Strcpy

[Jack Klein]

Re: Strcpy

On 21 Mar 2006 13:59:53 -0800, "Jake Thompson"
<readytoride39@ hotmail.com> wrote in comp.lang.c:
[color=blue]
> Sorry for my outburst[/color]

OK, but I'm still not sure that you're getting the point.
[color=blue]
> This is the function that I am calling[/color]

You aren't showing a function at all.
[color=blue]
> char *folderid;
> struct cm8linkstruc cm8link; <----------------structure tag set to
> cm8link
>
>
>
> struct cm8linkstruc
> {
> char* type; /* type of item*/
> <------------------------------------------field that I want to copy
> the "13" too
> char* desc; /* description of item */
> char* item_increment; /*increment value for item
> in folder */
> char* itemid; /* id of returned item */
> };[/color]

At last, a definition of the structure! This structure contains four
members (there is no such thing as a "field" defined by the C
language), and each of the fields is a pointer to char.

Up above you show the definition of an object of this type, named
"cm8link". Since you're still not posting the real code that your
compiler is seeing, there is information lacking.

Is "cm8link" defined at file scope (outside of all functions), or is
it defined at local scope (inside of a function)? It makes a
difference, should your code ever compile, because you are heading for
a run time problem.

If "cm8link" is defined at file scope, the four char pointers are
initialized to NULL. If it is defined in a local scope, the four char
pointers are not initialized at all. In either case, they do not
point to valid memory that you can read from or write to.
[color=blue]
> These are the lines of code that I am trying to execute in order to
> copy the values too.
>
> strcpy(cm8link. type[count],"13"); //Copy the number 13 to indicate
> folder[/color]

I know you resent being asked for enough information to understand
what mistakes you are making, BUT WHAT THE HELL IS "count"?!? WHERE
IS "count" DEFINED?!?
[color=blue]
> strcpy(cm8link. desc[count],"Document "); //copy the description
> strcpy(cm8link. desc[count],snumD); //copy the current doc counter to
> the description[/color]

WHAT THE HELL IS "snumD"?!?
[color=blue]
> strcpy(cm8link. item_increment[count],snumD); //copy Document counter
> cm8link.itemid[count] = ((DKPidICM*)par t->getPidObject() )->getItemId()
> ; //Get the itemid
>
> Is this enough information to go off of?[/color]

No, actually, it is not. If you have actually properly initialized
the character pointers to valid memory that you have the right to
write to, then cm8link.desc[count] is a SINGLE CHARACTER, and you
can't copy a string into a SINGLE CHARACTER. If you haven't
initialized the character pointers, they don't point anywhere and you
can't write to them at all.

Multiple people have tried to explain to you, most of them patiently,
but you aren't getting it.

POST THE ACTUAL CODE THAT YOU ARE COMPILING. OF THE WHOLE FUNCTION.
COPY IT FROM YOUR TEXT EDITOR AND PASTE IT INTO A MESSAGE. ALSO COPY
THE DECLATATION OF EACH DATA TYPE, AND THE DEFINITION OF EACH OBJECT
THAT IS MENTIONED IN THE CODE. PASTE IT ALL INTO YOUR MESSAGE.

There are several possible different mistakes that you might be
making, and nobody here is willing to put that much effort into
guessing, maybe correctly or maybe incorrectly.

STOP TRYING TO GUESS HOW LITTLE REAL INFORMATION PEOPLE NEED TO HELP
YOU. YOU'RE GUESSING WRONG. IF YOU AREN'T WILLING TO PROVIDE
EVERYTHING I ASKED FOR ABOVE, THEN YOU SHOULD GO AWAY AND FIGURE IT
OUT FOR YOURSELF.

Now I've got a sore throat from ALL THE SHOUTING.

--
Jack Klein
Home: http://JK-Technology.Com
FAQs for
comp.lang.c http://c-faq.com/
comp.lang.c++ http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/
alt.comp.lang.l earn.c-c++

http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~ajo/docs/FAQ-acllc.html

[Keith Thompson]

Re: Strcpy

"Jake Thompson" <readytoride39@ hotmail.com> writes:[color=blue]
> Sorry for my outburst[/color]

