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C++ pointer question

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  • T TFrancis

    If there's some function call out there that tells you if a spot in memory is valid that'd be a real easy way of doing this. But I don't know of one. My suggestion. Make ptr a static member of the foo class. Then, in your foo destructor, if ptr == this, set ptr = NULL. Tim

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    patnsnaudy
    wrote on last edited by
    #4

    I know I can do this, but I did not want to add a member for this. Thanks though! Jerry

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    • J Joe Woodbury

      I completely fail to see the purpose of your code, but that aside, you can simply check whether the 'this' pointer is NULL. Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke

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      patnsnaudy
      wrote on last edited by
      #5

      Yeah but if you create

      foo *a = new foo();
      foo *b = new foo();
      
      a.openWindow();
      b.openWindow(); // This should close a.
      delete b;       // ptr in openWindow() still points 
                      //  to the space b used to occupy.
      a.openWindow(); // Trys to close b, but b no longer exists (ERROR).
      

      I know I could create a member and set it to this in openWindow and NULL in closeWindow, but I do not want to have a member for this. If you change the code to use a dynamic_cast and put a try-catch(...) around it this will work as is, but the powers that be don't like try-catch, so I'm not allowed to use it.

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      0
      • P patnsnaudy

        Yeah but if you create

        foo *a = new foo();
        foo *b = new foo();
        
        a.openWindow();
        b.openWindow(); // This should close a.
        delete b;       // ptr in openWindow() still points 
                        //  to the space b used to occupy.
        a.openWindow(); // Trys to close b, but b no longer exists (ERROR).
        

        I know I could create a member and set it to this in openWindow and NULL in closeWindow, but I do not want to have a member for this. If you change the code to use a dynamic_cast and put a try-catch(...) around it this will work as is, but the powers that be don't like try-catch, so I'm not allowed to use it.

        C Offline
        C Offline
        Christian Graus
        wrote on last edited by
        #6

        patnsnaudy wrote: but the powers that be don't like try-catch, so I'm not allowed to use it. Not being allowed to use try..catch is wrong, but so is a design that throws exceptions based on bad coding, so on aggregate, I'm with the 'powers that be'. Christian I have drunk the cool-aid and found it wan and bitter. - Chris Maunder

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        • P patnsnaudy

          If I have a pointer to an object foo is there anyway to tell if that object actually exists? Say I only want one window open at a time.

          void
          foo::openWindow()
          {
             static foo* ptr = NULL;
             if (ptr)  
                ptr->closeWindow();
             ptr = this;
          
             // open this window 
             ...
          }
          

          So, the second time through this code I want to know if ptr is still valid, because it may have been deleted without my knowledge. I know there are other ways to do this, but I want to know if I can figure out if ptr still exists. I've tried adding a ptr = dynamic_cast<foo*>(ptr);, but this throws an exception if ptr has been deleted, and I'd rather not use a try block. Thanks in advance

          C Offline
          C Offline
          Christian Graus
          wrote on last edited by
          #7

          Add an operator HWND to the class that returns the window handle and call ::IsWindow. Christian I have drunk the cool-aid and found it wan and bitter. - Chris Maunder

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          • C Christian Graus

            Add an operator HWND to the class that returns the window handle and call ::IsWindow. Christian I have drunk the cool-aid and found it wan and bitter. - Chris Maunder

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            patnsnaudy
            wrote on last edited by
            #8

            There is already a function to return HWND I think, if this is derived from the window class (I'll have to check tomorrow at work). ::IsWindow is a great suggestion! I was looking for a magical function that would look at a piece of memory and tell me if it had been deleted, but IsWindow should work. Thanks

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            • P patnsnaudy

              There is already a function to return HWND I think, if this is derived from the window class (I'll have to check tomorrow at work). ::IsWindow is a great suggestion! I was looking for a magical function that would look at a piece of memory and tell me if it had been deleted, but IsWindow should work. Thanks

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              Prakash Nadar
              wrote on last edited by
              #9

              it will not work if the pointer to the dialog is deleteed.


