stringstream::seekp not functioning on Visual Studio 2015 - c++

I want to read a chunk of data from file into stringstream, which later will be used to parse the data (using getline, >>, etc). After reading the bytes, I set the buffer of the stringstream, but I cant make it to set the p pointer.
I tested the code on some online services, such as onlinegdb.com and cppreference.com and it works. However, on microsoft, I get an error - the pointers get out of order.
Here's the code, I replaced the file-read with a char array.
#include <sstream>
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
char* a = new char [30];
for (int i=0;i<30;i++)
a[i]='-';
std::stringstream os;
std::cout << "g " << os.tellg() << " p " << os.tellp() << std::endl;
os.rdbuf()->pubsetbuf(a,30);
os.seekp(7);
std::cout << "g " << os.tellg() << " p " << os.tellp() << std::endl;
}
the output I get when it works
g 0 p 0
g 0 p 7
the output I get on visual studio 2015
g 0 p 0
g -1 p -1
any ides?
thanks

std::sstream::setbuf may do nothing:
If s is a null pointer and n is zero, this function has no effect.
Otherwise, the effect is implementation-defined: some implementations do nothing, while some implementations clear the std::string member currently used as the buffer and begin using the user-supplied character array of size n, whose first element is pointed to by s, as the buffer and the input/output character sequence.
You are better off using the std::stringstream constructor to set the data or call str():
#include <sstream>
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
std::string str( 30, '-' );
std::stringstream os;
std::cout << "g " << os.tellg() << " p " << os.tellp() << std::endl;
os.str( str );
os.seekp(7);
std::cout << "g " << os.tellg() << " p " << os.tellp() << std::endl;
}

Related

Why does Visual Studio output this in my C++ program (adding string and character)? [duplicate]

The code successfully compiles it but I can't understand why, for certain values of number, the program crashes and for other values it doesn't. Could someone explain the behavior of adding a long int with a char* that the compiler uses?
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
long int number=255;
std::cout<< "Value 1 : " << std::flush << ("" + number) << std::flush << std::endl;
number=15155;
std::cout<< "Value 2 : " << std::flush << ("" + number) << std::flush << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Test results:
Value 1 : >
Value 2 : Segmentation fault
Note: I'm not looking for a solution on how to add a string with a number.
In C++, "" is a const char[1] array, which decays into a const char* pointer to the first element of the array (in this case, the string literal's '\0' nul terminator).
Adding an integer to a pointer performs pointer arithmetic, which will advance the memory address in the pointer by the specified number of elements of the type the pointer is declared as (in this case, char).
So, in your example, ... << ("" + number) << ... is equivalent to ... << &""[number] << ..., or more generically:
const char *ptr = &""[0];
ptr = reinterpret_cast<const char*>(
reinterpret_cast<const uintptr_t>(ptr)
+ (number * sizeof(char))
);
... << ptr << ...
Which means you are going out of bounds of the array when number is any value other than 0, thus your code has undefined behavior and anything could happen when operator<< tries to dereference the invalid pointer you give it.
Unlike in many scripting languages, ("" + number) is not the correct way to convert an integer to a string in C++. You need to use an explicit conversion function instead, such as std::to_string(), eg:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
int main()
{
long int number = 255;
std::cout << "Value 1 : " << std::flush << std::to_string(number) << std::flush << std::endl;
number = 15155;
std::cout << "Value 2 : " << std::flush << std::to_string(number) << std::flush << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Or, you can simply let std::ostream::operator<< handle that conversion for you, eg:
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
long int number = 255;
std::cout<< "Value 1 : " << std::flush << number << std::flush << std::endl;
number = 15155;
std::cout<< "Value 2 : " << std::flush << number << std::flush << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Pointer arithmetic is the culprit.
A const char* is accepted by operator<<, but will not point to a valid memory address in your example.
If you switch on -Wall, you will see a compiler warning about that:
main.cpp: In function 'int main()':
main.cpp:6:59: warning: array subscript 255 is outside array bounds of 'const char [1]' [-Warray-bounds]
6 | std::cout<< "Value 1 : " << std::flush << ("" + number) << std::flush << std::endl;
| ^
main.cpp:8:59: warning: array subscript 15155 is outside array bounds of 'const char [1]' [-Warray-bounds]
8 | std::cout<< "Value 2 : " << std::flush << ("" + number) << std::flush << std::endl;
| ^
Value 1 : q
Live Demo

What's the behaviour of "" + number and why it compile?

