Casting void pointer - pointers

I have a struct
struct GROUP_POINTS
{
unsigned char number_of_points;
void *points;
};
struct GROUP_POINTS group_points;
The reason for points being a void pointer is that I want to keep the groups as general as possible, and setting the "link" to the correct struct at runtime.
One of the other structs is:
struct POINT_A
{
unsigned char something;
};
I can make another pointer that points to the *points to get access to the struct like :
struct POINT_A *point_a = (struct POINT_A *)group_points.points;
and then access the points by doing :
(*point_a).number_of_points = 5;
But I would really like to be able to use it like this:
group_points.points.number_of_points
So not needing the second pointer just to point to the void pointer. Is there any way to do this ?

Assuming the language is C++, you may want to consider template solution like that:
template <class T>
struct GROUP_POINTS
{
unsigned char number_of_points;
T *points;
};
typedef GROUP_POINTS<unsigned char> POINT_A;
//another typedefs for another points.
Also, you probably would be fine with just std::vector<T> instead of whole points structs, but just to illustrate general approach this is how it can be done.

Since all you need is to avoid using another pointer, you can use it like this:
((struct POINT_A *)group_points).points.number_of_points = 5;
Note that the type cast has a lower precedence than that of the . operator, the parenthesis is necessary.

Related

Initialization of dynamically allocated structures using shared pointer

I dont understand why initialization of dynamically allocated structure needs to be done like this (using shared ptr)
Just to notify that I am using C++11
If we have struct like this
struct Meme {
std::string s;
Meme* p;
}
and later in code, I need to dynamically allocated memory for this structure using shared_ptr, but I need to do instant initialization of structure.
Why it is done like this?
std::shared_ptr<Meme> novi=std::make_shared<Meme>(Meme{imena.at(i),nullptr});
part that confuses me is this one :
std::make_shared<Meme>(Meme{imena.at(i),nullptr});
If we set that shared_ptr points to struct Meme, why we need to specify again that initialization list is for struct Meme, by saying
(Meme{imena.at(i),nullptr})
Why this would not work:
std::shared_ptr<Meme> novi=std::make_shared<Meme>({imena.at(i),nullptr});
Is this maybe that initialization list cannot deduct that it should like convert to struct Meme because there is no direct usage of struct Meme(even though make_shared points to struct Meme) ?
make_shared forwards arguments to constructor.
Make shared_ptr
Allocates and constructs an object of type T passing args to its constructor, and returns an object of type shared_ptr that owns and stores a pointer to it (with a use count of 1).
This calls the copy constructor of Meme from new instance you create with Meme{imena.at(i),nullptr}.
std::shared_ptr<Meme> novi=std::make_shared<Meme>(Meme{imena.at(i),nullptr});
The correct way to construct it with make_shared from forwarded arguments is to create constructor in struct:
struct Meme {
std::string s;
Meme* p;
Meme(const std::string& s, Meme* p) : s(s), p(p) {}
};
std::shared_ptr<Meme> novi = std::make_shared<Meme>(imena.at(i),nullptr);
Also you can create an instance with (default) empty constructor and then set its members:
struct Meme {
std::string s;
Meme* p = nullptr;
};
std::shared_ptr<Meme> novi = std::make_shared<Meme>;
novi->s = imena.at(i);

Frama-C: Get all values of structs

I am currently struggling with creating a Frama-C-plugin that gets all int-values of structs in a hierarchy (structs in structs).
For example:
I have a C-Program with the following types:
struct a{
int a;
int b;
}
struct b{
int c;
int d;
struct a a1;
struct a a2;
}
(And even deepter hierarchie)
In the program, there is only one struct of type b created in the main method. Furthermore, I have several local pointers and ints (so a solution only for a struct-hierarchy doesn't help).
Now I want to get the "bottom-values" of the struct of type b at some specific positions.
I've started with code like this:
let lval =
if (Cil.isPointerType vi.vtype) then (
(Mem (Cil.evar vi), NoOffset)
) else if (Cil.isStructOrUnionType vi.vtype)(
(*TODO Section*)
) else (
(Var vi, NoOffset)
)
int* and int's are already working fine, I use the lval-variable to get the value.
To get the struct's values, I think I have to go down vi recursivly, until I get to the point where it is a "normal" variable or a pointer, but how do I do this?
I've already looked at varinfo in cil_types.mli, but I have no idea how to get the data in the struct.
Is it even possible to get the result of the value-analysis for these values, and if yes, how?

Pass double pointer in a struct to CUDA

I've got the following struct:
struct Param
{
double** K_RP;
};
And I wanna perform the following operations on "K_RP" in CUDA
__global__ void Test( struct Param prop)
{
int ix = threadIdx.x;
int iy = threadIdx.y;
prop.K_RP[ix][iy]=2.0;
}
If "prop" has the following form, how should I do my "cudaMalloc" and "cudaMemcpy" operations?
int main( )
{
Param prop;
Param cuda_prop;
prop.K_RP=alloc2D(Imax,Jmax);
//cudaMalloc cuda_prop ?
//cudaMemcpyH2D prop to cuda_prop ?
Test<<< (1,1), (Imax,Jmax)>>> ( cuda_prop);
//cudaMemcpyD2H cuda_prop to prop ?
return (0);
}
Questions like this get asked from time to time. If you search on the cuda tag, you'll find a variety of examples with answers. Here's one example.
In general, dynamically allocated data contained within structures or other objects requires special handling. This question/answer explains why and how to do it for the single pointer (*) case.
Handling double pointers (**) is difficult enough that most people would recommend "flattening" the storage so that it can be handled by reference with a single pointer (*). If you really want to see how the double pointer (**) method works, review this question/answer. It's not trivial.

