magic could happen on recvfrom

Ok, this is so weird that i can't even think why this could happen:

So I am trying to send a struct, which is a frame over UPD using the sendto, here's the code of my sender that shows where it sends and I am not given the code of the receiver, but I am asked to create one based on the binary executable that is given

Code:

---

/*Here's my struct*/
typedef struct FrameHdr {
    u_char        type;               
    SeqNum        seq;               
    u_char        size;                   
    u_char        flags;               
} FrameHdr;

typedef struct Frame {
    FrameHdr        hdr;               
    u_char        body[256];       
} Frame;


/*Here's a snippet of my code*/
Frame* frame = (Frame*) calloc(1, sizeof(Frame));
fread(frame->body, 1 , 256, stdin);
frame->hdr.type = TYPE_DATA;
frame->hdr.seq = (SeqNum) LFS;
sendto(sock_fd,(void*)frame ,sizeof(Frame),0,(struct sockaddr *)&sockin, sizeof(sockin));

---

I'll provide more code if necessary. But here's where the weird thing started to happen. When I typed in from the stdin the following string and press enter:

Tom Sawyer is a nice, playful boy, a natural showoff who likes to show his authority over other boys. He is around twelve years old as gathered from hints in Twain's works. Tom is supposed to represent the carefree and wonderful world of boyhood in the early-mid 1800s.

clearly this sentence is more than 256 bytes, so I believe the sendto won't be able to send all the words. I think the sentence will be cut to (i.e: this is what I get when printing frame->body after the fread):

Tom Sawyer is a nice, playful boy, a natural showoff who likes to show his authority over other boys. He is around twelve years old as gathered from hints in Twain's works. Tom is supposed to represent the carefree and wonderful world of boyhood in the ear

However, here's the magical thing. When the receiver receives and prints this frame body I sent (the incomplete one), it could print the full sentence that I input in stdin although what I sent was not the complete one, the one I sent was missing the "ly-mid 1800s". Any idea how this could happen? Oh and yes I am pretty sure I only called sendto once..

I can't find out as I don't know what the source code for the binary looks, the binary is already provided.

Does the receiver get the correct FrameHdr info as well? Could you provide more code?

I don't know if it gets the frame header, as I have no access to the receiver code... but I am pretty sure it does get the right FrameHdr info. Which part of the code would you like to see more? I can't post codes about the receiver as I don't have it....

here's more if you really want to:

Code:

---

while (checkFullSlots() ||  (!feof(stdin)))
        {
          /*read data from stdin and fill any empty slots*/
                while (checkEmptySlots() && (!feof(stdin))){
                        sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &set , &oset);
                        LFS++;
                        Frame* frame = (Frame*) calloc(1, sizeof(Frame));
                        size = fread(frame->body, 1 , 256, stdin);
                        printf("size read to body is %d\n\n", size);
                        fwrite(frame->body , 1 , 256 , stdout);
                        /*
                        if (size != 256){
                                printf("Error: Can't read the frame body from stdin %d\n", (int) sizeof(frame->body));
                                close(sock_fd);
                                exit(1);
                        }
                        */
                        frame->hdr.type = TYPE_DATA;
                        frame->hdr.seq = (SeqNum) LFS;
                        if (size == 256)
                                frame->hdr.size = 0;
                        else
                                frame->hdr.size = (u_char) size;

                        printf("seq number %d \nsize is %d \n", (int) frame->hdr.seq, (int) size);
                        if (feof(stdin))
                                frame->hdr.flags = FLAG_END;
                       
                        time_t frame_timeout = time(NULL) + timeout;
                        if (insertTimeoutAndFrame(frame, frame_timeout, LFS)){
                                perror("Error: Failed inserting frame and timeout into window slot \n");
                                exit(1);
                        }

                        flag = sendto(sock_fd,(void*)frame ,sizeof(Frame),0,(struct sockaddr *)&sockin, sizeof(sockin));
                        if (flag == -1)
                        {
                                perror("Error: Sending frame failed \n");
                                close(sock_fd);
                                exit(1);
                        }
                        printf("sending frame with size %d \n", flag);
                        sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &oset, NULL);
                }
               
                /*read ACK from socket (recv)*/
       
               
                        printf("Trying to receive ACK here!\n");
                        Frame *ACK = (Frame*) malloc(sizeof(Frame));
                        flag = recvfrom(sock_fd, ACK, sizeof(Frame), 0,  (struct sockaddr *) 0, (socklen_t *) 0);
                        if (flag == -1)
                        {
                                perror("Error: Receiving ACK failed \n");
                                close(sock_fd);
                                exit(1);
                        }
                        printf("Receiving ACK for seq %d\n", ACK->hdr.seq);
                        sigemptyset(&set);
                        sigaddset(&set, SIGALRM);

