c
What is undefined behavior (UB) in C and C++? What about unspecified behavior and implementation-defined behavior? What is the difference between them?
Why does ENOENT mean "No such file or directory"?What does the ENT mean in ENOENT?
Shouldn't the error:
No such file or directory
just be named by ENOFILE?
Is there any story or reason?
What should main() return in C and C++?What is the correct (most efficient) way to define the main() function in C and C++ — int main() or void main() — and why? And how about the arguments?
If int main() then return 1 or return 0?
There are numerous duplicates of this question, including:
main() function?main() functionvoid main() and int main()?main()'s signature in C++main()? — For C++, with a very good answer indeed.main() functions in Cmain() method in Cint main() vs void main() in CRelated:
int main(int argc, char **argv)int main(int argc, char *argv[])char *envp[] as a third argument to main() portable?int main() function return a value in all compilers?main() function in C and C++ left to the user to define?int main(){} compile?main() in C++14?I was writing a program in C++ to find all solutions of ab = c, where a, b and c together use all the digits 0-9 exactly once. The program looped over values of a and b, and it ran a digit-counting routine each time on a, b and ab to check if the digits condition was satisfied.
However, spurious solutions can be generated when ab overflows the integer limit. I ended up checking for this using code like:
unsigned long b, c, c_test;
...
c_test=c*b; // Possible overflow
if (c_test/b != c) {/* There has been an overflow*/}
else c=c_test; // No overflow
Is there a better way of testing for overflow? I know that some chips have an internal flag that is set when overflow occurs, but I've never seen it accessed through C or C++.
Beware that signed int overflow is undefined behaviour in C and C++, and thus you have to detect it without actually causing it. For signed int overflow before addition, see Detecting signed overflow in C/C++.
The question was about plain c functions, not c++ static methods, as clarified in comments.
I understand what a static variable is, but what is a static function?
And why is it that if I declare a function, let's say void print_matrix, in let's say a.c (WITHOUT a.h) and include "a.c" - I get "print_matrix@@....) already defined in a.obj", BUT if I declare it as static void print_matrix then it compiles?
UPDATE Just to clear things up - I know that including .c is bad, as many of you pointed out. I just do it to temporarily clear space in main.c until I have a better idea of how to group all those functions into proper .h and .c files. Just a temporary, quick solution.
What is wrong with using feof() to control a read loop? For example:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int
main(int argc, char **argv)
{
char *path = "stdin";
FILE *fp = argc > 1 ? fopen(path=argv[1], "r") : stdin;
if( fp == NULL ){
perror(path);
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
while( !feof(fp) ){ /* THIS IS WRONG */
/* Read and process data from file… */
}
if( fclose(fp) != 0 ){
perror(path);
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
What is wrong with this loop?
How can I get the list of files in a directory using C or C++?How can I determine the list of files in a directory from inside my C or C++ code?
I'm not allowed to execute the ls command and parse the results from within my program.
I would like to find the fastest way to check if a file exists in standard C++11, 14, 17, or C. I have thousands of files and before doing something on them I need to check if all of them exist. What can I write instead of /* SOMETHING */ in the following function?
inline bool exist(const std::string& name)
{
/* SOMETHING */
}
I once had the task of determining the following performance parameters from inside a running application:
The code had to run on Windows and Linux. Even though this seems to be a standard task, finding the necessary information in the manuals (WIN32 API, GNU docs) as well as on the Internet took me several days, because there's so much incomplete/incorrect/outdated information on this topic to be found out there.
In order to save others from going through the same trouble, I thought it would be a good idea to collect all the scattered information plus what I found by trial and error here in one place.
What is the printf format specifier for bool?Since ANSI C99 there is _Bool or bool via stdbool.h. But is there also a printf format specifier for bool?
I mean something like in that pseudo code:
bool x = true;
printf("%B\n", x);
which would print:
true
Why does printf not flush after the call unless a newline is in the format string? Is this POSIX behavior? How might I have printf immediately flush every time?
The printf function takes an argument type, such as %d or %i for a signed int. However, I don't see anything for a long value.
How would you divide a number by 3 without using *, /, +, -, %, operators?
The number may be signed or unsigned.
What does 'dereferencing' a pointer mean in C/C++?Please include an example with the explanation.
Calling C/C++ from Python?What would be the quickest way to construct a Python binding to a C or C++ library?
(I am using Windows if this matters.)
Which is faster: while(1) or while(2)?This was an interview question asked by a senior manager.
