fwriting and freading binary (structs)

Here is my struct:

Code:

---

struct location {
 int houseNumber;
 char streetName[STRING_BUF];
 char city[STRING_BUF];
 char state[STATE_BUF];
 int zip;
};

struct person {
 char nameFirst[STRING_BUF];
 char nameLast[STRING_BUF];
 char number[STRING_BUF];
 struct location address;
 struct person *next;
} entry[100];

typedef struct person PERSON;
typedef PERSON *PERSON_PTR;

---

And here is the fwrite:

Code:

---

void write_to_disk (PERSON_PTR first)
{
 PERSON_PTR cur_ptr;
 cur_ptr = first;

 if ( (fp = fopen(filename, "wb") ) == NULL )
 {
  fprintf(stderr, "Error opening file %s\n", filename);
  exit(1);
 }

 while (cur_ptr != NULL)
 {
  if ( fwrite(cur_ptr, sizeof(PERSON), 1, fp) != 1)
  {
  fprintf(stderr, "Error writing to %s.", filename);
  exit(1);
  }
  cur_ptr = cur_ptr->next;
 }

 fclose(fp);
}

---

But now how to read the file? I can post my attempt but wanted to keep it streamline. I actually don't even know if I'm writing to the file correctly.

fread() take the same arguments, and transfers data from the file to memory. Try it. Don't forget to open the file with "rb" though.

Also, just a bit of advice, don't typedef pointers. Obscuring a pointer is discouraged because it can be a source of confusion and potential errors.

Beware that your person->next member will be meaningless when you fread() it back in.

You could do something like this:

Code:

---

int write_persons_list( char *filename, PERSON_PTR pptr )
{
  PERSON_PTR p;
  FILE *f;
  uint32_t count;
 
  if ( ! ( f = fopen( filename "w" ) ) )
    return 0;

  count = 0;
  if ( fwrite( &count, sizeof count, 1, f ) != 1 )
  {
error:
    fclose( f );

    // delete the file in case of error!
    unlink( filename );

    return 0;
  }

  p = pptr;
  while ( p )
  {
    // don't write p->next!
    if ( fwrite( p, offsetof(PERSON,next), 1, f ) != 1 )
      goto error;

    p = p->next;
    count++;
  }

  // Write the number of elements...
  fseek( f, 0, SEEK_SET );
  if ( fwrite( &count, sizeof count, 1 f ) != 1 )
    goto error;

  fclose( f );

  return 1;
}

// Example call:
//
//  PERSON_PTR *plist;
//  if ( ! read_persons_list( "./list.bin", &plist ) ) { ... error handling... }
int read_persons_list( char *filename, PERSON_PTR *pp )
{
  PERSON *p;
  FILE *f;
  uint32_t count;

  if ( ! ( f = fopen( filename, "r" ) ) )
    return 0;

  if ( fread( &count, sizeof count, 1, f ) != 1 )
  {
error:
    fclose( f );
    return 0;
  }

  if ( count == 0 )
    goto error;

  if ( ! ( *pp = malloc( count * sizeof( PERSON ) ) )
    goto error;

  p = *pp;
  while ( count-- )
  {
    // don't read p->next!
    if ( fread( p, offsetof( PERSON, next ), 1, f ) != 1 )
    {
      free( *pp );
      goto error;
    }

    p->next = ++p;
  }

  // the last one must be NULL.
  (p - 1)->next = NULL;

  fclose( f );

  return 1;
}

---

Thanks all. I wrote this read attempt before viewing your advice. I don't expect you to go through it. I will look over your code, @flp1969, as mine errors out during fread. I am obviously a beginner. Thanks for taking the time.

Code:

---

PERSON_PTR read_file (PERSON_PTR first)
{
 PERSON_PTR cur_ptr;
 cur_ptr = first;

if ( (fp = fopen(filename, "r+b") ) == NULL )
 {
  fprintf(stderr, "Error opening file %s\n", filename);
  exit(1);
 }

 while (!feof(fp))
 {
  if ( fread(cur_ptr, sizeof(PERSON), 1, fp) != 1)
  {
  fprintf(stderr, "Error reading from %s.", filename);
  exit(1);
  }
strcpy(entry[i].nameFirst, cur_ptr->nameFirst);
  strcpy(entry[i].nameLast, cur_ptr->nameLast);
  strcpy(entry[i].number, cur_ptr->number);
  entry[i].address.houseNumber = cur_ptr->address.houseNumber;
  strcpy(entry[i].address.streetName, cur_ptr->address.streetName);
  strcpy(entry[i].address.city, cur_ptr->address.city);
  strcpy(entry[i].address.state, cur_ptr->address.state);
  entry[i].address.zip = cur_ptr->address.zip;

  first = add_to_list (entry[i], first);
  i++;
 }
 fclose(fp);

 return (first);
}

---

Code:

---

while (!feof(fp))

---

This is a bug - Why it's bad to use feof() to control a loop - Cprogramming.com

... and also this faq: Question 12.2