struct total size does not match the sum of the components

Hello,

I usually develop in C for embedded platform (mplab C18 from microchip) and I use very often struct.

I began to work on a project on a PC and I encounter one weird behavior which I don't understand :

1st, when I do the sizeof(short, long, int and char) I get :

short : 2 bytes
long : 8 bytes
int : 4 bytes
char : 1 byte

In the following struct, the total size from (sizeof) is 6 but if I do the sum of the size of the differents elements, it should sum 5.

Code:

---

typedef struct _test
{
    unsigned char a;
    unsigned short b; // 2 bytes
    unsigned char c : 4;
    unsigned char d : 4;
    unsigned char e : 2;
    unsigned char f : 6;
}test;

---

so:

a = 1 byte
b = 2 bytes
c + d = 1 byte
e + f = 1 byte

Why do the compiler add an empty byte somewhere ? At first, I though it was because the structs must be 2 bytes aligned but the following struct works fine :

Code:

---

typedef struct _test2
{
  unsigned char a;
  unsigned char b;
  unsigned char c;
}test2;

the sizeof gives me 3 bytes which is right.

---

If I only put 1 short in the structure, the structure is sized 2 bytes. but if I add an unsigned char, the size is not right (4 bytes)...

I can't understand whis this behavior and How to bypass this ?

Thank you for your help !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by weebette

Why do the compiler add an empty byte somewhere ? At first, I though it was because the structs must be 2 bytes aligned

---

Yeah, it is a matter of padding for alignment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by weebette

How to bypass this ?

---

This is compiler dependent, but there may be a way to specify that you want the structure to be packed. Other than this, you can try declaring members such that padding is minimised, e.g., place the short before the char.

Alignment is about where something starts. The short b must start on a 2-byte boundary, so an extra byte is added after a.

Try the following code with and without the pragma. As laserlight said, it's compiler dependent how to pack a struct, but this method may work for you. laserlight also mentioned rearranging the elements, which is probably more portable.

Code:

---

#include <stdio.h>

//#pragma pack (1)

typedef struct _test
{
    unsigned char a;
    unsigned short b; // 2 bytes
    unsigned char c : 4;
    unsigned char d : 4;
    unsigned char e : 2;
    unsigned char f : 6;
}test;

int main() {
    test t = {1,2,3,4,1,2};
    *(&t.a + 1) = 255;
    printf("%d %d %d %d %d %d %d\n", t.a, *(&t.a+1), t.b, t.c, t.d, t.e, t.f);
    return 0;
}

---

Thanks guys,

You are right, it is a packing issue. When I add #pragma pack(1) the size is correct. But when I add a short in a structure, the size will always be a factor of 2 ( 4, 6...) why ?

Code:

---

struct _test3
{
  unsigned short a;
  unsigned char b;
}test3;

---

the size will be 4. Why ?! And why there is no packing for an char[5] ?

Thank you a lot for your help! Even if I don't fully understand at least I know how to solve the issue.

Quote:

---

But when I add a short in a structure, the size will always be a factor of 2 ( 4, 6...) why ?

---

Presumably so that if you make an array of these structs, the shorts will be properly aligned.

Quote:

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And why there is no packing for an char[5] ?

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Because chars are single-byte aligned (on you machine, at least).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by weebette

But when I add a short in a structure, the size will always be a factor of 2 ( 4, 6...) why ?

---

Maybe because if you have an array of such structs, the short member needs to be aligned on an appropriate boundary.

Thanks a lot for your help,

I have a better understanding of the problem with a solution :-)

I'm grateful!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by weebette

I usually develop in C for embedded platform (mplab C18 from microchip) and I use very often struct.

I began to work on a project on a PC and I encounter one weird behavior which I don't understand :

---

Does this imply you are using C++ on the PC? If not, why did you post in the C++ section?

I've putted this in C++ because yes, it is compiled with a C++ compiler.

Thank you

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by weebette

Thanks guys,

You are right, it is a packing issue. When I add #pragma pack(1) the size is correct. But when I add a short in a structure, the size will always be a factor of 2 ( 4, 6...) why ?

---

It's not really right to say that it's "correct" or not. The compiler is enforcing the usual alignment requirements. The size of the structure will always be a multiple of the alignment of the LARGEST type inside the structure. So if you've got a 2-byte short in it, the size of the structure will be a multiple of 2, unless you specify that it should be packed.

The size of a structure may depend on the order in which you put the components. For instance:

Code:

---

struct a
{
    char a;
    short b;
    char c;
    short d;
};

---

Will take up 8 bytes, while the structure with a different order:

Code:

---

struct b
{
    char a;
    char c;
    short b;
    short d;
};

---

will take only 6 bytes.

The important thing to understand is there is no "issue" or problem here, there is nothing you need to "solve."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brewbuck

The size of the structure will always be a multiple of the alignment of the LARGEST type inside the structure. So if you've got a 2-byte short in it, the size of the structure will be a multiple of 2, unless you specify that it should be packed.

---

That's not quite true. The alignment boundaries are determined by the host system, and are often independent of the sizes of types.

In fact, it is often the reverse: a 32-bit system will often align to 32-bit (or multiple) boundaries, and a number of basic types (integer, pointers) have a size that is a multiple of 32-bits. The defining parameter is the hardware architecture: how it addresses memory and sizes of registers. In practice, this parameter often (but not always) propagates through to requirements for sizes of basic types, and for their alignment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brewbuck

The size of a structure may depend on the order in which you put the components. For instance:

---

True. The amount of padding implied by this is definitely related to the sizes of struct members, and their ordering. The precise relationship is system specific, though.

A rule of thumb is often to place members in structs in decreasing size order (large ones first). This, in practice, often minimises the total size of the struct, by minimising requirements for padding. The challenge, however, is that sizes of basic types are implementation defined, and there is no guarantee of the relationships of sizes. For example, a float may be smaller, the same size, or larger than an int.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brewbuck

The important thing to understand is there is no "issue" or problem here, there is nothing you need to "solve."

---

Absolutely true.

In fact, "solving" the problem can have unwanted effects. Alignment often gives performance benefits (accessing a value in a variable or field that is not aligned requires more instructions in software and/or more work by the processor). Another phenomenon is that, on some hardware, operations on unaligned variables trigger hardware fault conditions (which either need to be trapped and corrected, involving more overhead).