sprintf behavies different than printf

[google]

Consider the following code:

char str[100];
char str2[100];
strcpy(str, "%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%");
printf("printf: ");
printf("1%s2", str);
printf("\nsprintf: ");
sprintf(str2, "1%s2", str); //Interesting stuff happens here
printf(str2);
printf("\n");

The code should format the string "1%s2" by replacing %s with "%alfa%
%beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%". First printf is used, and then
sprintf. The output should be:

printf: 1%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%2
sprintf: 1%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%2

However, this is not what happens i either Visual C++ 6.0, Visual C++
2003 and GCC (version 4 I think, compiled and tested in Linux). In all
these compilers printf works as expected, but fails with sprintf where
the result is either a crash or a malformed string. The problem seems
to be that the %-character is used in the argument which, as fair as I
know, shouldn't be any problem.

If I replace %s with "%%alfa%% %%beta%% d%%100%%d %%gamma%% %%delta%%"
the output will instead by (at least in Visual C++ 2003):

printf: 1%%alfa%% %%beta%% d%%100%%d %%gamma%% %%delta%%2
sprintf: 1%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%2

So when using sprintf %% is replaced by % which should be the is these
characters where written in the format string, but this is a very
different case.

Unless I have misunderstand the specification of sprintf there is a
quite critical bug in sprintf and this in several compilers. Is this
an known problem? Are more compilers affected? Why are the problem in
both Visual C++ and GCC? Isn't this very interesting? :-)

PEK

[Eric Sosman]

go****@pekspro.com wrote:

Consider the following code:

char str[100];
char str2[100];
strcpy(str, "%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%");
printf("printf: ");
printf("1%s2", str);
printf("\nsprintf: ");
sprintf(str2, "1%s2", str); //Interesting stuff happens here

Not very. What happens on the next line is far more
interesting, if undefined behavior is "interesting" to you.

printf(str2);

This is equivalent to

printf("1%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%2");

.... which is faulty on several counts: Undefined conversion
specifiers ("%a", "% ", "%b", "%100%", "%2"), and specifiers
without values for them to convert ("%g", "%d"). printf()
can do whatever it pleases; Garbage In, Garbage Out.

--
Er*********@sun.com

[Ben Pfaff]

go****@pekspro.com writes:

Consider the following code:

char str[100];
char str2[100];
strcpy(str, "%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%");
printf("printf: ");
printf("1%s2", str);
printf("\nsprintf: ");
sprintf(str2, "1%s2", str); //Interesting stuff happens here
printf(str2);

You mean:
printf("%s", str2);
Otherwise the % directives in str2 are interpreted by printf(),
with undefined results.

printf("\n");

--
char a[]="\n .CJacehknorstu";int putchar(int);int main(void){unsigned long b[]
={0x67dffdff,0x9aa9aa6a,0xa77ffda9,0x7da6aa6a,0xa6 7f6aaa,0xaa9aa9f6,0x11f6},*p
=b,i=24;for(;p+=!*p;*p/=4)switch(0[p]&3)case 0:{return 0;for(p--;i--;i--)case+
2:{i++;if(i)break;else default:continue;if(0)case 1:putchar(a[i&15]);break;}}}

[Martin Ambuhl]

go****@pekspro.com wrote:

Consider the following code:

[replaced with the legal program, with one extra line:]
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

int main(void)
{
char str[100];
char str2[100];
strcpy(str, "%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%");
printf("printf: ");
printf("1%s2", str);
printf("\nsprintf: ");
sprintf(str2, "1%s2", str); /* Interesting stuff happens here */
printf(str2);
printf("\n");
printf("%s\n", str2); /* the extra line */
return 0;
}

The code should format the string "1%s2" by replacing %s with "%alfa%
%beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%". First printf is used, and then
sprintf. The output should be:

printf: 1%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%2
sprintf: 1%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%2

No, it should not. The format string in printf(str2) is
"1%alfa% %beta% d%100%d %gamma% %delta%2"
This format string tells printf to expect several additional arguments:
"%a" (in C99) specifies a double to be represented with
hex digits.
(in C90) undefined conversion
"% " undefined (no space is allowed as a flag in "%%")
"%b" undefined conversion
"% d" signed int represented as decimal integer with a leading space
or '-'
"%100" undefined
"%d" signed int represented as decimal integer
"%g" double represented as with "%f" or "%e"
"% " undefined (no space is allowed as a flag in "%%")
"%d" signed int represented as decimal integer
"%2" undefined (no conversion specified, width = 2)

You provide none of these arguments.
See the result of the added line/
Your various guesses are irrelevant. You call printf with a format
string specifying additional atguments which you do not provide.