A refreshing response, thank you. Everyone has bad moments every now
and then.
[color=blue]
> This is the function that I am calling
>
>
>
> char *folderid;
> struct cm8linkstruc cm8link; <----------------structure tag set to
> cm8link
>
>
>
> struct cm8linkstruc
> {
> char* type; /* type of item*/
> <------------------------------------------field that I want to copy
> the "13" too
> char* desc; /* description of item */
> char* item_increment; /*increment value for item
> in folder */
> char* itemid; /* id of returned item */
> };
>
>
> These are the lines of code that I am trying to execute in order to
> copy the values too.
>
> strcpy(cm8link. type[count],"13"); //Copy the number 13 to indicate
> folder
> strcpy(cm8link. desc[count],"Document "); //copy the description
> strcpy(cm8link. desc[count],snumD); //copy the current doc counter to
> the description
> strcpy(cm8link. item_increment[count],snumD); //copy Document counter
> cm8link.itemid[count] = ((DKPidICM*)par t->getPidObject() )->getItemId()
> ; //Get the itemid
>
> Is this enough information to go off of?[/color]

It's a good start.

Consider the call

strcpy(cm8link. type[count], "13");

I'll assume count is an integer object.

cm8link is of type struct cm8linkstruc.
cm8link.type is of type char*.
cm8link.type[count] is of type char
The first argument to strcpy() is a char*, not a char.

That's what you're doing wrong. What you should do is a trickier
question.

What is count? What does its value indicate? A count of what?

Since cm8link.type is a char*, it's reasonable to have it point to
(the first character of) the string "13". The simplest way to do this
is by an assignment:

cm8link.type = "13";

cm8link.type will then point to the first character of a string
literal. Allocation is taken care of for you, but you can't modify
the contents of the string.

(It might make more sense for cm8link.type to be an int, and just
assign the value 13 to it -- or better yet, use some symbolic name
like FOLDER, which could be a macro or an enum constant. But that's a
design issue, not a correctness issue.)

For a more general solution, you can either make cm8link.type point to
an existing declared object (make sure the object doesn't cease to
exist before you're done with it), or use malloc() to allocate space.
For example:

char *type = "13";
...
cm8link.type = malloc(strlen(t ype) + 1);
/* check whether malloc() succeeded */
strcpy(cm8link. type, type);

But it's still hard to tell just what you're trying to do. Your use
of "count" seems to imply that you want an array of something. Do you
want an array of struct cm8linkstruc objects? If so, you can either
declare an array (if you know how many you want), or you can declare a
*pointer* to a struct cm8linkstruc, and initialize it to point to an
array by calling malloc().

For example (this is a rough outline, not compiled or tested):

struct cm8linkstruc *arr_ptr;
arr_ptr = malloc(sizeof *arr_ptr * how_many);
/* check whether malloc() succeeded */
arr_ptr[count].type = "whatever";

The code fragment you posted is certainly an improvement over what
you've shown us previously, but it's still not valid C, and it's still
incomplete. We still can't really tell how it fits into any larger
context.

I suspect the underlying problem is that you're writing code too
early. You need to come up with a consistent design first, and then
express it in C code. (With enough experience, you can often write
the design directly in C, but frankly I don't think you're there yet.)

--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keit h) kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
San Diego Supercomputer Center <*> <http://users.sdsc.edu/~kst>
We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this.

[Fred Kleinschmidt]

Re: Strcpy


"Jake Thompson" <readytoride39@ hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1142975062 .133232.313260@ j33g2000cwa.goo glegroups.com.. .[color=blue]
> First of all I appreciate the help and certainly there is no need to
> lash out
>
> Secondly I did say that the field cm8link.type[count] is a char * field
>
> I don't see the need to have the entire program listed. It is a one
> line statement that obviously I am using the wrong way.
>
> In a nutshell I need to move a literal to a char * that is part of an
> array
>
> currently as an example I am doing the following just so you know count
> is normally incremented in a loop but here i set it to clearly define
> that I want to move the value 13 into
>
> cm8link.type[2],
>
> int count = 2;
>
> strcpy(cm8link. type[count],"13");
>
> resulting in the error
>
> error C2664: 'strcpy' : cannot convert parameter 1 from 'const char' to
>
> 'char *'
>[/color]

But you were probably wrong when you said "cm8link.ty pe[count] is a char *
field".
I'll bet that cm8link_type is a char * field, not cm8link.type[count]. In
other words,
somewhere you have:

char *cm8link.type;
of
char cm8link.type[n]; /* where n is some number */

If you want to place the characters "13" into cm8link.type beginning at
position "count", then you want:
strcpy (&cm8link.typ e[count], "13" );
Hopefully cm8link.type is of length at least (count+3) or you will overwrite
memory.
--
Fred L. Kleinschmidt
Boeing Associate Technical Fellow
Technical Architect, Software Reuse Project

[Flash Gordon]

Re: Strcpy

Jake Thompson wrote:[color=blue]
> First of all I appreciate the help and certainly there is no need to
> lash out[/color]

It tends to get frustrating when people ignore the advice to post enough
information to allow them to be helped.
[color=blue]
> Secondly I did say that the field cm8link.type[count] is a char * field
>
> I don't see the need to have the entire program listed. It is a one
> line statement that obviously I am using the wrong way.[/color]

Since you don't know what is wrong, how do you know it isn't something
else causing the problem?