              MSN Messenger. prakashnadar@msn.com

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              • P patnsnaudy

                If I have a pointer to an object foo is there anyway to tell if that object actually exists? Say I only want one window open at a time.

                void
                foo::openWindow()
                {
                   static foo* ptr = NULL;
                   if (ptr)  
                      ptr->closeWindow();
                   ptr = this;
                
                   // open this window 
                   ...
                }
                

                So, the second time through this code I want to know if ptr is still valid, because it may have been deleted without my knowledge. I know there are other ways to do this, but I want to know if I can figure out if ptr still exists. I've tried adding a ptr = dynamic_cast<foo*>(ptr);, but this throws an exception if ptr has been deleted, and I'd rather not use a try block. Thanks in advance

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                Ryan Binns
                wrote on last edited by
                #10

                To determine if a pointer points to readable memory, use the IsBadReadPtr() function. If it returns FALSE, then the pointer cannot be read. Hope this helps,

                Ryan

                "Punctuality is only a virtue for those who aren't smart enough to think of good excuses for being late" John Nichol "Point Of Impact"

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                • P patnsnaudy

                  Yeah but if you create

                  foo *a = new foo();
                  foo *b = new foo();
                  
                  a.openWindow();
                  b.openWindow(); // This should close a.
                  delete b;       // ptr in openWindow() still points 
                                  //  to the space b used to occupy.
                  a.openWindow(); // Trys to close b, but b no longer exists (ERROR).
                  

                  I know I could create a member and set it to this in openWindow and NULL in closeWindow, but I do not want to have a member for this. If you change the code to use a dynamic_cast and put a try-catch(...) around it this will work as is, but the powers that be don't like try-catch, so I'm not allowed to use it.

                  R Offline
                  R Offline
                  Ravi Bhavnani
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #11

                  It's good coding hygiene to set a deleted pointer to NULL. This will help prevent run-time errors and could make your code simpler. /ravi My new year's resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | Freeware | Music ravib@ravib.com

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                  • T TFrancis

                    If there's some function call out there that tells you if a spot in memory is valid that'd be a real easy way of doing this. But I don't know of one. My suggestion. Make ptr a static member of the foo class. Then, in your foo destructor, if ptr == this, set ptr = NULL. Tim

                    D Offline
                    D Offline
                    David Crow
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #12

                    TFrancis wrote: If there's some function call out there that tells you if a spot in memory is valid that'd be a real easy way of doing this. But I don't know of one. How about:

                    IsBadReadPtr()
                    IsBadCodePtr()
                    IsBadStringPtr()
                    IsBadWritePtr()


                    "The pointy end goes in the other man." - Antonio Banderas (Zorro, 1998)

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                    • P Prakash Nadar

                      it will not work if the pointer to the dialog is deleteed.


                      MSN Messenger. prakashnadar@msn.com

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                      patnsnaudy
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #13

                      By it will not work does that mean that it will crash if the pointer has been deleted?

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                      • P patnsnaudy

                        By it will not work does that mean that it will crash if the pointer has been deleted?

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                        P Offline
                        Prakash Nadar
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #14

                        yes,it will very unpredictable, it may crash in some cases and it will work in some cases. but then working with deleted pointer is very bad idea.


                        MSN Messenger. prakashnadar@msn.com

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                        • P patnsnaudy

                          If I have a pointer to an object foo is there anyway to tell if that object actually exists? Say I only want one window open at a time.

                          void
                          foo::openWindow()
                          {
                             static foo* ptr = NULL;
                             if (ptr)  
                                ptr->closeWindow();
                             ptr = this;
                          
                             // open this window 
                             ...
                          }
                          

                          So, the second time through this code I want to know if ptr is still valid, because it may have been deleted without my knowledge. I know there are other ways to do this, but I want to know if I can figure out if ptr still exists. I've tried adding a ptr = dynamic_cast<foo*>(ptr);, but this throws an exception if ptr has been deleted, and I'd rather not use a try block. Thanks in advance

                          P Offline
                          P Offline
                          patnsnaudy
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #15

                          I just created a static pointer to the window and set it to this in the openWindow function and NULL in the dtor. Thanks

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