The code successfully compiles it but I can't understand why, for certain values of number, the program crashes and for other values it doesn't. Could someone explain the behavior of adding a long int with a char* that the compiler uses?
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
long int number=255;
std::cout<< "Value 1 : " << std::flush << ("" + number) << std::flush << std::endl;
number=15155;
std::cout<< "Value 2 : " << std::flush << ("" + number) << std::flush << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Test results:
Value 1 : >
Value 2 : Segmentation fault
Note: I'm not looking for a solution on how to add a string with a number.
In C++, "" is a const char[1] array, which decays into a const char* pointer to the first element of the array (in this case, the string literal's '\0' nul terminator).
Adding an integer to a pointer performs pointer arithmetic, which will advance the memory address in the pointer by the specified number of elements of the type the pointer is declared as (in this case, char).
So, in your example, ... << ("" + number) << ... is equivalent to ... << &""[number] << ..., or more generically:
const char *ptr = &""[0];
ptr = reinterpret_cast<const char*>(
reinterpret_cast<const uintptr_t>(ptr)
+ (number * sizeof(char))
);
... << ptr << ...
Which means you are going out of bounds of the array when number is any value other than 0, thus your code has undefined behavior and anything could happen when operator<< tries to dereference the invalid pointer you give it.
Unlike in many scripting languages, ("" + number) is not the correct way to convert an integer to a string in C++. You need to use an explicit conversion function instead, such as std::to_string(), eg:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
int main()
{
long int number = 255;
std::cout << "Value 1 : " << std::flush << std::to_string(number) << std::flush << std::endl;
number = 15155;
std::cout << "Value 2 : " << std::flush << std::to_string(number) << std::flush << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Or, you can simply let std::ostream::operator<< handle that conversion for you, eg:
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
long int number = 255;
std::cout<< "Value 1 : " << std::flush << number << std::flush << std::endl;
number = 15155;
std::cout<< "Value 2 : " << std::flush << number << std::flush << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Pointer arithmetic is the culprit.
A const char* is accepted by operator<<, but will not point to a valid memory address in your example.
If you switch on -Wall, you will see a compiler warning about that:
main.cpp: In function 'int main()':
main.cpp:6:59: warning: array subscript 255 is outside array bounds of 'const char [1]' [-Warray-bounds]
6 | std::cout<< "Value 1 : " << std::flush << ("" + number) << std::flush << std::endl;
| ^
main.cpp:8:59: warning: array subscript 15155 is outside array bounds of 'const char [1]' [-Warray-bounds]
8 | std::cout<< "Value 2 : " << std::flush << ("" + number) << std::flush << std::endl;
| ^
Value 1 : q
Live Demo

cout and String concatenation

I was just reviewing my C++. I tried to do this:
#include <iostream>
using std::cout;
using std::endl;
void printStuff(int x);
int main() {
printStuff(10);
return 0;
}
void printStuff(int x) {
cout << "My favorite number is " + x << endl;
}
The problem happens in the printStuff function. When I run it, the first 10 characters from "My favorite number is ", is omitted from the output. The output is "e number is ". The number does not even show up.
The way to fix this is to do
void printStuff(int x) {
cout << "My favorite number is " << x << endl;
}
I am wondering what the computer/compiler is doing behind the scenes.
The + overloaded operator in this case is not concatenating any string since x is an integer. The output is moved by rvalue times in this case. So the first 10 characters are not printed. Check this reference.
if you will write
cout << "My favorite number is " + std::to_string(x) << endl;
it will work
It's simple pointer arithmetic. The string literal is an array or chars and will be presented as a pointer. You add 10 to the pointer telling you want to output starting from the 11th character.
There is no + operator that would convert a number into a string and concatenate it to a char array.
adding or incrementing a string doesn't increment the value it contains but it's address:
it's not problem of msvc 2015 or cout but instead it's moving in memory back/forward:
to prove to you that cout is innocent:
#include <iostream>
using std::cout;
using std::endl;
int main()
{
char* str = "My favorite number is ";
int a = 10;
for(int i(0); i < strlen(str); i++)
std::cout << str + i << std::endl;
char* ptrTxt = "Hello";
while(strlen(ptrTxt++))
std::cout << ptrTxt << std::endl;
// proving that cout is innocent:
char* str2 = str + 10; // copying from element 10 to the end of str to stre. like strncpy()
std::cout << str2 << std::endl; // cout prints what is exactly in str2
return 0;
}