Man goes to mechanic, "my car won't start, here's the start motor, whats
the problem?"
Mechanic, "how do I know without the entire car?"

Man tries the same else where with the same result.

Swearing, man goes home and puts starter motor back in car. Man's wife
comes out and says, "what are you up to? Oh, and by the way, the car ran
out of petrol and I got some friends to help push it back here."
[color=blue]
> In a nutshell I need to move a literal to a char * that is part of an
> array
>
> currently as an example I am doing the following just so you know count
> is normally incremented in a loop but here i set it to clearly define
> that I want to move the value 13 into
>
> cm8link.type[2],
>
> int count = 2;
>
> strcpy(cm8link. type[count],"13");
>
> resulting in the error
>
> error C2664: 'strcpy' : cannot convert parameter 1 from 'const char' to
>
> 'char *'[/color]

That's easy. Either the error refers to a different line of
cm8link.type[count] is of type const char * despite what you claim. Of
course, there is the remote possibility that the compiler is lying, but
you being wrong about the source of the problem is *far* more likely.

In future post a *complete* program exhibiting the problem or it is
highly unlikely that anyone will bother to even try and help you.
--
Flash Gordon, living in interesting times.
Web site - http://home.flash-gordon.me.uk/
comp.lang.c posting guidelines and intro:

http://clc-wiki.net/wiki/Intro_to_clc

[Keith Thompson]

Re: Strcpy

"Default User" <defaultuserbr@ yahoo.com> writes:[color=blue]
> Jake Thompson wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Well if it means dealing with a Dick as the alternative then hell yeah
>> I will figure it out myself.
>>
>> Thank God your attitude is the minority here.[/color]
>
> As you can't be bothered to follow simple instructions when you're the
> one wanting help, plus you refuse to quote any context, it's pretty
> obvious what happens next.
>
>
> *plonk*[/color]

Then you probably missed his followup, in which he wrote:

] Sorry for my outburst

FWIW.

--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keit h) kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
San Diego Supercomputer Center <*> <http://users.sdsc.edu/~kst>
We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this.

[Jake Thompson]

Re: Strcpy

This is the entire function from the module

long u_dll_cm8_getfo lditemmatch(cha r *folderid, cm8linkstruc cm8link)
{
long l_stat = 0;
short dataid;
DKFolder* dkFOL = new DKFolder();
DKParts* dkParts = new DKParts();
DKLobICM* part = new DKLobICM();
DKString list;
int numD = 0;
int numF = 0;
DKString snumD;
DKString snumF;
DKString spnumber;
int count;
short itemPropertyTyp e;
int h;


/*Create an ddoobject based upon the passed folder id */
DKDDO* ddoObject = dsICM->createDDO(fold erid);

/*Get the contents of the folder */

dkFOL = (DKFolder*)(dkC ollection*)
ddoObject->getData(ddoObj ect->dataId(DK_CM_N AMESPACE_ATTR,D K_CM_DKFOLDER)) ;


dataid = ddoObject->dataId(DK_CM_N AMESPACE_ATTR,D K_CM_DKFOLDER);
if(dataid==0)
{
return 1; //No items in the folder
}

dkIterator* iter = dkParts->createIterator ();
count = 0;
while(iter->more()) // while there are still items, continue
searching
{
part = (DKLobICM*) iter->next()->value(); // Move pointer
to next element & get the first note found.

itemPropertyTyp e =
part->getPropertyByN ame(DK_CM_PROPE RTY_ITEM_TYPE);

switch(itemProp ertyType)
{
case DK_CM_DOCUMENT:

numD++;
snumD = DKString(numD); //Convert number to a string
strcpy(cm8link. type[count],"13"); //Copy the number 13 to indicate
folder
strcpy(cm8link. desc[count],"Document "); //copy the description
strcpy(cm8link. desc[count],snumD); //copy the current doc counter
to the description
strcpy(cm8link. item_increment[count],snumD); //copy Document
counter
cm8link.itemid[count] =
((DKPidICM*)par t->getPidObject() )->getItemId() ; //Get the itemid
break;

case DK_CM_FOLDER:
numF++;
snumF = DKString(numF);//Convert number to a string
strcpy(cm8link. type[count],"14"); //copy the number 14 to indicate
folder
strcpy(cm8link. desc[count],"Folder "); //copy the description
strcpy(cm8link. desc[count],snumF); //copy the current folder
counter to the description
strcpy(cm8link. item_increment[count],snumF); //copy Folder counter
cm8link.itemid[count] =
((DKPidICM*)par t->getPidObject() )->getItemId(); //Get the part number
break;

default:
break;
}
count++; //Increment the counter
}
delete(iter); // Free Memory
return 0;
}

