Problem with malloc and memcpy in array class - c++

Question

I've started writing some code for a List class and I'm lost. I need it for my Arduino project – I can't use STL.
Here's the code.
#include <iostream>
template <typename T>
class List
{
public:
List<typename T>()
{
m_Count = 0;
m_Data = nullptr;
}
~List()
{
free(m_Data);
}
void Push(const T& element)
{
m_Count++;
T* alloc = (T*)malloc(size_t(sizeof(T) * m_Count));
memcpy(alloc, m_Data, m_Count * sizeof(T));
*(m_Data + sizeof(T) * (m_Count - 1)) = element;
}
T* operator [](unsigned int x) const
{
return (m_Data + x * sizeof(T));
}
private:
T* m_Data;
uint64_t m_Count;
};
struct Vertex
{
int x;
int y;
};
int main()
{
List<Vertex> list;
list.Push({ 0, 1 });
list.Push({ 2, 3 });
list.Push({ 4, 5 });
std::cout << list[0]->x << list[1]->x << list[2]->x;
}
The problem lies somewhere in the Push method: When I call memcpy, the program triggers a compiler breakpoint.

Answer 1

The essential problem is in the line *(m_Data + sizeof(T) * (m_Count - 1)) = element;. Here, you are attempting to copy the given element into the old (i.e. pre-existing) m_Data array; this will be nullptr the first time the Push function is called (and one element too small every other time)†.
So, you need to first release the old data (with free(m_Data)), then assign your newly-allocated memory to that pointer (m_Data = alloc), and only then copy element to that array's last element.
However, as others have said, why are you using malloc and free in C++? The code below replaces those calls with new[] and delete[] (although using a std::vector would likely be easier/better/safer, if that were possible).
#include <iostream>
template <typename T>
class List {
public:
List<T>() { // Don't need "typename" here!
m_Count = 0;
m_Data = nullptr;
}
~List() {
delete[] m_Data;
}
void Push(const T& element) {
m_Count++;
T* alloc = new T[m_Count];
for (uint64_t i = 0; i < m_Count - 1; ++i) alloc[i] = m_Data[i]; // Copy old data (if any)
delete[] m_Data; // Release old data
m_Data = alloc; // Assign newly-allocated memory to m_Data
m_Data[m_Count - 1] = element; // Why use pointer arithmetic when you have the [] operator?
}
T* operator [](unsigned int x) const {
return &m_Data[x];
}
private:
T* m_Data;
uint64_t m_Count;
};
struct Vertex {
int x;
int y;
};
int main()
{
List<Vertex> list;
list.Push({ 0, 1 });
list.Push({ 2, 3 });
list.Push({ 4, 5 });
std::cout << list[0]->x << list[1]->x << list[2]->x << std::endl;
std::cout << list[0]->y << list[1]->y << list[2]->y << std::endl;
return 0;
}
I have made a couple of other 'minor improvements' to your code (your operator [] looked very suspicious, as the size of the pointed-to object is inherently taken into account when doing pointer arithmetic); there are others that could be made but that would, IMHO, deviate too far from the code you posted.
† Actually, it will always be nullptr in your code, as you never assign anything else to it.