getting cout output to a std::string

I have the following cout statement. I use char arrays because I have to pass to vsnprintf to convert variable argument list and store in Msg.
Is there any way we can get cout output to C++ std::string?
char Msg[100];
char appname1[100];
char appname2[100];
char appname3[100];
// I have some logic in function which some string is assigned to Msg.
std::cout << Msg << " "<< appname1 <<":"<< appname2 << ":" << appname3 << " " << "!" << getpid() <<" " << "~" << pthread_self() << endl;
You can replace cout by a stringstream.
std::stringstream buffer;
buffer << "Text" << std::endl;
You can access the string using buffer.str().
To use stringstream you need to use the following libraries:
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
You can use std::stringstream
http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/iostream/stringstream/
If you can change the code then use ostringstream (or stringstream) instead of cout.
If you cannot change the code and want to "capture" what is being output you can redirect your output or pipe it.
It may then be possible for your process to read the file or get the piped information through shared memory.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <sstream>
// This way we won't have to say std::ostringstream or std::cout or std::string...
using namespace std;
/** Simulates system specific method getpid()... */
int faux_getpid(){
return 1234;
}
/** Simulates system specific method pthread_self()... */
int faux_pthread_self(){
return 1111;
}
int main(int argc, char** argv){
// Create a char[] array of 100 characters...
// this is the old-fashioned "C" way of storing a "string"
// of characters..
char Msg[100];
// Try using C++-style std::string rather than char[],
// which can be overrun, leading to
// a segmentation fault.
string s_appname1;
// Create old-fashioned char[] array of 100 characters...
char appname2[100];
// Create old-fashioned char[] array of 100 characters...
char appname3[100];
// Old-fashioned "C" way of copying "Hello" into Msg[] char buffer...
strcpy(Msg, "Hello");
// C++ way of setting std::string s_appname equal to "Moe"...
s_appname1 = "Moe";
// Old-fashioned "C" way of copying "Larry" into appname2[] char buffer...
strcpy(appname2, "Larry");
// Old-fashioned "C" way of copying "Shemp" into appname3[] char buffer...
strcpy(appname3, "Shemp");
// Declare le_msg to be a std::ostringstream...
// this allows you to use the C++ "put-to" operator <<
// but it will "put-to" the string-stream rather than
// to the terminal or to a file...
ostringstream le_msg;
// Use put-to operator << to "write" Msg, s_appname1, s_appname2, etc...
// to the ostringstream...not to the terminal...
le_msg << Msg << " "<< s_appname1 <<":"<< appname2 << ":" << appname3 << " " << "!" << faux_getpid() <<" " << "~" << faux_pthread_self();
// Print the contents of le_msg to the terminal -- std::cout --
// using the put-to operator << and using le_msg.str(),
// which returns a std::string.
cout << "ONE: le_msg = \"" << le_msg.str() << "\"..." << endl;
// Change contents of appname3 char[] buffer to "Curly"...
strcpy(appname3, "Curly");
// Clear the contents of std::ostringstream le_msg
// -- by setting it equal to "" -- so you can re-use it.
le_msg.str("");
// Use put-to operator << to "write" Msg, s_appname1, s_appname2, etc...
// to the newly cleared ostringstream...not to the terminal...
// but this time appname3 has been set equal to "Curly"...
le_msg << Msg << " "<< s_appname1 <<":"<< appname2 << ":" << appname3 << " " << "!" << faux_getpid() <<" " << "~" << faux_pthread_self();
// Print the new contents of le_msg to the terminal using the
// put-to operator << and using le_msg.str(),
// which returns a std::string.
cout << "TWO: le_msg = \"" << le_msg.str() << "\"..." << endl;
// This time, rather than using put-to operator << to "write"
// to std::ostringstream le_msg, we'll explicitly set it equal
// to "That's all Folks!"
le_msg.str("That's all Folks!");
// Print the new contents of le_msg "That's all Folks!" to
// the terminal via le_msg.str()
cout << "THREE: le_msg = \"" << le_msg.str() << "\"..." << endl;
// Exit main() with system exit value of zero (0), indicating
// success...
return 0;
}/* main() */
OUTPUT:
ONE: le_msg = "Hello Moe:Larry:Shemp !1234 ~1111"...
TWO: le_msg = "Hello Moe:Larry:Curly !1234 ~1111"...
THREE: le_msg = "That's all, folks!"...

Why setting null in the middle of std string doesn't have any effect

Consider
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
/*
hello
5
hel
3
*/
char a[] = "hello";
std::cout << a << std::endl;
std::cout << strlen(a) << std::endl;
a[3] = 0;
std::cout << a << std::endl;
std::cout << strlen(a) << std::endl;
/*
hello
5
hel o
5
*/
std::string b = "hello";
std::cout << b << std::endl;
std::cout << b.length() << std::endl;
b[3] = 0;
std::cout << b << std::endl;
std::cout << b.length() << std::endl;
getchar();
}
I expect std::string will behave identical to char array a. That's it, insert null character in the middle of the string, will "terminate" the string. However, it is not the case. Is my expectation wrong?
A std::string is not like a usual C string, and can contain embedded NUL characters without problems. However, if you do this you will notice the string is prematurely terminated if you use the .c_str() function to return a const char *.
No - std::strings are not NUL-terminated like C "strings"; the std::string records its length independently.
#Lou is right: don't do that. Instead, do this:
b.erase (3, b.length());
Yes, your expectation is wrong. std::string is meant to be different from C strings (e.g. not necessarily stored in consecutive memory / an array).
To duplicate the first section's behavior, try std::cout << b.c_str() instead of std::cout << b.
I expect std::string will behave identical to char array a.
Why? Nothing in the documentation, anywhere, having to do with std::string says it does this.
My suggestion, stop treating like C++ as C plus some stuff.