Wierd Visual Studio Problem

[inhaler]

Hi,

I have the following code that I run and compile successfully on Visual Studio 2008 using C, but the problem is when the program tries to run the first free call it just hangs there and does nothing :S. In GNU Linux the program runs fine but windows shows a very strange behavior with this.

here is the code

Create a 2D array dynamically

 
// now that we have our choice, let's create our dynamic string pointer
        // array using the specified size
        char **sptrTable = (char**)calloc( (tabSize+1), sizeof(int) );
 
        // check for valid allocation
        if( sptrTable == NULL )
        {
            fprintf( stdout,"\nNo memory was allocated due to insufficient memory, please free up some memory and try again\nThe program will now exit\n");
            return ERROR_CODE;
        }
 
        // set our exit code for the allocation size
        sptrTable[tabSize] = (char*)calloc( 1, sizeof(int) );
        sptrTable[tabSize][0] = ALLOCATION_LIMIT;
 
 

Now we later on we will the array:

 
while ( allocCheck )
        {
 
                        // create the string in the table and
            // check if the memory was allocated ok
            if ( (ptr[index] = (char *)calloc( strlen(buff), sizeof(char) ) ) == NULL )
            {
                return ERROR_CODE;
            }
 
                        // advance the pointer to next value
                ptr[index++];
 
                // check for allocation limit
                if ( ptr[index] != NULL && ptr[index][0] == (ALLOCATION_LIMIT) )
                {
 
                                  allocCheck = TRUE;
                                }
}
 
 

And finally this is the free function used which shows the strange behavious on windows (it stops in the first iteration of the free function):

void freeChunks( int **ptr, int tabSize )
{
 
    int index = 0;
    int i = 0;
 
        // free the columns
        while( index <= tabSize && ( ptr[index] != NULL) )
        {
            free( ptr[index] );
            index++;
        }
 
        // free the rows
        free( ptr );
}
 
 

The code is corrent and should run fine (it does on Linux using gcc but windows is ><)

Waiting for your responces!

[Andr3w]

Hey m8,

Well as it seems maybe linux has a better memory management (and smarter) but it's kinda off the standard to perform such actions. Your code is correct and absolutely right but with one exception, the size needed for allocation of the string.

Picture this:

 
char *str = "aaaa";
 
printf("%d", strlen(str));
 
 

The code above would return 4 which is correct by all means but as we know strings in C have the following byte syntax (in reality)

1st B -> "a"
2nd B -> "a"
3rd B -> "a"
4th B -> "a"
5th B -> "\0" (a.k.a. NULL termination string)

To free a string the free MUST find a null terminated string in order to de-allocate the memory successfully. Maybe linux libraries are a bit more lenient on this restriction but it must be done (as per C standard).

So the only correction you have to do mate to your code is the following:

 
 if ( (ptr[index] = (char *)calloc( strlen(buff)+1 /* +1 byte for \0 */, sizeof(char) ) ) == NULL )
             {
                 return ERROR_CODE;
             }
 
 

Cheers!

[weaknessforcats]

Actually, you are creating a one-dimensional array of char*.

All arrays in C/C++ are one dimensional.

Read this: http://bytes.com/topic/c/insights/77...rrays-revealed.

Pay attention ot the last example.

[Andr3w]

Technically speaking yea I agree, but in this case he created a one-dimensional array of string pointers that point to the actual string. That's why he also had a problem during free because it didn't find where to end deallocation and caused the function to lock ;)

[weaknessforcats]

That's why he also had a problem during free because it didn't find where to end deallocation and caused the function to lock ;)

What do you mean? The size of an allocated piece of memory is prepended to the address returned by the allocator. You just free the pointer without ever saying how big the allocation is.

If you have a one-dimensional array of char* pointers that point to alocated strings you just loop throught the array and free each pointer and then free the array of pointers.

[donbock]

@inhaler
In sptrTable you store a pointer to a buffer of size (tabSize+1)*sizeof(int) bytes. That is, a buffer sized to hold an array of tabSize+1 int's, but you declare sptrTable as an array of char-pointers. This only works if int and char* happen to be the same size. You should use sizeof(char*) rather than sizeof(int).

Later, you store a pointer to a buffer of size 1*sizeof(int) in the last sptrTable slot. There's not enough information to tell if sizeof(int) is the correct type in this case. If you truly intend for each sptrTable slot to point at a single int then you should have declared sptrTable as an int** rather than a char**. If so, then you need to use sizeof(int*) in the first calloc.

[donbock]

@inhaler
"It stops" -- do you mean your program ends, error messages are displayed, and you have a command prompt; or do you mean that your computer hangs and has to be rebooted? Please provide any error messages.

[Andr3w]

Hey guys,

First of all the weakness of cats, if you run the code in a example and try to free it the way the code is posted the program just hangs, while being responsive (i mean the console cursor is flashing) no crashes occur and no exception either. If you are in debugger more in VS you have to either press Cntl + F5 to exit the program or press X to close it while in release build you have to press X to exit it.

If you run the program using GCC and Linux it doesn't stop and continues execution as planned becuase it's a bit more lenient.

Now to donbock, I think you are wrong there the size of a pointer in a 32-bit operating system is 32 bits regardless of the size of the pointed value, and that's why it works.