This is the structure

struct cm8linkstruc
{
char* type; /* type of item*/
char* desc; /* description of item */
char* item_increment; /*increment value for item
in folder */
char* itemid; /* id of returned item */
};

As far as including the earlier text I do not know how to do that. I
am hitting reply so if I am not doing it right I apologize

[lawrence.jones@ugs.com]

Re: Strcpy

Jake Thompson <readytoride39@ hotmail.com> wrote:[color=blue]
>
> First of all I appreciate the help and certainly there is no need to
> lash out[/color]

Apparently, there is. When we provide advice and you ignore it,
additional emphasis is appropriate.
[color=blue]
> Secondly I did say that the field cm8link.type[count] is a char * field[/color]

Yes, you did; but it's not. If it were, you wouldn't be getting the
error you are. You have almost certainly declared it incorrectly, but
we can't tell for sure since you steadfastly refuse to show us the
actual declaration.
[color=blue]
> I don't see the need to have the entire program listed. It is a one
> line statement that obviously I am using the wrong way.[/color]

There are lots of things that can cause an error. If you don't know
*what* the error is, then you have no way of knowing *where* the error
is, no matter how "obvious" you might think it. Thus, it is absolutely
necessary to provide a small but complete program that generates the
error. Please delete the parts of your program that aren't related to
the error, but make sure that the end result still compiles with the
same error.

-Larry Jones

It's like SOMEthing... I just can't think of it. -- Calvin

[Default User]

Re: Strcpy

Keith Thompson wrote:
[color=blue]
> "Default User" <defaultuserbr@ yahoo.com> writes:[color=green]
> > Jake Thompson wrote:
> >[color=darkred]
> >> Well if it means dealing with a Dick as the alternative then hell[/color][/color]
> yeah >> I will figure it out myself.[color=green][color=darkred]
> >>
> >> Thank God your attitude is the minority here.[/color]
> >
> > As you can't be bothered to follow simple instructions when you're
> > the one wanting help, plus you refuse to quote any context, it's
> > pretty obvious what happens next.
> >
> >
> > plonk[/color]
>
> Then you probably missed his followup, in which he wrote:
>
> ] Sorry for my outburst
>
> FWIW.[/color]

Checking Google, that seems to have been in response to Kenneth. If
he'd like to specifically apologize for what he said to me, then I'd
certainly be ready to write it off as one of those things that happens
some times in a written forum. Doubtlessly someone will keep me
apprised should that transpire.



Brian

[Mark McIntyre]

Re: Strcpy

On 21 Mar 2006 13:04:22 -0800, in comp.lang.c , "Jake Thompson"
<readytoride39@ hotmail.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>First of all I appreciate the help and certainly there is no need to
>lash out[/color]

Nobody lashed out. But if you are asked to do something out of
courtesy, and then ignore that request, expect rude responses.
Also, please read this:

<http://cfaj.freeshell. org/google/>
[color=blue]
>Secondly I did say that the field cm8link.type[count] is a char * field[/color]

Show us the definition. The error can't arise if that definition is as
you assert.
[color=blue]
>I don't see the need to have the entire program listed. It is a one
>line statement that obviously I am using the wrong way.[/color]

*sigh* You don't see the bug either. Do you see the connection?

[Mark McIntyre]

Re: Strcpy

On 21 Mar 2006 13:28:41 -0800, in comp.lang.c , "Jake Thompson"
<readytoride39@ hotmail.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>Well if it means dealing with a Dick as the alternative then hell yeah
>I will figure it out myself.[/color]

You officially made it into the "arrogant newby who's too proud to
help himself" category. Well done.


Mark McIntyre
--
"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place.
Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are,
by definition, not smart enough to debug it."
--Brian Kernighan

[Mark McIntyre]

Re: Strcpy

On 21 Mar 2006 13:59:53 -0800, in comp.lang.c , "Jake Thompson"
<readytoride39@ hotmail.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>struct cm8linkstruc
>{
> char* type; /* type of item*/[/color]

type is of type char*.
[color=blue]
>strcpy(cm8link .type[count],"13"); //Copy the number 13 to indicate[/color]

Therefore type[count] is of type char.

