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C++ pointer question

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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.

    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

      P 1 Reply Last reply
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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

        P Offline
        P Offline
        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

        P 1 Reply Last reply
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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

          P Offline
          P Offline
          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

            R Offline
            R Offline
            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

                  P Offline
                  P Offline
                  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?

                  P 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • P patnsnaudy

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

                    P Offline
                    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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