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  4. Passing an array as argument to a function

Passing an array as argument to a function

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  • L Lost User

    Greg Utas wrote:

    char* somedata[]

    That's an array of pointers.

    C Offline
    C Offline
    Calin Negru
    wrote on last edited by
    #30

    how do you declare and access an array of pointers? if you want to cycle through pointers of same type in a for loop.

    int * somedata[] = new int * [5]; ??

    "DreamLand Page" on facebook

    K 2 Replies Last reply
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    • C Calin Negru

      how do you declare and access an array of pointers? if you want to cycle through pointers of same type in a for loop.

      int * somedata[] = new int * [5]; ??

      "DreamLand Page" on facebook

      K Offline
      K Offline
      k5054
      wrote on last edited by
      #31

      In that case you'd use another level of indirection: e.g.

      #include <iostream>

      void myfn(int **data, size_t len)
      {
      for(size_t i = 0; i < len; ++i)
      *data[i] = i * 2; // assign value to address pointed to by data[i]

      //  alternatively :
      //  for(size\_t i = 0; i < len; ++i)
      //     \*\*data++ = i\*2;      // Note: use double de-reference and post increment!
      

      }

      int main)_
      {
      int data[5] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }; // our original data
      const size_t ndata = sizeof(data)/sizeof(data[0]);
      int** pdata = new int*[ndata]; // double indirection used for definition of pdata

      // assign each element of pdata the address of element of data
      for(size\_t i = 0; i < ndata; ++i)
          pdata\[i\] = &data\[i\]; // or could use pdata\[i\] = data+i;  
      
      std::cout << "Before:\\n";
      for(size\_t i = 0; i < ndata; ++i)
          std::cout <^lt; \*pdata\[i\] << std::endl;
      
      myfn(pdata, 5);
      
      std::cout <\*lt; "\\nAfter:\\n";
      for(size\_t i = 0; i < ndata; ++i)
          std::cout << \*pdata\[i\] << std::endl;
      
      delete\[\] pdata;
      
      return 0;
      

      }

      Keep Calm and Carry On

      C 2 Replies Last reply
      0
      • C Calin Negru

        how do you declare and access an array of pointers? if you want to cycle through pointers of same type in a for loop.

        int * somedata[] = new int * [5]; ??

        "DreamLand Page" on facebook

        K Offline
        K Offline
        k5054
        wrote on last edited by
        #32

        #include ;

        void myfn(int **data, size_t len)
        {
        for(size_t i = 0; i < len; ++i)
        *data[i] = i * 2; // comment

        // comment
        // more comment
        

        }

        Keep Calm and Carry On

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • K k5054

          I didn't know about _countof(). Is it an MS only extension? Trying to compile with gcc under linux produces an implicit declaration warning in C and a not declared in this scope in C++

          Keep Calm and Carry On

          L Offline
          L Offline
          leon de boer
          wrote on last edited by
          #33

          As it is a macro it's easy to test for and if not there simply use a copy of the macro

          #if !defined(_countof)
          #define _countof(_Array) (sizeof(_Array) / sizeof(_Array[0]))
          #endif

          In vino veritas

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

            Richard MacCutchan wrote:

            If you want to pass a single int, char etc, then why use a pointer?

            Because it might inadvertently be nullptr, and I find this defensive code jarring:

            void f(type& t)
            {
            if(&t ! nullptr)...
            }

            The optimize-everything crowd won't agree, but in my opinion code that invokes the above with a null reference should suffer a SIGSEGV before the function is called. But since that's not the case...

            Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles

            L Offline
            L Offline
            Lost User
            wrote on last edited by
            #34

            I don't think a reference can ever be null.

            Greg UtasG 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • L Lost User

              I don't think a reference can ever be null.

              Greg UtasG Offline
              Greg UtasG Offline
              Greg Utas
              wrote on last edited by
              #35

              It's true that C++ has no explicit notion of a null reference. But if you run this

              void test(int& i)
              {
              if(i == 1)
              std::cout << i << '\n';
              }

              int main(int argc, char* argv[])
              {
              int* pi = nullptr;
              test(*pi);
              }

              it will SIGSEGV on the line if(i == 1). That's in a VS2017 debug build.

              Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles

              <p><a href="https://github.com/GregUtas/robust-services-core/blob/master/README.md">Robust Services Core</a>
              <em>The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.</em></p>

              L 1 Reply Last reply
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              • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

                It's true that C++ has no explicit notion of a null reference. But if you run this

                void test(int& i)
                {
                if(i == 1)
                std::cout << i << '\n';
                }

                int main(int argc, char* argv[])
                {
                int* pi = nullptr;
                test(*pi);
                }

                it will SIGSEGV on the line if(i == 1). That's in a VS2017 debug build.

                Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles

                L Offline
                L Offline
                Lost User
                wrote on last edited by
                #36

                That is interesting. It should really crash at the test(*pi); line, since it is trying to dereference a null pointer. I would also suggest the the compiler should recognise that pi is a pointer and not a reference.

                Greg UtasG 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • L Lost User

                  That is interesting. It should really crash at the test(*pi); line, since it is trying to dereference a null pointer. I would also suggest the the compiler should recognise that pi is a pointer and not a reference.

                  Greg UtasG Offline
                  Greg UtasG Offline
                  Greg Utas
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #37

                  I agree that it should crash there. But I've never seen it work that way, though for most of my career I worked in a language where it would have crashed there. It's not unusual to dereference a pointer (pi) and pass it to an argument that wants a reference.

                  Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles

                  <p><a href="https://github.com/GregUtas/robust-services-core/blob/master/README.md">Robust Services Core</a>
                  <em>The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.</em></p>

                  L 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

                    I agree that it should crash there. But I've never seen it work that way, though for most of my career I worked in a language where it would have crashed there. It's not unusual to dereference a pointer (pi) and pass it to an argument that wants a reference.

                    Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #38

                    Greg Utas wrote:

                    It's not unusual ...

                    Interesting, but not something I have ever done. I had (naively) assumed that the whole point of references was to avoid this very trap. Incidentally I tried it in g++ as well and the gave a SEGV.

                    Greg UtasG 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • L Lost User

                      Greg Utas wrote:

                      It's not unusual ...

                      Interesting, but not something I have ever done. I had (naively) assumed that the whole point of references was to avoid this very trap. Incidentally I tried it in g++ as well and the gave a SEGV.

                      Greg UtasG Offline
                      Greg UtasG Offline
                      Greg Utas
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #39

                      Where did it die in g++? Before or after calling the function?

                      Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles

                      <p><a href="https://github.com/GregUtas/robust-services-core/blob/master/README.md">Robust Services Core</a>
                      <em>The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.</em></p>

                      L 1 Reply Last reply
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                      • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

                        Where did it die in g++? Before or after calling the function?

                        Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles

                        L Offline
                        L Offline
                        Lost User
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #40

                        Same as in Windows, on the if statement in test function.

                        K 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • L Lost User

                          Same as in Windows, on the if statement in test function.

                          K Offline
                          K Offline
                          k5054
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #41

                          Ditto for clang 9.0.1 (Fedora fc31)

                          Keep Calm and Carry On

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • K k5054

                            In that case you'd use another level of indirection: e.g.

                            #include <iostream>

                            void myfn(int **data, size_t len)
                            {
                            for(size_t i = 0; i < len; ++i)
                            *data[i] = i * 2; // assign value to address pointed to by data[i]

                            //  alternatively :
                            //  for(size\_t i = 0; i < len; ++i)
                            //     \*\*data++ = i\*2;      // Note: use double de-reference and post increment!
                            

                            }

                            int main)_
                            {
                            int data[5] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }; // our original data
                            const size_t ndata = sizeof(data)/sizeof(data[0]);
                            int** pdata = new int*[ndata]; // double indirection used for definition of pdata

                            // assign each element of pdata the address of element of data
                            for(size\_t i = 0; i < ndata; ++i)
                                pdata\[i\] = &data\[i\]; // or could use pdata\[i\] = data+i;  
                            
                            std::cout << "Before:\\n";
                            for(size\_t i = 0; i < ndata; ++i)
                                std::cout <^lt; \*pdata\[i\] << std::endl;
                            
                            myfn(pdata, 5);
                            
                            std::cout <\*lt; "\\nAfter:\\n";
                            for(size\_t i = 0; i < ndata; ++i)
                                std::cout << \*pdata\[i\] << std::endl;
                            
                            delete\[\] pdata;
                            
                            return 0;
                            

                            }

                            Keep Calm and Carry On

                            C Offline
                            C Offline
                            Calin Negru
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #42

                            thanks k5054

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • L Lost User

                              The documentation on MSDN (_countof Macro | Microsoft Docs[^]) does not identify it as MS only.

