Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. General Programming
  3. C / C++ / MFC
  4. A funny thing happened to me. Who can explain?

A funny thing happened to me. Who can explain?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved C / C++ / MFC
question
34 Posts 11 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • N Offline
    N Offline
    nguyenvhn
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    When doing my homework, I had this code: .... int main(){ const int a=10; int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; int i=a; cout << "p=" << p << endl; cout << "&a=" << &a << endl; cout << "*p=" << *p << endl; cout << "a=" << a << endl; cout << "i=" << i << endl; return 0; } Here is the output: p=0012FF7C &a=0012FF7C *p=100 a=10 i=10 I guessed that a had to be 100, but it's 10. It seem that compiler has replaced all instance of variable a to 10 at compile time, event if a has been allocated a storage. So the trick to change a constant by casting its pointer is not effect. Is that right? Any comment is welcome. Thanks.

    V T N C A 8 Replies Last reply
    0
    • N nguyenvhn

      When doing my homework, I had this code: .... int main(){ const int a=10; int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; int i=a; cout << "p=" << p << endl; cout << "&a=" << &a << endl; cout << "*p=" << *p << endl; cout << "a=" << a << endl; cout << "i=" << i << endl; return 0; } Here is the output: p=0012FF7C &a=0012FF7C *p=100 a=10 i=10 I guessed that a had to be 100, but it's 10. It seem that compiler has replaced all instance of variable a to 10 at compile time, event if a has been allocated a storage. So the trick to change a constant by casting its pointer is not effect. Is that right? Any comment is welcome. Thanks.

      V Offline
      V Offline
      V 0
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      I do not understand your explaination very well, but the program seems logical to me. const int a = 10; const: means 'a' is a constant wich you cannot change. then put a in p (thus p = 10) then put 100 in p and then i = a; Where is your problem?

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • N nguyenvhn

        When doing my homework, I had this code: .... int main(){ const int a=10; int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; int i=a; cout << "p=" << p << endl; cout << "&a=" << &a << endl; cout << "*p=" << *p << endl; cout << "a=" << a << endl; cout << "i=" << i << endl; return 0; } Here is the output: p=0012FF7C &a=0012FF7C *p=100 a=10 i=10 I guessed that a had to be 100, but it's 10. It seem that compiler has replaced all instance of variable a to 10 at compile time, event if a has been allocated a storage. So the trick to change a constant by casting its pointer is not effect. Is that right? Any comment is welcome. Thanks.

        T Offline
        T Offline
        toxcct
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        nguyenvhn wrote: const int a=10; where did you see it was 100 ??


        TOXCCT >>> GEII power

        C 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • T toxcct

          nguyenvhn wrote: const int a=10; where did you see it was 100 ??


          TOXCCT >>> GEII power

          C Offline
          C Offline
          Cedric Moonen
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          toxcct wrote: where did you see it was 100 ?? Here: int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; Because p (who is a pointer) receives the adress of the variable a and then you put 100 in the content pointed by p (so, at the same adress than a)... So you replace the value of a. But I don't understand why it prints 10 and not 100. The const keyword has something to do with it but I don't know what.... :confused:

          T V A 3 Replies Last reply
          0
          • C Cedric Moonen

            toxcct wrote: where did you see it was 100 ?? Here: int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; Because p (who is a pointer) receives the adress of the variable a and then you put 100 in the content pointed by p (so, at the same adress than a)... So you replace the value of a. But I don't understand why it prints 10 and not 100. The const keyword has something to do with it but I don't know what.... :confused:

            T Offline
            T Offline
            toxcct
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            what do you think "const" mean ? constipated ? for me (and for C/C++ also), it means "constant", that is, you cannot modify it ! that's all....


            TOXCCT >>> GEII power

            C A 3 Replies Last reply
            0
            • C Cedric Moonen

              toxcct wrote: where did you see it was 100 ?? Here: int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; Because p (who is a pointer) receives the adress of the variable a and then you put 100 in the content pointed by p (so, at the same adress than a)... So you replace the value of a. But I don't understand why it prints 10 and not 100. The const keyword has something to do with it but I don't know what.... :confused:

              V Offline
              V Offline
              V 0
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              if you do this: int a = 10; => a is the value AND &a is the pointer int* p = 100; => *p is the value AND p is the pointer thus if I see correctly: int* p=(int*)&a; means that *p = 10 (* and & are opposites) and p and &a are still different. (you should do p = &a; if you would like to copy pointers) Then again I could be mistaken (you always do working with pointers)

              T A C 3 Replies Last reply
              0
              • C Cedric Moonen

                toxcct wrote: where did you see it was 100 ?? Here: int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; Because p (who is a pointer) receives the adress of the variable a and then you put 100 in the content pointed by p (so, at the same adress than a)... So you replace the value of a. But I don't understand why it prints 10 and not 100. The const keyword has something to do with it but I don't know what.... :confused:

                A Offline
                A Offline
                Antony M Kancidrowski
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                and if you output *(int*)&a rather than a? ;P Ant.