Which is faster?
while(1) {
// Some code
}
or
while(2) {
//Some code
}
I said that both have the same execution speed, as the expression inside while should finally evaluate to true or false. In this case, both evaluate to true and there are no extra conditional instructions inside the while condition. So, both will have the same speed of execution and I prefer while (1).
But the interviewer said confidently:
"Check your basics. while(1) is faster than while(2)."
(He was not testing my confidence)
Is this true?
I want to initialize a struct element, split in declaration and initialization. This is what I have:
typedef struct MY_TYPE {
bool flag;
short int value;
double stuff;
} MY_TYPE;
void function(void) {
MY_TYPE a;
...
a = { true, 15, 0.123 }
}
Is this the way to declare and initialize a local variable of MY_TYPE in accordance with C programming language standards (C89, C90, C99, C11, etc.)? Or is there anything better or at least working?
Update I ended up having a static initialization element where I set every subelement according to my needs.
How to generate a random int in C?Is there a function to generate a random int number in C? Or will I have to use a third party library?
makefile:4: *** missing separator. StopThis is my makefile:
all:ll
ll:ll.c
gcc -c -Wall -Werror -02 c.c ll.c -o ll $@ $<
clean :
\rm -fr ll
When I try to make clean or make make, I get this error:
:makefile:4: *** missing separator. Stop.
How can I fix it?
How do you pass a function as a parameter in C?I want to create a function that performs a function passed by parameter on a set of data. How do you pass a function as a parameter in C?
How do I list the symbols in a .so fileHow do I list the symbols being exported from a .so file? If possible, I'd also like to know their source (e.g. if they are pulled in from a static library).
I'm using gcc 4.0.2, if that makes a difference.
Convert char to int in C and C++How do I convert a char to an int in C and C++?
Which one is better to use among the below statements in C?
static const int var = 5;
or
#define var 5
or
enum { var = 5 };
C and C++ have many differences, and not all valid C code is valid C++ code.
(By "valid" I mean standard code with defined behavior, i.e. not implementation-specific/undefined/etc.)
Is there any scenario in which a piece of code valid in both C and C++ would produce different behavior when compiled with a standard compiler in each language?
To make it a reasonable/useful comparison (I'm trying to learn something practically useful, not to try to find obvious loopholes in the question), let's assume:
#ifdef __cplusplus, pragmas, etc.) I have taken Problem #12 from Project Euler as a programming exercise and to compare my (surely not optimal) implementations in C, Python, Erlang and Haskell. In order to get some higher execution times, I search for the first triangle number with more than 1000 divisors instead of 500 as stated in the original problem.
The result is the following:
C:
lorenzo@enzo:~/erlang$ gcc -lm -o euler12.bin euler12.c
lorenzo@enzo:~/erlang$ time ./euler12.bin
842161320
real 0m11.074s
user 0m11.070s
sys 0m0.000s
Python:
lorenzo@enzo:~/erlang$ time ./euler12.py
842161320
real 1m16.632s
user 1m16.370s
sys 0m0.250s
Python with PyPy:
lorenzo@enzo:~/Downloads/pypy-c-jit-43780-b590cf6de419-linux64/bin$ time ./pypy /home/lorenzo/erlang/euler12.py
842161320
real 0m13.082s
user 0m13.050s
sys 0m0.020s
Erlang:
lorenzo@enzo:~/erlang$ erlc euler12.erl
lorenzo@enzo:~/erlang$ time erl -s euler12 solve
Erlang R13B03 (erts-5.7.4) [source] [64-bit] [smp:4:4] [rq:4] [async-threads:0] [hipe] [kernel-poll:false]
Eshell V5.7.4 (abort with ^G)
1> 842161320
real 0m48.259s
user 0m48.070s
sys 0m0.020s
Haskell:
lorenzo@enzo:~/erlang$ ghc euler12.hs -o euler12.hsx
[1 of 1] Compiling Main ( euler12.hs, euler12.o )
Linking euler12.hsx ...
lorenzo@enzo:~/erlang$ time ./euler12.hsx
842161320
real 2m37.326s
user 2m37.240s
sys 0m0.080s
Summary:
I suppose that C has a big advantage as it uses long for the calculations and not arbitrary length integers as the other three. Also it doesn't need to load a runtime first (Do the others?).
Question 1:
Do Erlang, Python and Haskell lose speed due to using arbitrary length integers or don't they as long as the values are less than MAXINT?
Question 2: Why is Haskell so slow? Is there a compiler flag that turns off the brakes or is it my implementation? (The latter is quite probable as Haskell is a book with seven seals to me.)
Question 3: Can you offer me some hints how to optimize these implementations without changing the way I determine the factors? Optimization in any way: nicer, faster, more "native" to the language.
