Wierd Malloc Problem

Hey guys,
I'm trying to port a linux library to a embedded environment. Now the code was running fine untill i encountered this problem.

Code:

---

main(){
dvd = DVDOpen("c:/CliffHanger");
}
dvd_reader_t *DVDOpen( const char *ppath )
{
/*Lots of init stuff here*/
ret_val = DVDOpenPath( path );
}
static dvd_reader_t *DVDOpenPath( const char *path_root )
{
    dvd_reader_t *dvd;

    dvd = (dvd_reader_t *) malloc( sizeof( dvd_reader_t ) );
    if( !dvd ) return 0;
    /* lots of other stuff here*/
}

---

Now if i try to just open c:/ which has another dvd then the file malloc goes properly and i proceed to read the DVD files properly. But when i change the parameter to cliffHanger (or anything else for that matter) the malloc fails.
This is wierd becuase i dont think there is any connectiong between the malloc and what I give as the parameter...
Another intresting observation is that the malloc on fail gives a errno of 0.. so if i try stderror(errno) it prints sayin no error. Can some one unravel this mystery before i lose my temper and break the board.. :(
Thanks guys for your patience.

P.S: The filesystem i'm running is a Fat32 on the hard disk on the embedded board. Just a info. Dont think its related though.

To achieve a string of C:/... you need to tell the compiler that you want a backslash, since backslash is an escape (using in for example '\n'), and you do that by using a double backslash - it has nothing to do with malloc tho'.

--
Mats

Isnt \ backslash... wers is a backslash in the string "c:/" .. so why do i need two backslashes? And moreover c:/ is working fine. its c:/<something> thats triggering malloc error. And if it was a slash problem why should malloc return NULL...

Just try "c:\\Cliffhanger". It's already been explained why you need two backslashes.

You are of course correct. A forwardslash is not a problem - it was a pavlovian response to seeing "C:... ", which is USUALLY followed by a single backslash which should be a double one.

So, you are saying, I presume that malloc returns NULL, but no errno? The setting of errno may depend on the C library implementation - since the C library for an embedded OS may not be a standard implementation, it may have bugs in this area.

What is the size of dvd_reader_t?

--
Mats

Code:

---

struct dvd_reader_s {
    /* Basic information. */
    int isImageFile;
 
    /* Hack for keeping track of the css status.
    * 0: no css, 1: perhaps (need init of keys), 2: have done init */
    int css_state;
    int css_title; /* Last title that we have called dvdinpute_title for. */

    /* Information required for an image file. */
    dvd_input_t dev;

    /* Information required for a directory path drive. */
    char *path_root;
 
    /* Filesystem cache */
    int udfcache_level; /* 0 - turned off, 1 - on */
    void *udfcache;
};

---

Where dvd_input_t is just a wrapper for FILE *fd.
Hope this helps. And thanks for the lightning quick responses guys. Btw since this is a custom file system, its not windows and hence not c:\ ...

Doesn't look like something that should cause a problem.

I don't have any good idea on how to solve this problem. Is is possible that some other function has clobbered internal data that malloc() uses to find the memory to dole out (or you GENUINELY is out of memory)?

--
Mats

nah man!!! i increased the heap size and checked.. just cant be out of memory.. Dont know.. I"m also stumped.. Hmm.. k will sleep over it and think.. Please keep posting if you guys find any ideas as to why this is happening guys.

Don't cast the return value of malloc.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mohankarthik

nah man!!! i increased the heap size and checked.. just cant be out of memory.. Dont know.. I"m also stumped.. Hmm.. k will sleep over it and think.. Please keep posting if you guys find any ideas as to why this is happening guys.

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Then I'd say the most likely scenario is that something else is clobbering the malloc' memory management, so that the linked list (or whatever it uses) says that there is no more memory available. Check malloc calls BEFORE this function, and correct usage.

[Also, check that you are includign stdlib.h, since you are casting the result of malloc, you may not realize that the prototype is missing, and some architectures return pointers in a different register than the integer return value].

--
Mats

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rags_to_riches

Don't cast the return value of malloc.

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Then I'll add to that - main must return int!

Are you getting a valid pointer from malloc()? Can you post your "lots of other stuff" code in the form of an attachment containing your C files?