                T 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • V V 0

                  if you do this: int a = 10; => a is the value AND &a is the pointer int* p = 100; => *p is the value AND p is the pointer thus if I see correctly: int* p=(int*)&a; means that *p = 10 (* and & are opposites) and p and &a are still different. (you should do p = &a; if you would like to copy pointers) Then again I could be mistaken (you always do working with pointers)

                  T Offline
                  T Offline
                  toxcct
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  excuse me but int* p=(int*)&a; is as much correct as your p = &a; secondly, you say int a = 10; a is the value AND &a is the pointer. a say NO. &a is the ADDRESS !! and to finish, even if you're right, you don't answer the post to typed...


                  TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • V V 0

                    if you do this: int a = 10; => a is the value AND &a is the pointer int* p = 100; => *p is the value AND p is the pointer thus if I see correctly: int* p=(int*)&a; means that *p = 10 (* and & are opposites) and p and &a are still different. (you should do p = &a; if you would like to copy pointers) Then again I could be mistaken (you always do working with pointers)

                    A Offline
                    A Offline
                    Antony M Kancidrowski
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    If you try to do p = &a; in this example the compiler will complain that it can not convert from const int* to int* ! ;) Ant.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • V V 0

                      if you do this: int a = 10; => a is the value AND &a is the pointer int* p = 100; => *p is the value AND p is the pointer thus if I see correctly: int* p=(int*)&a; means that *p = 10 (* and & are opposites) and p and &a are still different. (you should do p = &a; if you would like to copy pointers) Then again I could be mistaken (you always do working with pointers)

                      C Offline
                      C Offline
                      Cedric Moonen
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      V. wrote: int* p = 100; => *p is the value AND p is the pointer Yes but he is assigning the adress of a in p just before: int* p=(int*)&a; So p and &a are the same (in this case, the adress of &a).

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • A Antony M Kancidrowski

                        and if you output *(int*)&a rather than a? ;P Ant.

                        T Offline
                        T Offline
                        toxcct
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        where do you see a difference between *(int*)&a and a you, except in confusing the reader ?? :~


                        TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                        A 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • T toxcct

                          what do you think "const" mean ? constipated ? for me (and for C/C++ also), it means "constant", that is, you cannot modify it ! that's all....


                          TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                          C Offline
                          C Offline
                          Cedric Moonen
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Yes of course I know this (I'm not completely stupid ;P) but if you try to change the contents of it, you will have a compile error. Or here, you change it by another way (using the adress of the variable). And there is no errors BUT the adress p and the adress &a are the same but their contents are different so there is something strange (two pointers that are pointing at exactly the same adress but the values they hold are different X| )!! It would be normal if *p still contain 10 at the end (that menas the content of a was unchanged)

                          T 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • N nguyenvhn

                            When doing my homework, I had this code: .... int main(){ const int a=10; int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; int i=a; cout << "p=" << p << endl; cout << "&a=" << &a << endl; cout << "*p=" << *p << endl; cout << "a=" << a << endl; cout << "i=" << i << endl; return 0; } Here is the output: p=0012FF7C &a=0012FF7C *p=100 a=10 i=10 I guessed that a had to be 100, but it's 10. It seem that compiler has replaced all instance of variable a to 10 at compile time, event if a has been allocated a storage. So the trick to change a constant by casting its pointer is not effect. Is that right? Any comment is welcome. Thanks.

                            N Offline
                            N Offline
                            nguyenvhn
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            To all: const int a=10;//Declare an int constant and init 10 int* p=(int*)&a; //Declare an int pointer p and point to address of a. *p=100;//Change where p pointed to 100 int i=a;//Declare an int variable i and init i to value of a. cout << "p=" << p << endl;//Print p value (address) cout << "&a=" << &a << endl;//Print address of a cout << "*p=" << *p << endl;//Print value at where p pointed to cout << "a=" << a << endl;//Print value of a cout << "i=" << i << endl;//Print value of i And the result: p=0012FF7C //Point to the same address of a &a=0012FF7C //Point to the same address of p *p=100 //But one value is 100 a=10 //And here the other value is 10 i=10 //And here the value is 10 too. p and a have the same memory address. But it's value is difference. Why that? PS: if I write: int* p=&a, compiler will compain as an error. So I have used a trick by casting int* p=(int*)&a. In this case, compiler ignore.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • N nguyenvhn

                              When doing my homework, I had this code: .... int main(){ const int a=10; int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; int i=a; cout << "p=" << p << endl; cout << "&a=" << &a << endl; cout << "*p=" << *p << endl; cout << "a=" << a << endl; cout << "i=" << i << endl; return 0; } Here is the output: p=0012FF7C &a=0012FF7C *p=100 a=10 i=10 I guessed that a had to be 100, but it's 10. It seem that compiler has replaced all instance of variable a to 10 at compile time, event if a has been allocated a storage. So the trick to change a constant by casting its pointer is not effect. Is that right? Any comment is welcome. Thanks.

