CODEWITHSUNDEEP
carraysstringpointersprintf
Jago
Jago

Reputation: 5

C - Using sprintf() to put a prefix inside of a string

I'm trying to use sprintf() to put a string "inside itself", so I can change it to have an integer prefix. I was testing this on a character array of length 12 with "Hello World" inside it already.

The basic premise is that I want a prefix that denotes the amount of words within a string. So I copy 11 characters into a character array of length 12. Then I try to put the integer followed by the string itself by using "%i%s" in the function. To get past the integer (I don't just use myStr as the argument for %s), I make sure to use myStr + snprintf(NULL, 0, "%i", wordCount), which should be myStr + characters taken up by the integer.

The problem is that I'm having is that it eats the 'H' when I do this and prints "2ello World" instead of having the '2' right beside the "Hello World"

So far I've tried different options for getting "past the integer" in the string when I try to copy it inside itself, but nothing really seems to be the right case, as it either comes out as an empty string or just the integer prefix itself '222222222222' copied throughout the entire array.

int main() {
    char myStr[12];
    strcpy(myStr, "Hello World");//11 Characters in length
    int wordCount = 2;

    //Put the integer wordCount followed by the string myStr (past whatever amount of characters the integer would take up) inside of myStr
    sprintf(myStr, "%i%s", wordCount, myStr + snprintf(NULL, 0, "%i", wordCount));
    printf("\nChanged myStr '%s'\n", myStr);//Prints '2ello World'
    return 0;
}

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1517

Answers (2)

user3431837
user3431837

Reputation: 58

The best way to deal with this is to create another buffer to output to, and then if you really need to copy back to the source string then copy it back once the new copy is created.

There are other ways to "optimise" this if you really needed to, like putting your source string into the middle of the buffer so you can append and change the string pointer for the source (not recommended, unless you are running on an embedded target with limited RAM and the buffer is huge). Remember code is for people to read so best to keep it clean and easy to read.

#define MAX_BUFFER_SIZE  128

int main() {
    char srcString[MAX_BUFFER_SIZE];
    char destString[MAX_BUFFER_SIZE];

    strncpy(srcString, "Hello World", MAX_BUFFER_SIZE);
    int wordCount = 2;

    snprintf(destString, MAX_BUFFER_SIZE, "%i%s", wordCount, srcString);
    printf("Changed string '%s'\n", destString);

    // Or if you really want the string put back into srcString then:
    strncpy(srcString, destString, MAX_BUFFER_SIZE);
    printf("Changed string in source '%s'\n", srcString);

    return 0;
}

Notes:

  1. To be safer protecting overflows in memory you should use strncpy and snprintf.

Upvotes: 0

Eric Postpischil
Eric Postpischil

Reputation: 222660

First, to insert a one-digit prefix into a string “Hello World”, you need a buffer of 13 characters—one for the prefix, eleven for the characters in “Hello World”, and one for the terminating null character.

Second, you should not pass a buffer to snprintf as both the output buffer and an input string. Its behavior is not defined by the C standard when objects passed to it overlap.

Below is a program that shows you how to insert a prefix by moving the string with memmove. This is largely tutorial, as it is not generally a good way to manipulate strings. For short strings, where space is not an issue, most programmers would simply print the desired string into a temporary buffer, avoiding overlap issues.

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>


/*  Insert a decimal numeral for Prefix into the beginning of String.
    Length specifies the total number of bytes available at String.
*/
static void InsertPrefix(char *String, size_t Length, int Prefix)
{
    //  Find out how many characters the numeral needs.
    int CharactersNeeded = snprintf(NULL, 0, "%i", Prefix);

    //  Find the current string length.
    size_t Current = strlen(String);

    /*  Test whether there is enough space for the prefix, the current string,
        and the terminating null character.
    */
    if (Length < CharactersNeeded + Current + 1)
    {
        fprintf(stderr,
            "Error, not enough space in string to insert prefix.\n");
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    //  Move the string to make room for the prefix.
    memmove(String + CharactersNeeded, String, Current + 1);

    /*  Remember the first character, because snprintf will overwrite it with a
        null character.
    */
    char Temporary = String[0];

    //  Write the prefix, including a terminating null character.
    snprintf(String, CharactersNeeded + 1, "%i", Prefix);

    //  Restore the first character of the original string.
    String[CharactersNeeded] = Temporary;
}

int main(void)
{
    char MyString[13] = "Hello World";

    InsertPrefix(MyString, sizeof MyString, 2);

    printf("Result = \"%s\".\n", MyString);
}

Upvotes: 1

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