                        sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &set , &oset);
                        if ((int) ACK->hdr.seq > LAR){
                                int i;
                                do {
                                        printf("emptying slot!\n");
                                        /*empty slot containing frame LAR*/
                                        LAR++;
                                        for (i = 0; i < SWS; i++){
                                                if (win_slots[i].frame->hdr.seq == LAR){
                                                        free(win_slots[i].frame);
                                                        win_slots[i].frame = NULL;
                                                        win_slots[i].timeout = -1;
                                                }
                                        }       
                                } while (LAR != ACK->hdr.seq);
                        }
                        free(ACK);
                        printf("ready to send as there's an empty slot available!\n");
                        sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &oset, NULL);
               
        }

---

You write out the body of the frame after reading it in. Does it print back out the truncated string?

[edit: Scratch that, reread your post... still thinking]

you mean this one?

Code:

---

fwrite(frame->body , 1 , 256 , stdout);

---

if you mean that one then it prints out:
Tom Sawyer is a nice, playful boy, a natural showoff who likes to show his authority over other boys. He is around twelve years old as gathered from hints in Twain's works. Tom is supposed to represent the carefree and wonderful world of boyhood in the ear

You do run this in a loop, so it should try to send the first 256 bytes, and then the next. Your check on the number of bytes read should fail at that point and not send the rest. Is this check somehow not passing?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by neandrake

You do run this in a loop, so it should try to send the first 256 bytes, and then the next. Your check on the number of bytes read should fail at that point and not send the rest. Is this check somehow not passing?

---

Of course the check doesn't work because it's commented!

Your code loops and sends the whole thing in 2 frames.

so are you saying it performs sendto twice?? I just uncommented that test and it goes through it once only... if it were sending it in 2 frames then it would perform sendto twice, but in fact it doesn't

Yup, it should. Double check if your fwrites are not showing up if stdout needs flushed.

[edit: also for printf()]

also if it sends it twice then it should print this part twice:

Code:

---

printf("seq number %d \nsize is %d \n", (int) frame->hdr.seq, (int) size);

---

but it doesn't

I made an edit above. Try calling fflush(stdout) after the loop.

you mean after that sigprocmask?

Outside the loop. After the } after the sigprocmask. Before the comment about /*Read ACK*/

I really don't think that would have any affect, the whole thing inside the loop body is only executed once

EDIT: I just tried and nothing really changed

The code doesn't even reach the point after it breaks out of the while loop.. it still stays inside the loop waiting for my next input into stdin

Well first prove that it only runs once, and then have to start looking from there. Don't put a sendto inside of a large loop like that and then claim that it only runs once. KNOW FOR SURE how many times your loop is running. Debug through it if you have to. If it turns out to only run once then start looking elsewhere.

I am 100% at this point it runs once, then it stops when executing fread() as I haven't typed/put anything into stdin

Try debugging.

Print out the return value of fread() and see if it is reading more than 256 byte-sized elements.

fread() returns 256, I don't know what else to do

ok I guess I figured it out now.. yes it does sends it twice after looking at it more carefully... so here's what happened.

When I send it first time, it is able to send:

Tom Sawyer is a nice, playful boy, a natural showoff who likes to show his authority over other boys. He is around twelve years old as gathered from hints in Twain's works. Tom is supposed to represent the carefree and wonderful world of boyhood in the ear

and the second time I tried to send:

His best friends include Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom's infatuation with Rebecca (alias Becky) Thatcher is apparent. He has a half-brother, Sid, a cousin, Mary, and his aunt is known as Aunt Polly, with all of whom he lives.

actually this is what it sends:

ly-mid 1800s.
His best friends include Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom's infatuation with Rebecca (alias Becky) Thatcher is apparent. He has a half-brother, Sid, a cousin, Mary, and his aunt is known as Aunt Polly, wit

so now the question is, how does the receiver knows that the 'ly-mid 1800s" goes with the previous one it received?

Might have to do with the frame sequences you built.

I'm elaborating, but it looks like if there's enough buffer read (256 bytes), then it sets the size number to 0, which for the server most likely indicates that there is more coming. When the size number is greater than 0, then the server knows it's the last one, and knows that it now has a complete grouping of frames. The sequence number looks like it would be used for the server to order the frames in case they arrive out of order. The flag looks like it is only used to signal the server that there's no more data coming.

Is this your own code?