Thread: Proper way to free a pointer returned from a function

  1. #1
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    May 2022
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    Proper way to free a pointer returned from a function

    I am going through the Understanding and Using C Pointers book and came across one example function for combining variables into a single buffer using snprintf.

    There is no example main for the problem within the book (it just says to pass a buffer and its size and that a pointer is returned). So I tried to make my own main()/client for the function and I am unsure of the best way to do it.

    Here is the function:
    Code:
    char* format(char *buffer, size_t size, const char* name, size_t quantity, size_t weight) {
        snprintf(buffer, size, "Item: %s  Quantity: %zu  Weight: %zu", name, quantity, weight);
        return buffer;
    }

    And here are the two ways that I tried calling it:

    Method 1:

    Code:
    
    int main () {
        char *buffer = malloc(sizeof(char) * 1024);
        printf("%s\n",format(buffer,1024,"Axle",25,45));
        free(buffer);
        return 0;
    }
    
    Method 2:

    Code:
    int main () {
        char buffer[128];
        printf("%s\n",format(buffer,sizeof(buffer),"Axle",25,45));
        return 0;
    }
    
    I think it's pretty clear that Method 1 requires free() because of the use of malloc().

    But I am confused about the second example. A pointer has been returned from format(), but I don't think I can free the buffer as I have declared it with a fixed size.

    Which is the correct way to call the function? In the second example, does anything need to be freed?
    Last edited by madcat; 05-21-2022 at 10:56 AM.

  2. #2
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    1,626
    The second is usually better since there's not much point for malloc to create something of a fixed size.
    No, of course buffer does not need to be freed in the second example.
    You already have buffer so it's not strictly necessary for format to return it. It's doing so simply for convenience.
    A little inaccuracy saves tons of explanation. - H.H. Munro

  3. #3
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    8
    Okay thanks John

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