Also, you need to allocate memory for type before you can copy
something into it.

Mark McIntyre
--
"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place.
Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are,
by definition, not smart enough to debug it."
--Brian Kernighan

[Keith Thompson]

Re: Strcpy

"Jake Thompson" <readytoride39@ hotmail.com> writes:[color=blue]
> This is the entire function from the module[/color]

But it's still not a complete program, which drastically limits how
much help we can offer.
[color=blue]
> long u_dll_cm8_getfo lditemmatch(cha r *folderid, cm8linkstruc cm8link)
> {
> long l_stat = 0;
> short dataid;
> DKFolder* dkFOL = new DKFolder();
> DKParts* dkParts = new DKParts();[/color]
[...]

According to groups.google.c om, there have been 26 articles posted in
this thread. Until now, you've somehow managed to avoid posting
enough of your code to indicate that you're programming in C++, not C,
and therefore you're in the wrong newsgroup. (C and C++ are two
different languages; C has no "new" operator, among other
differences.)

If you really want help from comp.lang.c, post only C code. You may
be able to modify your code to be compatible with C (though so far you
haven't been able to show us code that's legal in any language).

Otherwise, the newsgroup you're looking for is comp.lang.c++.

Narrow down your program to a single, short, complete program, one
that doesn't depend on any external declarations or headers other than
those provided by the language standard. Show us something we can try
ourselves, and tell us what problem you're having with it. (In the
process of doing so, you might very well figure out the problem
yourself.)
[color=blue]
> As far as including the earlier text I do not know how to do that. I
> am hitting reply so if I am not doing it right I apologize[/color]

We have been trying to tell you how to quote properly. Pay attention.

Read <http://cfaj.freeshell. org/google/>. Read it now. Read it
before you post another followup to this or any other newsgroup.

--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keit h) kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
San Diego Supercomputer Center <*> <http://users.sdsc.edu/~kst>
We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this.

[Jake Thompson]

Re: Strcpy

On 21 Mar 2006 13:59:53 -0800, in comp.lang.c , "Jake Thompson"


<readytorid...@ hotmail.com> wrote:[color=blue]
>struct cm8linkstruc
>{
> char* type; /* type of item*/[/color]


type is of type char*.

[color=blue]
>strcpy(cm8link .type[count],"13"); //Copy the number 13 to indicate[/color]


Therefore type[count] is of type char.

Also, you need to allocate memory for type before you can copy
something into it.


Mark McIntyre

Mark,

If I am understanding you correctly type is a char * and type[count] is
a char. Is is correct? Why does adding an array value to data type of
char * turn it into type char? Is there a better way to get the move
the data? I know the idea came up to turn type into an int (and that
would work for the number) but I have another strcpy statement that
copies "Document " to another char * in the struture. I would really
like to understand so I can learn from this issue.

Thanks
Jake

Can

[CBFalconer]

Re: Strcpy

Jake Thompson wrote:[color=blue]
>
> Well if it means dealing with a Dick as the alternative then hell
> yeah I will figure it out myself.
>
> Thank God your attitude is the minority here.
>
> I don't know who pissed in your breakfast but dude lighten up[/color]

Have fun. PLONK. I won't be seeing you.

--
"Churchill and Bush can both be considered wartime leaders, just
as Secretariat and Mr Ed were both horses." - James Rhodes.
"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad
morals. We now know that it is bad economics" - FDR

[CBFalconer]

Re: Strcpy

lawrence.jones@ ugs.com wrote:[color=blue]
> Jake Thompson <readytoride39@ hotmail.com> wrote:
>[/color]
.... snip ...[color=blue]
>[color=green]
>> I don't see the need to have the entire program listed. It is
>> a one line statement that obviously I am using the wrong way.[/color]
>
> There are lots of things that can cause an error. If you don't
> know *what* the error is, then you have no way of knowing *where*
> the error is, no matter how "obvious" you might think it. Thus,
> it is absolutely necessary to provide a small but complete
> program that generates the error. Please delete the parts of
> your program that aren't related to the error, but make sure that
> the end result still compiles with the same error.[/color]

Well, he has already been plonked for atrocious attitude by about
one-half of the people who could give him help. And that is just
those that announced it.

--
"Churchill and Bush can both be considered wartime leaders, just
as Secretariat and Mr Ed were both horses." - James Rhodes.
"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad
morals. We now know that it is bad economics" - FDR