Now I've compiled an example that demonstrates this, I've tested it in Windows Vista 64 bit using VS2k8 and in Debian Linux using GCC and Vim

I compiled it as a CPP file but I think it's C syntax valid also so...and I tried to use as much as I could the same variables as the initial provided code

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//                                                                        //
// Parent Project Name: sample project for bytes
//                                                                        //
// Project file: boom.cpp                            //
//                                                                         //
// Description: Demonstrate offset needed in allocaton                    //
//                                                                        //
//                                                                        //
// Notes:    -                                                            //                                                            
//                                                                        //    
// Date Edited: 2009/03/20                                                //
// Version:    1.0r                                                        //
//                                                                        //
// Coder: Andrew Grammenos ([e-mail])                //
//                                                                        //
// License:    BSD License                                                    //                                    
//                                                                        //
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <malloc.h>
 
// set the codes
#define        ERROR_CODE 1
#define        ALLOCATION_LIMIT -1
 
// disable this in nix and legacy versions of VS
#pragma warning ( disable : 4996 )
 
// set true false macros
#define TRUE 0;
#define FALSE 1;
 
// forward function declarations
 
int createTable();
 
void freeChunks( char **ptr, int tabSize );
 
int addStringsToTable(char **ptr);
 
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    createTable();
 
    return TRUE;
}
 
 
int createTable()
{
    // example size
    int tabSize = 5;
 
    // now that we have our choice, let's create our dynamic string pointer
    // array using the specified size
    char **sptrTable = (char**)calloc( (tabSize+1), sizeof(int) );
 
    // check for valid allocation
    if( sptrTable == NULL )
    {
        fprintf( stdout,"\nNo memory was allocated due to insufficient memory, please free up some memory and try again\nThe program will now exit\n");
        return ERROR_CODE;
    }
 
    // set our exit code for the allocation size
    sptrTable[tabSize] = (char*)calloc( 1, sizeof(int) );
    sptrTable[tabSize][0] = ALLOCATION_LIMIT;
 
 
    // pass the address of the pointer table to our function
    // that adds the strings
    addStringsToTable( sptrTable );
 
 
    // free up what we used
    freeChunks(sptrTable, tabSize);
 
    return TRUE;
 
}
 
void freeChunks( char **ptr, int tabSize )
{
 
    int index = 0;
 
    // free the columns
    while( index <= tabSize && (ptr[index] != NULL) )
    {
        free( ptr[index] );
        index++;
    }
 
    // free the rows
    free( ptr );
}
 
int addStringsToTable(char **ptr)
{
 
    // create  a buffer to store the string that the user will input
    char buff[BUFSIZ];
    char inB = 0;
 
    int allocCheck = FALSE;
 
    int index = 0;
 
    while ( allocCheck )
    {
        // prompt the user for input
        fprintf(stdout, "\nPlease enter a string (max length is: %d)", BUFSIZ);
 
        // get the input
        fscanf( stdin, "%s", &(buff) );
 
        // create the string in the table and
        // check if the memory was allocated ok
        if ( (ptr[index] = (char *)calloc( strlen(buff) /* + 1 uncomment to run fine ;) */, sizeof(char) ) ) == NULL )
        {
            return ERROR_CODE;
        }
 
        // copy the actual string
        strcpy( ptr[index], buff );
 
        // print diagnostic message
        fprintf(stdout, "\nString successfully inserted\nPlease type any key to continue or E to terminate and press enter\n\n");
 
        // advance the pointer to next value
        ptr[index++];
 
        // check for allocation limit
        if ( ptr[index] != NULL && ptr[index][0] == (ALLOCATION_LIMIT) )
        {
            fprintf(stdout, "\n\nLimit reached exiting now");
            allocCheck = TRUE;
        }
    }
 
 
    return TRUE;
 
}
 
 
 

[donbock]

@Andr3w
Your program depends on sizeof(int) being the same as sizeof(void*). That is certainly true in some environments; but it is just as certainly false in others. The fact that your program works for one compilers and fails for another suggests a portability problem. I advise you to get in the habit of writing portable code whenever possible.

Hey! What's that pragma on line 30? It looks like you're suppressing a warning. Unsuppress it so we can see if it is a clue to your problems. For that matter, turn on all of the compile-time warnings you can. I trust you will tell us if there are any warnings.

[donbock]

@Andr3w
It is virtually universal practice to use a nonzero value for true (typically "1") and "0" for false. Was this a typo or did you intend to do it this way? Statements like if(TRUE){...} or while(FALSE){...} will do the exact opposite of what you expect. The hangs you're experiencing might be caused by inadvertently infinite loops.

[Andr3w]

Well, in unix systems true is supposed to be 0 (if a thread is successful it returns 0) and most main function do so. Also most ANSI C functions return 0 when they succeed and a non-zero value if they don't or want to indicate a status (like strlen) Please try to compile the program and see what I am saying by uncommenting the +1 offset that I have in line 122.

Now for the pragma in newer versions of visual studio microsoft has new more "secure" function to replace the legacy printf, fprintf and so on using printf_s, fprintf_s etc, if you don't disable that is nugs you with a warning during compile time in newer versions which is annoying and I tend to disable it all the time :P

We chat so much while the original user hasn't responded yet!! kewl!! ^_* haha

[donbock]

@Andr3w
I would be happier if you used the terms SUCCESS and FAILURE rather than TRUE and FALSE. The C Standard is clear and unambiguous: an integer value of zero means false and any nonzero value means true.

[Andr3w]

Well, in any case whatever differences we have in our coding style in this post we are not here to debate on how we write code :P at least I think that...

[donbock]

I would like to continue this discussion of the advantages and disadvantages associated with the values you decide to use for TRUE and FALSE; but I realized that we're hijacking this thread. I copied the relevant posts to the new TRUE/FALSE values: Point / Counterpoint thread where we can continue if you like.