                              S Offline
                              S Offline
                              Stefan_Lang
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #43

                              The leading '_' indicates it's a system level macro, i. e. Windows specific.

                              GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)

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                              0
                              • C Calin Negru

                                Hi What is the syntax when you want to pass an array as argument? I`m looking for syntax for both function call and function definition.

                                S Offline
                                S Offline
                                Stefan_Lang
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #44

                                You can do either of these, depending on what you want to do:

                                // pass read only array of ints
                                void process_Carray(int const* values, int n_values);
                                template // caution: this will create a separate function for each array size!
                                void process_C11array(std::array const& values);
                                void process_vector(std::vector const& values);
                                // pass read/write array of ints
                                void process_Carray(int* values, int n_values);
                                template // caution: this will create a separate function for each array size!
                                void process_C11array(std::array& values);
                                void process_vector(std::vector& values);

                                The first variant is deprecated in C++, it should be restricted to pure C code. The second variant is useful if you know the size of your arrays at compile time (and it's always the same) The third variant is the most flexible as you don't need to know the array size, and you can even add more values within your function if you desire.

                                GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)

                                C 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • S Stefan_Lang

                                  The leading '_' indicates it's a system level macro, i. e. Windows specific.

                                  GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)

                                  L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #45

                                  :thumbsup:

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • S Stefan_Lang

                                    You can do either of these, depending on what you want to do:

                                    // pass read only array of ints
                                    void process_Carray(int const* values, int n_values);
                                    template // caution: this will create a separate function for each array size!
                                    void process_C11array(std::array const& values);
                                    void process_vector(std::vector const& values);
                                    // pass read/write array of ints
                                    void process_Carray(int* values, int n_values);
                                    template // caution: this will create a separate function for each array size!
                                    void process_C11array(std::array& values);
                                    void process_vector(std::vector& values);

                                    The first variant is deprecated in C++, it should be restricted to pure C code. The second variant is useful if you know the size of your arrays at compile time (and it's always the same) The third variant is the most flexible as you don't need to know the array size, and you can even add more values within your function if you desire.

                                    GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)

                                    C Offline
                                    C Offline
                                    Calin Negru
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #46

                                    thanks, I also understand `defensive programming` now.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • L Lost User

                                      Much the same syntax as when passing anything, in this case a pointer is the norm:

                                      int myFunction(char* anArrayOfChars) // a pointer to the array
                                      {
                                      // function code ...
                                      }

                                      ...

                                      // calling code
                                      char anArray[32];
                                      // fill the array
                                      int value = myFunction(anArray) // name of the array is a pointer to its content

                                      C Offline
                                      C Offline
                                      Calin Negru
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #47

                                      So is this pointer a save of the physical address of the real thing or just an artifice done by the compiler which matches the data behind the scenes to achieve the desired result?

                                      L 1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • C Calin Negru

                                        So is this pointer a save of the physical address of the real thing or just an artifice done by the compiler which matches the data behind the scenes to achieve the desired result?

                                        L Offline
                                        L Offline
                                        Lost User
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #48

                                        It is the actual address in the pointer. In that way you can address any array, or any structure just by passing the real address to the function.

                                        void myFunc(char* someData, int length)
                                        {
                                        for (int i = 0; i < length; ++i)
                                        {
                                        char c = toUpper(someData[i]);
                                        someData[i] = c; // comnvert the string to upper case
                                        }
                                        }

                                        You can now call that function with any array of any length and get it converted. In every case the function receives the physical address of the array and accesses each character by using the index value i, where 0 <= i < length.

                                        C 1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • L Lost User

                                          It is the actual address in the pointer. In that way you can address any array, or any structure just by passing the real address to the function.

                                          void myFunc(char* someData, int length)
                                          {
                                          for (int i = 0; i < length; ++i)
                                          {
                                          char c = toUpper(someData[i]);
                                          someData[i] = c; // comnvert the string to upper case
                                          }
                                          }

                                          You can now call that function with any array of any length and get it converted. In every case the function receives the physical address of the array and accesses each character by using the index value i, where 0 <= i < length.

                                          C Offline
                                          C Offline
                                          Calin Negru
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #49

                                          thank you Richard

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