Post/pre increments in 'printf' [duplicate] - c++

This question already has answers here:
Closed 12 years ago.
Possible Duplicates:
Output of multiple post and pre increments in one statement
Post-increment and pre-increment in 'for' loop
The following code snippet
int i=0;
printf("%d %d",i++,i++);
gives the output
1 0
I can understand that, but the following
int i=0;
printf("%d %d",++i,++i);
gives the output
2 2
Can someone explain me the second behavior?

Both printfs invoke undefined-behavior. See this : Undefined behavior and sequence points
Quoted from this link:
In short, undefined behaviour means
anything can happen from daemons
flying out of your nose to your
girlfriend getting pregnant.
For newbies : Don't ever try to modify values of your variables twice or more in a function call argument-list. For details, click here to know what it means. :-)

They're both undefined behaviour. Modifying the variable i more than once is undefined. Also, C++ or C? You need to make up your mind as the behaviour of pre-increment I believe is different between them.

You got what called 'undefined behaviour', because you are changing the same variable more than once between sequence points. Another compiler can give you different results.

Related

pre increment and post increment result discrepancy in MSdos and DevC++ compiler [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Is the output of printf ("%d %d", c++, c); also undefined?
(6 answers)
Closed 6 years ago.
I am unable to understand the below issues while pre-incrementing and post-incrementing a variable inside printf:-
code used in turbocpp compiler:-
#include<stdio.h>
main()
{
int i=0;
clrscr();
printf("%d %d %d",i,i++,++i);
getch();
return(0);
}
the output in MSdos Compiler is :- 2 1 1
but for the same program in DevC++ 5.11 the output is:- 2 1 2
1) My understanding is printf prints by taking left variable first and then moves to right.(i have verified it using 3 different variables.) So, according to that shouldn't the output be 0 0 2?
2) I tried with DevC++ to check the output of the same program but it gave a different result. Now I am really confused as what should be the output.
3) Also if I vary:- printf ("%d %d %d", i,++i,i++); the output is 2 2 0.
I am not getting what is going on here. Somebody Please help me to understand better...
Having two side effects on the same variable will give you an undetermined result, as each compiler is free to choose the order in which it evaluates the arguments.
1.9/15: If a side effect on a scalar object is unsequenced relative to either another side effect on the same scalar object or a
value computation using the value of the same scalar object, the
behavior is undefined.
So it could for example be:
0,0,1 if evaluated left to right
2,1,1 if evaluated right to left
2,1,2 if pre-increment is done on i and stored in i, then i is loaded as second argument and post incremented, then i is taken ans third argument (the compiler assuming that preincrement was already done), and then i is taken as first argument.
But other combinations could also be plausible. And undefined behaviour means really undefined, so perhaps one day this could even crash (if one say a compiler would automatically generate parallel code and 2 cores access to the same variable in the same time)
C++ doesn't standardize the order in which function arguments are calculated, that's why results differ from compiler to compiler. See C++ Standard, section 5.2.2/8:
The order of evaluation of arguments is unspecified.

how printf function work? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Closed 10 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
Undefined Behavior and Sequence Points
How the statement x=x++ + y++; executes to the value 3?
I was wondering how printf work in a case like this:
int i = 0;
printf("%4d%4d", i++, i);
Result is 0 1
in another case
int i = 0;
printf("%4d%4d", i, i++);
Result is 1 0
This has nothing to do with printf, and everything to do with the order in which the parameters are evaluated and the way the compiler executes your code. The behavior is undefined, and the results will depend on your compiler, calling convention, and phase of the moon.
In both your examples, the rules of pre/post incrementing are taking precedence. Your particular compiler understands that it must use the value of i before evaluating the increment, and is giving precedence to the parameter that invokes a function call over the one that doesn't. Your second usage of the variable i is causing the compiler to insert an intermediary statement in the process of calling printf,
It's important to note that i++ doesn't mean (as is commonly taught) "increment i after executing this line", it just means "increment i at some point after giving me its value, and before executing the next line". That's a lot of wiggle room for the compiler to do what is formally called "undefined behavior."
As #Als points out in a comment, you've managed to combine both undefined and unspecified behaviors in one line of code.
This is not due to printf it's due to you being in a case of undefined behaviour

