Thread: Trying to code a C-style function as a C++ one

  1. #1
    Tears of the stars thames's Avatar
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    Rio, Brazil
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    Question Trying to code a C-style function as a C++ one

    Good morning. I'm trying to convert this into a C++ style program:

    Code:
     
    #include <iostream> 
    #include <string> 
    
    const int MAXSIZE = 15;
    
    using namespace std; 
    
    unsigned int c_in_str(const char *str, char ch);
    
    int main(void) 
    { 
      char mmm[MAXSIZE] = "minimum";
      char *wail = "ululate";
      
      unsigned int ms = c_in_str(mmm, 'm');
      unsigned int us = c_in_str(wail, 'u');
      
      cout << ms << " m characters in " << mmm << endl; 
      cout << us << " u characters in " << wail << endl;      
        
      return 0;     
    }     
    
    unsigned int c_in_str(const char *str, char ch) 
    {
       int count = 0; 
       
       while(*str) 
       { 
         if(*str == ch) 
          count++; 
         str++; 
       }
       return count;                   
    }
    g++ complains I'm using char * in this case

    Code:
     
    #include <iostream> 
    #include <string> 
    
    using namespace std; 
    
    unsigned int c_in_str(const string str, char ch);
    
    int main(void) 
    { 
      string mmm  = "minimum";
      string wail = "ululate";
      
      unsigned int ms = c_in_str(mmm, 'm');
      unsigned int us = c_in_str(wail, 'u');
      
      cout << ms << " m characters in " << mmm << endl; 
      cout << us << " u characters in " << wail << endl;      
        
      return 0;     
    }     
    
    unsigned int c_in_str(const string str, char ch) 
    {
       int count = 0; 
       int i;
       while(str[i] != '\0') 
       { 
         if(str[i] == ch) 
          count++; 
         str[i++]; 
       }
       return count;                   
    }
    in this case, valgrind complains I'm not setting a size to mmm and wail.

    Code:
     
    thames@semaht ~/C++/Strings $ valgrind ./strgfun
    ==3259== Memcheck, a memory error detector
    ==3259== Copyright (C) 2002-2011, and GNU GPL'd, by Julian Seward et al.
    ==3259== Using Valgrind-3.7.0 and LibVEX; rerun with -h for copyright info
    ==3259== Command: ./strgfun
    ==3259== 
    ==3259== Use of uninitialised value of size 8
    ==3259==    at 0x400E58: c_in_str(std::string, char) (strgfun.cpp:26)
    ==3259==    by 0x400CA2: main (strgfun.cpp:13)
    ==3259== 
    ==3259== Use of uninitialised value of size 8
    ==3259==    at 0x400E19: c_in_str(std::string, char) (strgfun.cpp:28)
    ==3259==    by 0x400CA2: main (strgfun.cpp:13)
    ==3259== 
    ==3259== Use of uninitialised value of size 8
    ==3259==    at 0x400E58: c_in_str(std::string, char) (strgfun.cpp:26)
    ==3259==    by 0x400CD5: main (strgfun.cpp:14)
    ==3259== 
    ==3259== Use of uninitialised value of size 8
    ==3259==    at 0x400E19: c_in_str(std::string, char) (strgfun.cpp:28)
    ==3259==    by 0x400CD5: main (strgfun.cpp:14)
    ==3259== 
    3 m characters in minimum
    2 u characters in ululate
    ==3259== 
    ==3259== HEAP SUMMARY:
    ==3259==     in use at exit: 0 bytes in 0 blocks
    ==3259==   total heap usage: 2 allocs, 2 frees, 64 bytes allocated
    ==3259== 
    ==3259== All heap blocks were freed -- no leaks are possible
    ==3259== 
    ==3259== For counts of detected and suppressed errors, rerun with: -v
    ==3259== Use --track-origins=yes to see where uninitialised values come from
    ==3259== ERROR SUMMARY: 30 errors from 4 contexts (suppressed: 2 from 2)

  2. #2
    Registered User
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    4,633
    In the first code the following needs to be changed:
    Code:
      char *wail = "ululate";
      // To:
      const char *wail = "ululate";
    You need to match the const of the char pointer to the const of the string.

    In the second code the following line:
    Code:
    unsigned int c_in_str(const string str, char ch)
    The const on the string parameter is actually not required since you are sending a copy of the string to the function. However I would change the function to send a const string reference for the string instead of the copy.

    Code:
    unsigned int c_in_str(const string& str, char ch)
    {
       int count = 0;
       int i;
       while(str[i] != '\0')
    Now in the above code you never initialize i so when you use it in the while loop you get undefined behavior. This what valgrind is complaining about.

    Also since this is a std::string, I'm not sure the use of the end of string character is guaranteed to work. I suggest changing to a for loop for this and use the size of the string.
    Code:
       for(int i = 0; i < str.length(); ++i)
       {
          if(str[i] == ch)
             count++; 
        }

    Jim

  3. #3
    Tears of the stars thames's Avatar
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    Many thanks Jim. I fixed the code.

    Code:
    #include <iostream> 
    #include <string> 
    
    using namespace std; 
    
    unsigned int c_in_str(const string& str, char ch);
    
    int main(void) 
    { 
      const string mmm  = "minimum";
      const string wail = "ululate";
      
      unsigned int ms = c_in_str(mmm, 'm');
      unsigned int us = c_in_str(wail, 'u');
      
      cout << ms << " m characters in " << mmm << endl; 
      cout << us << " u characters in " << wail << endl;      
        
      return 0;     
    }     
    
    unsigned int c_in_str(const string& str, char ch) 
    {
       int count = 0; 
       unsigned int i;
       for(i = 0; i < str.length(); i++) 
        if(str[i] == ch) 
         ++count;
       return count;                   
    }

  4. #4
    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    Singapore
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    You could do without that c_in_str function by using std::count from <algorithm>, e.g.,
    Code:
    #include <iostream>
    #include <string>
    #include <algorithm>
    
    using namespace std;
    
    int main(void)
    {
      const string mmm  = "minimum";
      const string wail = "ululate";
    
      unsigned int ms = count(mmm.begin(), mmm.end(), 'm');
      unsigned int us = count(wail.begin(), wail.end(), 'u');
    
      cout << ms << " m characters in " << mmm << endl;
      cout << us << " u characters in " << wail << endl;
    
      return 0;
    }
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

  5. #5
    Tears of the stars thames's Avatar
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    You could do without that c_in_str function by using std::count from <algorithm>, e.g.
    cool! I didn't know that. Many thanks laserlight.

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