Segmentation fault

[pdstatha]

I'm getting a frustrating segmentation fault, someone help me understand why.

/*Print the process information*/
void printDetails(char* filename,char* path){
  FILE *f_name;
  int pid,tty,stime;
  char pname[FILENAME_MAX];
  char* t_name,time;

  /*Format the path*/
  strcat(path,"/");
  strcat(path,"stat");

  if((f_name = fopen(path,"r")) != NULL){
    fscanf(f_name,"%d %s %*c %*d %*d %*d %d %*d 
           %*u %*u %*u %*u %*u %*d %d",&pid,&pname,&tty,&stime);
    t_name = ttyname(tty);
    printf("B4 getTime\n");
    time = getTime(stime); /*HERE IT IS - THE BASTARD*/
    if(t_name == NULL)
      t_name = "?";           
    printf("%-9d%-12s%-6s  %s\n",pid,t_name,time,pname);
    fclose(f_name);
  }else
    fprintf(stderr,"Can't open %s\n",path);

}

char* getTime(int clockticks){
  float jiffies,result;
  int min,hr,seconds;
  char* time;

  jiffies = 0.01f;
  
  result  = jiffies * clockticks;
  seconds = result;
  min     = seconds/60;
  hr      = min/60;

  seconds %= 60; /*MOD it into 0-59*/
  min     %= 60; /*MOD it into 0-59*/

  if(hr < 10 && min < 10 && seconds < 10)
    sprintf(time,"0%d:0%d:0%d",hr,min,seconds);
  else if(hr < 10 && min < 10)
    sprintf(time,"0%d:0%d:%d",hr,min,seconds);
  else if(hr < 10 && seconds < 10)
    sprintf(time,"0%d:%d:0%d",hr,min,seconds);
  else if(min < 10 && seconds < 10)
    sprintf(time,"%d:0%d:0%d",hr,min,seconds);
  else if(hr < 10)
    sprintf(time,"0%d:%d:%d",hr,min,seconds);
  else if(min < 10)
    sprintf(time,"%d:0%d:%d",min,hr,seconds);
  else if(seconds < 10)
    sprintf(time,"%d:%d:0%d",min,hr,seconds);
  else
    sprintf(time,"%d:%d:%d",min,hr,seconds);
  
  return time;
}

[Shiro]

The bastard is variable time. It is of type char and function getTime returns a pointer to char.

[Prelude]

>char* t_name,time;
should be
char *t_name, *time;

It's cases such as these that you should bind the * with the variable and not the type so that you can see more easily the problem. It may seem nitpicky (it's just a question of a space), but if the * is connected to the type you tend to think that it means all variables will be pointers, when it doesn't work that way.

>sprintf(time,"0%d:0%d:0%d",hr,min,seconds);
This will cause a problem too, time is a pointer and you're treating it like an array. Pointers and arrays are NOT the same, you need to allocate some memory to time or the program will choke.

-Prelude

[pdstatha]

Changed it to this

char* t_name;
char* time;

So time is a char* , same happens tho, am I being dumb?? I have a nasty feeling I am.

[Prelude]

>same happens tho
If you didn't allocate memory for the time variable in the getTime function then I'm not surprised. You're assigning data to memory that you do not own. This is illegal and will result in a segmentation violation.

-Prelude