Thread: Space allocated for character string

I have created the following function to print out an error message. The message comes back into a character string pszMessage from a call to LSgetErrorMessage.

Code:

void printError(pLSenv pEnv, char* origin, int nErrorCode) {
  char* pszMessage = "";
  int nn = LSgetErrorMessage(pEnv, nErrorCode, pszMessage);
  printf( "\nError from %s: %d - %s\n",origin,nErrorCode,pszMessage);
}

It is called called by the main program:

Code:

printError(env,"LScreateEnv",nErrorCode);

I am concerned that the string returned in pszMessage might be overwriting memory, but I'm not sure. Is the above code ok or will it stomp on memory. If so, how should it be modified to be safe?

Worse! You can't write to the constant empty string pszMessage is pointing to!

Code:

void printError(pLSenv pEnv, char* origin, int nErrorCode) {
  char pszMessage[512] = "";

  int nn = LSgetErrorMessage(pEnv, nErrorCode, pszMessage);

  printf( "\nError from %s: %d - %s\n",origin,nErrorCode,pszMessage);

}

Now you have a local char array of 512 bytes, and is NULLed out.
The size, currently 512 should be a #define, instead of a "Majic Number".

Expand the size if you think the error message might be longer.

Ok great thanks.
Do I not need to free the memory for pszMessage when I leave this function? Or will it be automatically freed when exiting the function?

I guess it's just a local variable (on the stack), so gets freed automatically on return. It would different I guess if I used calloc to create the space for the Message. Then I would have to free() it. Correct?

Originally Posted by laserlight

By the way, why are you using Hungarian name prefixes like p, n, and psz?

Just using the same variable names and conventions as the sample code we were given with the application.

Just thinking do I need to append \0 to the string literal when calling my function?

printError(env,"LScreateEnv",nErrorCode);

Originally Posted by ferrad

Just thinking do I need to append \0 to the string literal when calling my function?

A String literal in double quotes, DOES contain a '\0' at the end so you do not have to add one.

You need to study a good book on the C Language. This would explain this and other concepts a C programmer needs to know.

Originally Posted by rstanley

You need to study a good book on the C Language. This would explain this and other concepts a C programmer needs to know.

I have, many times over my career, but I am a Fortran programmer and only have to deal with C stuff once in a blue moon. It always baffles me, so I try for myself, and then ask.

BTW why does pszMessage have to be declared as:

Code:

char pszMessage[LS_MAX_ERROR_MESSAGE_LENGTH] = "";

and not:

Code:

char* pszMessage[LS_MAX_ERROR_MESSAGE_LENGTH] = "";

The h declaration says:

Code:

int LS_CALLTYPE LSgetErrorMessage(pLSenv pEnv,
                             int     nErrorcode,
                             char    *pachMessage);

which to me means it should be declared as char*, but this does not compile.

An array name is not a normal variable. The array name is resolved by the compiler at compile time as the address of the first element of the array. So the array name by itself IS a "char *".

Code:

char pszMessage[LS_MAX_ERROR_MESSAGE_LENGTH] = "";

This is an array of chars. This is correct!

Code:

char* pszMessage[LS_MAX_ERROR_MESSAGE_LENGTH] = "";

This is an array of pointers to chars, not what you want!