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.
  • 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
                    • 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
                      #15

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

                      T 1 Reply 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
                        #16

                        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
                        • 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
                            • 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
                              #19

                              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
                              • A Anonymous

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

                                T Offline
                                T Offline
                                toxcct
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #20

                                pouet pouet pouet traallalalilouuu


                                TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                                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.

                                  A Offline
                                  A Offline
                                  Antony M Kancidrowski
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #21

                                  OK seriously, You should not cast away the const-ness of objects that were originally defined as being const and on which non-const operations are being executed. Doing this, results in undefined behaviour. http://www.uwyn.com/resources/uwyn_cpp_coding_standard/x629.html[^] Ant.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • T toxcct

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


                                    TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                                    A Offline
                                    A Offline
                                    Antony M Kancidrowski
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #22

                                    Try it in VC 6 you will be amazed, anyway see my other post WRT casting away const-ness. Ant.

                                    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!!

                                      A Offline
                                      A Offline
                                      Antony M Kancidrowski
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #23

                                      Yea it seems that the compiler has optimised itself here since a was declared const! :) Ant.

                                      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.

                                        D Offline
                                        D Offline
                                        David Crow
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #24

                                        nguyenvhn wrote: const int a=10; This simply means that you cannot modify memory address 0x0012FF7C through variable a. The address is not read-only, the variable is. make sense?


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

                                        T 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • D David Crow

                                          nguyenvhn wrote: const int a=10; This simply means that you cannot modify memory address 0x0012FF7C through variable a. The address is not read-only, the variable is. make sense?


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

                                          T Offline
                                          T Offline
                                          toxcct
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #25

                                          teu teu teu, read the other posts before saying so, especially "Christopher Lloyd"'s one :(


                                          TOXCCT >>> GEII power

                                          D 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