Use of uninitialized value of size 4

Im pretty new to C, and am looking for an explanation of why I am getting this error message.

Code:

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>

struct node {
   int first;
   struct node *rest;
};

struct node *cons(int fst, struct node *rst) {
   struct node *new = malloc(sizeof(struct node));
   new->first = fst;
   new->rest = rst;
   return new;
}


struct node *insert(struct node *lst1, int n) {
   struct node *temp;
   temp->first = n;
   temp->rest = lst1;
   return temp;
}


int main(void) {
   struct node *a = cons(2,cons(3,cons(6,NULL)));
   struct node *c = insert(a, 10);
}

This is the valgrind message I get:

Code:

= Use of uninitialised value of size 4
=    at 0x80483FB: insert (test.c:19)
=    by 0x804845F: main (test.c:27)
=  Uninitialised value was created by a stack allocation
=    at 0x80483F2: insert (test.c:17)
= Process terminating with default action of signal 11 (SIGSEGV)
=  Bad permissions for mapped region at address 0x8049FF4
=    at 0x80483FB: insert (test.c:19)
=    by 0x804845F: main (test.c:27)

I know this is a simple problem but I just don't understand what is going on!

In 'insert':

Code:

struct node *temp;
   temp->first = n;

'temp' doesn't point at anything. I.e.: You are using it uninitialized.


Quzah.

how would I make it point to something? Like does it have to point at a specific type?

Originally Posted by JimmyRP

how would I make it point to something? Like does it have to point at a specific type?

You need to allocate memory for the structure...

temp is of type struct node so you need to use

Code:

struct node *temp = malloc(sizeof(node));

Originally Posted by JimmyRP

how would I make it point to something? Like does it have to point at a specific type?

How is 'insert' any different than 'cons'? You need to have an idea of what the function is supposed to be doing before you start making it try to do something.


Quzah.