Question 4: Do my functional implementations permit LCO (last call optimization, a.k.a tail recursion elimination) and hence avoid adding unnecessary frames onto the call stack?
I really tried to implement the same algorithm as similar as possible in the four languages, although I have to admit that my Haskell and Erlang knowledge is very limited.
Source codes used:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
int factorCount (long n)
{
double square = sqrt (n);
int isquare = (int) square;
int count = isquare == square ? -1 : 0;
long candidate;
for (candidate = 1; candidate <= isquare; candidate ++)
if (0 == n % candidate) count += 2;
return count;
}
int main ()
{
long triangle = 1;
int index = 1;
while (factorCount (triangle) < 1001)
{
index ++;
triangle += index;
}
printf ("%ld\n", triangle);
}
#! /usr/bin/env python3.2
import math
def factorCount (n):
square = math.sqrt (n)
isquare = int (square)
count = -1 if isquare == square else 0
for candidate in range (1, isquare + 1):
if not n % candidate: count += 2
return count
triangle = 1
index = 1
while factorCount (triangle) < 1001:
index += 1
triangle += index
print (triangle)
-module (euler12).
-compile (export_all).
factorCount (Number) -> factorCount (Number, math:sqrt (Number), 1, 0).
factorCount (_, Sqrt, Candidate, Count) when Candidate > Sqrt -> Count;
factorCount (_, Sqrt, Candidate, Count) when Candidate == Sqrt -> Count + 1;
factorCount (Number, Sqrt, Candidate, Count) ->
case Number rem Candidate of
0 -> factorCount (Number, Sqrt, Candidate + 1, Count + 2);
_ -> factorCount (Number, Sqrt, Candidate + 1, Count)
end.
nextTriangle (Index, Triangle) ->
Count = factorCount (Triangle),
if
Count > 1000 -> Triangle;
true -> nextTriangle (Index + 1, Triangle + Index + 1)
end.
solve () ->
io:format ("~p~n", [nextTriangle (1, 1) ] ),
halt (0).
factorCount number = factorCount' number isquare 1 0 - (fromEnum $ square == fromIntegral isquare)
where square = sqrt $ fromIntegral number
isquare = floor square
factorCount' number sqrt candidate count
| fromIntegral candidate > sqrt = count
| number `mod` candidate == 0 = factorCount' number sqrt (candidate + 1) (count + 2)
| otherwise = factorCount' number sqrt (candidate + 1) count
nextTriangle index triangle
| factorCount triangle > 1000 = triangle
| otherwise = nextTriangle (index + 1) (triangle + index + 1)
main = print $ nextTriangle 1 1
What is the difference between static and shared libraries?
I use Eclipse and there are several project types including Static Libraries and Shared Libraries? Does one have an advantage over the other?
What REALLY happens when you don't free after malloc before program termination?We are all taught that you MUST free every pointer that is allocated. I'm a bit curious, though, about the real cost of not freeing memory. In some obvious cases, like when malloc() is called inside a loop or part of a thread execution, it's very important to free so there are no memory leaks. But consider the following two examples:
First, if I have code that's something like this:
int main()
{
char *a = malloc(1024);
/* Do some arbitrary stuff with 'a' (no alloc functions) */
return 0;
}
What's the real result here? My thinking is that the process dies and then the heap space is gone anyway so there's no harm in missing the call to free (however, I do recognize the importance of having it anyway for closure, maintainability, and good practice). Am I right in this thinking?
Second, let's say I have a program that acts a bit like a shell. Users can declare variables like aaa = 123 and those are stored in some dynamic data structure for later use. Clearly, it seems obvious that you'd use some solution that will calls some *alloc function (hashmap, linked list, something like that). For this kind of program, it doesn't make sense to ever free after calling malloc because these variables must be present at all times during the program's execution and there's no good way (that I can see) to implement this with statically allocated space. Is it bad design to have a bunch of memory that's allocated but only freed as part of the process ending? If so, what's the alternative?
I have been seeing code like this usually in the start of header files:
#ifndef HEADERFILE_H
#define HEADERFILE_H
And at the end of the file is
#endif
What is the purpose of this?
What is size_t in C?I am getting confused with size_t in C. I know that it is returned by the sizeof operator. But what exactly is it? Is it a data type?
Let's say I have a for loop:
for(i = 0; i < some_size; i++)
Should I use int i; or size_t i;?
What is the correct format specifier for double in printf? Is it %f or is it %lf? I believe it's %f, but I am not sure.
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 1.4;
printf("%lf", d); // Is this wrong?
}