different outputs on different compiler [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Closed 12 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
FAQ : Undefined Behavior and Sequence Points
Different outputs on different compiler?
Is this true that certain statements can generate different outputs on different compilers. I have two compilers handy gcc and msvc expression edition. When I tried a code sample on both of them I was shocked to see different outputs on them.
This was the code sample.
#include<stdio.h>
int main(void)
{
int variable_a = 100;
printf("%d %d", ++variable_a, variable_a++); return 0;
}
Output that I got on gcc was 102 100
On msvc I got 102 101.
Why such a difference?
You invoke undefined behaviour by incrementing a more than once. Any compiler would be within their rights to break into your house and beat you with a stick.
There are various subtle effects of this kind where the language is explicitly undefined. There's a lot of history behind why the language leaves these corners undefined. From the coder's point of view we need to avoid certain patterns such as the one you stumbled across.
See this reference for some explanation

How do we explain the result of the expression (++x)+(++x)+(++x)? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Why are these constructs using pre and post-increment undefined behavior?
(14 answers)
Closed 25 days ago.
x = 1;
std::cout << ((++x)+(++x)+(++x));
I expect the output to be 11, but it's actually 12. Why?
We explain it by expecting undefined behaviour rather than any particular result. As the expression attempts to modify x multiple times without an intervening sequence point its behaviour is undefined.
As others have said, the C and C++ standards do not define the behaviour that this will produce.
But for those people who don't see why the standards would do such a thing, let's go through a "real world" example:
1 * 2 + 3 + 4 * 5
There's nothing wrong with calculating 1 * 2 + 3 before we calculate 4*5. Just because multiplication has a higher precedence than addition doesn't mean we need to perform all multiplication in the expression before doing any addition. In fact there are many different orders you validly could perform your calculations.
Where evaluations have side effects, different evaluation orders can affect the result. If the standard does not define the behaviour, do not rely on it.
This is actually undefined. C++ doesn't define explicitly the order of execution of a statement so it depends on the compiler and this syntax shouldn't be used.
The code snippet will invoke Undefined behavior in both C/C++.Read about Sequence Point from here.
In my opinion
cout<<((++x)+(++x)+(++x));
compiler first run prefix ++x so value of x becomes
x=2
now by ++x, x will become
x=3
after ++x
x=4
Now its time to add values of x
x+x+x=4+4+4
x+x+x=12

Undefined/unspecified? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Closed 13 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
Why is i = ++i + 1 unspecified behavior?
Consider the following snippet :
int i=10;
printf("%d %d %d",i,++i,i--);
The order in which the arguments to a function are evaluated is unspecified in C/C++.So it lead to unspecified behavior.
Am I correct or missing something ? Please Explain.
EDIT:Well,some member believes it to be duplicate and this is an Undefined behaviour.Anyways,from C99:
6.5.2.2(10)
The order of evaluation of the function designator, the actual arguments, and
subexpressions within the actual arguments is unspecified, but there is a sequence point before the actual call.
So what would be the exact nomenclature now,Undefined or Unspecified ?
Yes, true.
I take it it's because on different platforms different machinery is employed to pass arguments and therefore parameters may be evaluated in different order.
What you're seeing is an example of where the C/C++ spec is undefined, so different compilers can do whatever they want. One compiler might execute the parameters in left to right order, another might do it in right to left order. It would be perfectly OK for a compiler to pick the order randomly.
The point that your source is trying to make is that you shouldn't rely on any order when passing parameters. For example if you had:
A(DoX(), DoY())
DoX and DoY can't rely on any side-effects of the other, because they're executed in an undefined order. To be perfectly explicit you'd want to do something like:
int x = DoX();
int y = DoY();
A(x, y);
For the majority of real-world production code you don't run into this situation very often, but it does happen every now and again.
Note that this is related to, but different from short circuit evaluation.