Re: Odd Exception Behavior

From:
"Alf P. Steinbach" <alfps@start.no>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:48:48 +0100
Message-ID:
<hke563$9q$1@news.eternal-september.org>
* none:

none wrote:

But something very strange happens. My ErrorMessage() function
displays garbage when I use the type-cast operator. It works fine if
I write "ErrorMessage(e.msg.str().c_str())" but not if I write
"ErrorMessage(e)". I traced into the ErrorMessage() function in both
cases, and what I see is that the actual const char * pointer is off
by exactly 256 bytes in the latter case. I just don't see the
difference between the two!


AAAAAARRRRRGH

The str() function returns by *value*. So the type-cast function, as I
have it written, calls c_str() on a temporary that ceases to exist as soon
as the function returns.


Yes. :-)

You're absolutely not the first to walk into that, but perhaps one of the first
here to recognize it yourself -- at least, I can't remember it happen b4.

Some other tips for the code:

   * "C"-prefix for a class is a Microsoft-ism, therefore (almost automatically)
      ungood.

   * The assignment operator implementaiton is a bit dangerous, think about
     assigning twice to same exception object.

   * The copy function seems to jumble up the short and long messages, anyway,
     copy will not be perfect copy with the code as-is.

   * The 'cast' operator should perhaps best be 'const'.

   * Most importantly, the whole "stream whatever into a string" can be
     /separated/ as a very very simple class. Then it can be used for whatever.
     :-)

Cheers & hth.,

- Alf

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