                              C Offline
                              C Offline
                              Christopher Lloyd
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              Well it gives a==100 on my compiler! But i==10. I'd imagine that the problem was set to explain why i != a. You're right that the compiler effectively replaces all references to a with the value 10, and that's why i == 10 (because the compiler sees this line as being i = 10) but the value a does have a physical address and using the two lines: int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; should change a. If I was you I'd debug the code and then look at the disassembly, there everything should become clear. In my compiler it gives this: 1844: const int a=10; 0050D1BF mov dword ptr [a],0Ah 1845: int* p=(int*)&a; 0050D1C6 lea eax,[a] 0050D1C9 mov dword ptr [p],eax 1846: *p=100; 0050D1CC mov ecx,dword ptr [p] 0050D1CF mov dword ptr [ecx],64h 1847: int i=a; 0050D1D5 mov dword ptr [i],0Ah Here it's clear that a will be changed to 100 in line 1846 and also that i will be set to 10 in line 1847. By the way, const isn't magic, it just tells the compiler that you shouldn't be able to change a using a line like a = 20; it doesn't add some kind of 'lock' to a meaning it can never change. Oh yeah, I've just spotted why a is 10 in your output. Because you output a which has been replaced at compile time with 10!!

                              C A N 3 Replies Last reply
                              0
                              • C Cedric Moonen

                                Yes of course I know this (I'm not completely stupid ;P) but if you try to change the contents of it, you will have a compile error. Or here, you change it by another way (using the adress of the variable). And there is no errors BUT the adress p and the adress &a are the same but their contents are different so there is something strange (two pointers that are pointing at exactly the same adress but the values they hold are different X| )!! It would be normal if *p still contain 10 at the end (that menas the content of a was unchanged)

                                T Offline
                                T Offline
                                toxcct
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                in fact, the compiler don't say anything because const is an identifier for the compiler, and as we don't explicitely write into variable a, there is no compile error. but a is still const (certainly not even in the stack...) so *p cannot access the value correctly to alter it.


                                TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • T toxcct

                                  what do you think "const" mean ? constipated ? for me (and for C/C++ also), it means "constant", that is, you cannot modify it ! that's all....


                                  TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                                  A Offline
                                  A Offline
                                  Anonymous
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  Sounds like your constipated!!!!!:mad:

                                  T 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • A Anonymous

                                    Sounds like your constipated!!!!!:mad:

                                    T Offline
                                    T Offline
                                    toxcct
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    hey man, first, you write as an anonymous, and secondly, where did you sense of humour go ??? did you trash it ? :-D


                                    TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • T toxcct

                                      what do you think "const" mean ? constipated ? for me (and for C/C++ also), it means "constant", that is, you cannot modify it ! that's all....


                                      TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                                      A Offline
                                      A Offline
                                      Anonymous
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      Sounds like your are constipated!!!!:mad:

                                      T 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • A Anonymous

                                        Sounds like your are constipated!!!!:mad:

                                        T Offline
                                        T Offline
                                        toxcct
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        pouet pouet pouet traallalalilouuu


                                        TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • C Christopher Lloyd

                                          Well it gives a==100 on my compiler! But i==10. I'd imagine that the problem was set to explain why i != a. You're right that the compiler effectively replaces all references to a with the value 10, and that's why i == 10 (because the compiler sees this line as being i = 10) but the value a does have a physical address and using the two lines: int* p=(int*)&a; *p=100; should change a. If I was you I'd debug the code and then look at the disassembly, there everything should become clear. In my compiler it gives this: 1844: const int a=10; 0050D1BF mov dword ptr [a],0Ah 1845: int* p=(int*)&a; 0050D1C6 lea eax,[a] 0050D1C9 mov dword ptr [p],eax 1846: *p=100; 0050D1CC mov ecx,dword ptr [p] 0050D1CF mov dword ptr [ecx],64h 1847: int i=a; 0050D1D5 mov dword ptr [i],0Ah Here it's clear that a will be changed to 100 in line 1846 and also that i will be set to 10 in line 1847. By the way, const isn't magic, it just tells the compiler that you shouldn't be able to change a using a line like a = 20; it doesn't add some kind of 'lock' to a meaning it can never change. Oh yeah, I've just spotted why a is 10 in your output. Because you output a which has been replaced at compile time with 10!!

                                          C Offline
                                          C Offline
                                          Cedric Moonen
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Finally it's clear :-D !! Yes ok, I didn't know that the compiler really replace all occurences of a by it's value (so acting like a #define in fact). What did you win ;P ??

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups