pass on variable arguments

[Fader_Berg]

At first I felt a strong urge to introduce my self and my programming experience. But came to the conclusion that I would only look silly. When it comes down to it, I don't know ........ about c, but I want to learn. That's what brings me here...

I wonder how to pass on a variable amount of variables to another function. Is it possible? In short... I want to make a function that passes the arguments on.

void write(char *msg, ...) {
  va_list args;
  bla bla bla
  printf(msg, args?)
}

[quzah]

Search the forum for va_list and you should get loads of info on it.


Quzah.

[dwks]

You can't with normal functions. But some functions take va_list parameters, and that lets you do it. For example, you can use vfprintf() like so.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdarg.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <time.h>

void log_message(const char *format, ...);

int main() {
    log_message("Starting\n");
    
    printf("Press any key.\n");
    getchar();
    
    log_message("Ending, elapsed time = %d\n", (int)clock());
    
    return 0;
}

void log_message(const char *format, ...) {
    time_t t;
    const char *time_string;
    va_list args;
    va_start(args, format);
    
    time(&t);
    time_string = ctime(&t);
    printf("[%.*s] ", strlen(time_string) - 1, time_string);
    vfprintf(stdout, format, args);
    
    va_end(args);
}

Input/output:

[Thu Sep 10 16:40:48 2009] Starting
Press any key.

[Thu Sep 10 16:40:50 2009] Ending, elapsed time = 0

[edit] Quzah types too fast. Or, more likely, I type too much. [/edit]

[quzah]

Quzah types too fast. Or, more likely, I type too much.

It's the colors. The colors get me every time.


Quzah.

[Fader_Berg]

Thanks for that information.

[Salem]

Taking dwks' example, you would also write a

vlog_message(const char *format, va_list args );

to do all the actual work, and the variadic function is just a simple wrapper to convert the ... into a va_list to be passed from one vfunc() to another without any further complication.

If someone else decides to further wrap your function, the existence of the vfunc() will make it SO much easier for them to do.