer
> if the temporay pointer has been tested
> and found to be not a null pointer.
>
> Otherwise you lose
> the value of the pointer to the allocated memory,
> which can cause a memory leak.

Note that his realloc() call and value assignment were
inside a function that received the pointer value as an
argument. That is, the caller still owns (or can compute)
a pointer to the allocated memory.

Still, (1) the O.P.'s code was pretty badly messed up
already and we're all in the business of imagining different
possible corrections to it, and (2) your advice to assign
the value of realloc(p,...) to something other than p is
usually excellent.

--
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid