Thread: Segmentation fault error

char *buffer is not initialized pointer
is coontains some random address - you cannot write there.

Allocate some buffer using malloc, store result in the buffer member before copying there anything

2. Do not cast malloc - see FAQ (you will see that you are missing stdlib.h include)
3. indent your code consistently

You did not allocate space for buffer, and you should #include <stdlib.h> for malloc().

What is your current code? Have you incorporated the advice vart and I gave you?

There is no variable named buffer in main(). So you should remove the lines that have to do with buffer and keep those lines that have to do with dev and dev->buffer.

I would expect it to be along these lines:

Code:

int main(void)
{
    sample1 *dev;

    dev = malloc(sizeof(sample1));
    dev->buffer = malloc(10);

    printf("enter buffer string\n");
    strcpy(dev->buffer, "ashok");

    printf("Now buffer string\n");
    printf(" %s\n", dev->buffer);

    free(dev->buffer);
    free(dev);

    return 0;
}

You do not need to cast malloc. It's not an error, but it need not be there.
You allocate memory for 'buffer' a variable that does not exist. Remove that statement.
You must free 'dev->buffer' before freeing 'dev'. It's the same as if someone told you to throw out of your house the trash and then throw away the key to the house, and you throw away the key first.
Try to indent a bit better, and it might be good idea to not put whitespace when accessing members of a struct through a pointer.

Code:

dev-> buffer; /* In expressions it might be an error */
dev->buffer;  /* Will have enough precedence in most cases */

here is the entire code

Looks okay. All you are missing now is the #include <stdlib.h> for malloc and free, and of course the indentation.

Also, if you want to cast malloc, be consistent and write:

Code:

dev = ( sample1* ) malloc(sizeof(sample1));
dev->buffer = (char*) malloc(10);

Originally Posted by robwhit

I'm pretty sure there is no difference between those two statements.

Of course whitespace doesn't matter except at the three places where it matters.
It just might be confusing to read when for example there are also variables with the same name as a struct member, and the thing is inside an expression.

What are those three places, out of curiosity? As far as I can think of at the moment, whitespace is only required to separate tokens that would be taken as one token were the whitespace removed; for example:

Code:

int x;
return 0;

(In other words, whitespace matters when separating alphanumeric characters.)

Whitespace is also significant in the case of the preprocessor -- for example, preprocessor directives have to begin with a '#' that is the first non-alphanumeric character on the line, and they have to end on a newline, or perhaps the end of the file.

And of course, whitespace also matters in strings, because if you removed that whitespace the string would change.

I guess that's three places, actually. Maybe I just answered my own question.

As for whitespace in this particular case -- I occasionally wrap lines at a place like this, if they are particularly long:

Code:

structure
    ->member;

I suppose it is indeed just a matter of preference.