Function Parameters

Remarks#

In C, it is common to use return values to denote errors that occur; and to return data through the use of passed in pointers. This can be done for multiple reasons; including not having to allocate memory on the heap or using static allocation at the point where the function is called.

Using pointer parameters to return multiple values

A common pattern in C, to easily imitate returning multiple values from a function, is to use pointers.

#include <stdio.h>

void Get( int* c , double* d )
{
    *c = 72; 
    *d = 175.0;
}

int main(void)
{
    int a = 0;
    double b = 0.0;

    Get( &a , &b );

    printf("a: %d, b: %f\n", a , b ); 

    return 0;
}

Passing in Arrays to Functions

int getListOfFriends(size_t size, int friend_indexes[]) {
  size_t i = 0;
  for (; i < size; i++) {
    friend_indexes[i] = i;
  }
}

/* Type "void" and VLAs ("int friend_indexes[static size]") require C99 at least. 
   In C11 VLAs are optional. */
void getListOfFriends(size_t size, int friend_indexes[static size]) {    
  size_t i = 0;
  for (; i < size; i++) {
    friend_indexes[i] = 1;
  }
}

Here the static inside the [] of the function parameter, request that the argument array must have at least as many elements as are specified (i.e. size elements). To be able to use that feature we have to ensure that the size parameter comes before the array parameter in the list.

Use getListOfFriends() like this:

#define LIST_SIZE (50)

int main(void) {
  size_t size_of_list = LIST_SIZE;
  int friends_indexes[size_of_list];

  getListOfFriends(size_of_list, friend_indexes); /* friend_indexes decays to a pointer to the
                                                     address of its 1st element: 
                                                                      &friend_indexes[0] */

  /* Here friend_indexes carries: {0, 1, 2, ..., 49}; */

  return 0;
}

Parameters are passed by value

In C, all function parameters are passed by value, so modifying what is passed in callee functions won’t affect caller functions’ local variables.

#include <stdio.h>

void modify(int v) {
    printf("modify 1: %d\n", v); /* 0 is printed */
    v = 42;
    printf("modify 2: %d\n", v); /* 42 is printed */
}

int main(void) {
    int v = 0;
    printf("main 1: %d\n", v); /* 0 is printed */
    modify(v);
    printf("main 2: %d\n", v); /* 0 is printed, not 42 */
    return 0;
}

You can use pointers to let callee functions modify caller functions’ local variables. Note that this is not pass by reference but the pointer values pointing at the local variables are passed.

#include <stdio.h>

void modify(int* v) {
    printf("modify 1: %d\n", *v); /* 0 is printed */
    *v = 42;
    printf("modify 2: %d\n", *v); /* 42 is printed */
}

int main(void) {
    int v = 0;
    printf("main 1: %d\n", v); /* 0 is printed */
    modify(&v);
    printf("main 2: %d\n", v); /* 42 is printed */
    return 0;
}

However returning the address of a local variable to the callee results in undefined behaviour. See https://stackoverflow.com/documentation/c/364/undefined-behavior/2034/dereferencing-a-pointer-to-variable-beyond-its-lifetime#t=201608112325484278857.

Order of function parameter execution

The order of execution of parameters is undefined in C programming. Here it may execute from left to right or from right to left. The order depends on the implementation.

#include <stdio.h>

void function(int a, int b) 
{
    printf("%d %d\n", a, b);
}

int main(void)
{
    int a = 1;
    function(a++, ++a);
    return 0;
}

Example of function returning struct containing values with error codes

Most examples of a function returning a value involve providing a pointer as one of the arguments to allow the function to modify the value pointed to, similar to the following. The actual return value of the function is usually some type such as an int to indicate the status of the result, whether it worked or not.

int func (int *pIvalue)
{
    int iRetStatus = 0;             /* Default status is no change */

    if (*pIvalue > 10) {
        *pIvalue = *pIvalue * 45;   /* Modify the value pointed to */
        iRetStatus = 1;             /* indicate value was changed */
    }

    return iRetStatus;              /* Return an error code */
}

However you can also use a struct as a return value which allows you to return both an error status along with other values as well. For instance.

typedef struct {
    int    iStat;      /* Return status */
    int    iValue;     /* Return value */
}  RetValue;

RetValue func (int iValue)
{
    RetValue iRetStatus = {0, iValue};

    if (iValue > 10) {
        iRetStatus.iValue = iValue * 45;
        iRetStatus.iStat = 1;
    }

    return iRetStatus;
}

This function could then be used like the following sample.

int usingFunc (int iValue)
{
    RetValue iRet = func (iValue);

    if (iRet.iStat == 1) {
        /* do things with iRet.iValue, the returned value */
    }
    return 0;
}

Or it could be used like the following.

int usingFunc (int iValue)
{
    RetValue iRet;

    if ( (iRet = func (iValue)).iStat == 1 ) {
        /* do things with iRet.iValue, the returned value */
    }
    return 0;
}