CLI/C++: void* to System::Object

This is a similar question to this SO post, which I have been unable to use to solve my problem. I have included some code here, which will hopefully help someone to bring home the message that the other posting was getting at.
I want to write a CLI/C++ method that can take a void pointer as a parameter and return the managed object (whose type I know) that it points to. I have a managed struct:
public ref struct ManagedStruct { double a; double b;};
The method I am trying to write, which takes a void pointer to the managed struct as a parameter and returns the struct.
ManagedStruct^ VoidPointerToObject(void* data)
{
Object^ result = Marshal::PtrToStructure(IntPtr(data), Object::typeid);
return (ManagedStruct^)result;
}
The method is called here:
int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
// The instance of the managed type is created:
ManagedStruct^ myData = gcnew ManagedStruct();
myData->a = 1; myData->b = 2;
// Suppose there was a void pointer that pointed to this managed struct
void* voidPtr = &myData;
//A method to return the original struct from the void pointer
Object^ result = VoidPointerToObject(voidPtr);
return 0;
}
It crashes in the VoidPointerToObject method on calling PtrToStructure , with the error: The specified structure must be blittable or have layout information
I know this is an odd thing to do, but it is a situation I have encountered a few times, especially when unmanaged code makes a callback to managed code and passes a void* as a parameter.
(original explanation below)
If you need to pass a managed handle as a void* through native code, you should use
void* voidPtr = GCHandle::ToIntPtr(GCHandle::Alloc(o)).ToPointer();
// ...
GCHandle h = GCHandle::FromIntPtr(IntPtr(voidPtr));
Object^ result = h.Target;
h.Free();
(or use the C++/CLI helper class gcroot)
Marshal::PtrToStructure works on value types.
In C++/CLI, that means value class or value struct. You are using ref struct, which is a reference type despite use of the keyword struct.
A related problem:
void* voidPtr = &myData;
doesn't point to the object, it points to the handle.
In order to create a native pointer to data on the managed heap, you need to use pinning. For this reason, conversion between void* and Object^ isn't as useful as first glance suggests.

add value to struct to pointer segmentation error in C

people, i've an issue now..
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
typedef struct a
{
int *aa;
int *bb;
struct b *wakata;
}a;
typedef struct b
{
int *you;
int *me;
}b;
int main()
{
a *aq;
aq = (a*)malloc(sizeof(a*));
*aq->wakata->you = 1;
*aq->wakata->me = 2;
free(aq);
return 0;
}
and compiled, then debugged :
gcc -o tes tes.c --debug
sapajabole#cintajangankaupergi:/tmp$ gdb -q ./tes
Reading symbols from /tmp/tes...done.
(gdb) r
Starting program: /tmp/tes
Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
0x08048414 in main () at tes.c:22
22 *aq->wakata->you = 1;
well, the question is, how to set the value to variable inside struct 'b' through struct 'a' ?
anyone ?
The initial allocation of a is only allocating 4 bytes (in a 32-bit architecture). It should be:
aq = (a*)malloc(sizeof(a));
And wakata has not been initialized: Maybe this:
aq->wakata = (b*)malloc(sizeof(b));
And it will need a corresponding free as well prior to the free of aq.
free(aq->wakata);
And since you have pointers to the integers, those would also need to be allocated (you and me). But it is not clear if that is your goal. You probably should remove the * from the int declarations so that they are simply int members rather than the pointers to int.
Looks like you have a few mistakes here. See the code below.
In general a few things to keep in mind. You can't access memory before you malloc it. Also, there is a difference between memory and pointers e.g. int and int *
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
typedef struct a
{
int aa;
int bb;
struct b *wakata;
}a;
typedef struct b
{
int you;
int me;
}b;
int main()
{
a * aq = malloc(sizeof(a));
aq->wakata = malloc(sizeof(b))
aq->wakata->you = 1;
aq->wakata->me = 2;
free(aq->wakata)
free(aq);
return 0;
}
wakata isn't pointing to any valid memory. You have to malloc memory for it, and then also for wakata->you and wakata->me
Pointers do not contain data. They point at data. That is why they are called pointers.
When you malloc enough space to store an a instance named aq, you allocate space for the pointers contained in that structure. You do not cause them to point at anything, nor do you allocate space to contain the things that they would point at.
You're not allocating space for b in struct a. You have defined 'a' as holding pointers, not structs. Also, I think malloc(sizeof(a*)) should be malloc(sizeof(a))
aq = (a*)malloc(sizeof(a)); // You should probably use calloc here
aq->wakata = (b*)malloc(sizeof(b));
you and me don't seem to need to be pointers, just normal ints
You have some problems with your code.
When you allocate memory for the struct a, you should do
aq = (a*)malloc(sizeof(a));
You now allocated memory for the struct a, but not for the struct b pointed by the wakata member, so you need to do
aq->wakata = (b*)malloc(sizeof(b));
Finally, in the struct b there should not be int* members, but int members. This way, you'll be able to correctly assign a value to them.
Remember that you should check for the correct allocation of memory by checking if the malloc return value is not NULL.

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