C

asn1c: Full working example of ASN.1 in C/C++

 in C / C++  tagged asn.1 / asn1 / asn1c / C++ by

The following project demonstrates a full working example of encoding and decoding ASN.1 structures using the asn1c compiler of http://lionet.info/asn1c/

In this project we assumed that we have to encode a set of geometric elements, including:

  • A rectangle that is composed by its height and its width
  • A rectangular cuboid that it is composed by a rectangle and a depth parameter
  • A list of rectangular cuboids that has no limit on how many elements to add to it
  • A list of rectangular cuboids that must have at least one element and at most three
  • We assume that all parameters should be positive integer values

[download id=”2470″]

Following is our ASN.1 syntax to describe the above elements:

Geometry.asn1

GeometryModule DEFINITIONS ::= BEGIN

Rectangle ::= SEQUENCE {
    height INTEGER (0..MAX),
    width INTEGER (0..MAX)
}

RectangularCuboid ::= SEQUENCE {
    depth INTEGER (0..MAX),
    rectangle Rectangle
}

UnlimitedRectangularCuboids ::= SEQUENCE OF RectangularCuboid

LimitedRectangularCuboids ::= SEQUENCE SIZE(1..3) OF RectangularCuboid

END

Inside the directory where our source is located, we created folder called geometryASN.
From that folder we executed the following command to generate the c code that is needed for our C/C++ source code to operate:

asn1c -fcompound-names -gen-PER ../Geometry.asn1

Following is our C source code that creates new ANS.1 elements, encodes them, decodes them and verifies that all limitations and constraints were met.

[download id=”2470″]

main.cpp


//From the folder geometryASN, to convert the ASN1 to c execute the following
// asn1c -fcompound-names -gen-PER ../Geometry.asn1
#include <iostream>
#include "geometryASN/Rectangle.h"
#include "geometryASN/RectangularCuboid.h"
#include "geometryASN/LimitedRectangularCuboids.h"
#include "geometryASN/UnlimitedRectangularCuboids.h"

bool validate_constraints(asn_TYPE_descriptor_t *type_descriptor, const void *struct_ptr) {

  char error_buffer[128];
  size_t error_length = sizeof(error_buffer);
  const int return_value = asn_check_constraints(type_descriptor, struct_ptr, error_buffer, &error_length);

  if (return_value) {
    perror("asn_check_constraints() failed");
  }
  return (return_value == 0);
}

void *encode_and_decode_object(asn_TYPE_descriptor_t *type_descriptor, void *struct_ptr) {

  //First we validate that our object meets the expected constraints
  if (validate_constraints(type_descriptor, struct_ptr)) {
    void *buffer;
    asn_per_constraints_s *constraints = NULL;
    //Then, we encode the object to ASN.1 and assign the data to a buffer in memory
    const ssize_t ec = uper_encode_to_new_buffer(type_descriptor, constraints, struct_ptr, &buffer);
    if (ec == -1) {
      perror("uper_encode_to_new_buffer() failed");
    } else {
      //ASN.1 encoded object is not in the buffer variable and it is available for you to use.
      //Finally, since the encoding process went fine, we decode the data to verify with our own eyes that the process went smoothly
      void *decoded_object = 0;
      const asn_dec_rval_t rval = uper_decode(0, type_descriptor, &decoded_object, buffer, (size_t) ec, 0, 0);
      free(buffer);
      if (rval.code != RC_OK) {
        perror("uper_decode() failed");
        fprintf(stderr, "Broken encoding at byte %ld\n", rval.consumed);
      } else {
        return decoded_object;
      }
    }
  }
  return NULL;
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {

  //Scenario A: We test basic encoding and decoding on a Rectangle.
  {
    //First we create a rectangle and then we encode it
    Rectangle_t *rectangle = (Rectangle_t *) calloc(1, sizeof(Rectangle_t));
    if (rectangle == NULL) {
      perror("calloc() failed");
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }
    rectangle->height = 10;
    rectangle->width = 150;

    Rectangle_t *decoded_rectangle = (Rectangle_t *) encode_and_decode_object(&asn_DEF_Rectangle, rectangle);

    if (decoded_rectangle != NULL) {
      if (rectangle->height != decoded_rectangle->height || rectangle->width != decoded_rectangle->width) {
        perror("uper_decode() failed. Wrong values found after decoding");
        ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_Rectangle, rectangle);
        ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_Rectangle, decoded_rectangle);
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
      }
    }
    ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_Rectangle, rectangle);
    ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_Rectangle, decoded_rectangle);
  }

  //Scenario B: We test basic encoding and decoding on a Rectangle.
  //We will provide a value that is out of the constraints area to force the test to fail.
  {
    //First we create a rectangle and then we encode it
    Rectangle_t *rectangle = (Rectangle_t *) calloc(1, sizeof(Rectangle_t));
    if (rectangle == NULL) {
      perror("calloc() failed");
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }
    rectangle->height = -10;
    rectangle->width = 150;

    Rectangle_t *decoded_rectangle = (Rectangle_t *) encode_and_decode_object(&asn_DEF_Rectangle, rectangle);

    if (decoded_rectangle != NULL) {
      perror("This test should have failed due to the constaint on the range of the valid values.");
      ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_Rectangle, rectangle);
      ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_Rectangle, decoded_rectangle);
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }
    ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_Rectangle, rectangle);
  }

  //Scenario C: We test basic encoding and decoding on a Rectangular Cuboid.
  {
    //First we create a rectangular cuboid and then we encode it
    RectangularCuboid_t *rectangular_cuboid = (RectangularCuboid_t *) calloc(1, sizeof(RectangularCuboid_t));
    if (rectangular_cuboid == NULL) {
      perror("calloc() failed");
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }
    rectangular_cuboid->depth = 27;
    rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.height = 10;
    rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.width = 150;

    RectangularCuboid_t *decoded_rectangular_cuboid = (RectangularCuboid_t *) encode_and_decode_object(
        &asn_DEF_RectangularCuboid, rectangular_cuboid);

    if (decoded_rectangular_cuboid != NULL) {
      if (rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.height != decoded_rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.height
          || rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.width != decoded_rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.width
          || rectangular_cuboid->depth != decoded_rectangular_cuboid->depth) {
        perror("uper_decode() failed. Wrong values found after decoding");
        ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_RectangularCuboid, rectangular_cuboid);
        ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_RectangularCuboid, decoded_rectangular_cuboid);
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
      }
    }
    ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_RectangularCuboid, rectangular_cuboid);
    ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_RectangularCuboid, decoded_rectangular_cuboid);
  }

  //Scenario D: We will create an array of elements that has no limitation on its size.
  {
    UnlimitedRectangularCuboids_t *unlimited_rectangular_cuboids = (UnlimitedRectangularCuboids_t *) calloc(1,
                                                                                                            sizeof(UnlimitedRectangularCuboids_t));
    if (unlimited_rectangular_cuboids == NULL) {
      perror("calloc() failed");
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    int i;
    for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {       RectangularCuboid_t *tmp_rectangular_cuboid = (RectangularCuboid_t *) calloc(1, sizeof(RectangularCuboid_t));       if (tmp_rectangular_cuboid == NULL) {         perror("calloc() failed");         exit(EXIT_FAILURE);       }       tmp_rectangular_cuboid->depth = i;
      tmp_rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.height = i * 11;
      tmp_rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.width = i * 101;

      const int result = asn_set_add(unlimited_rectangular_cuboids, tmp_rectangular_cuboid);
      if (result != 0) {
        perror("asn_set_add() failed");
        ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_UnlimitedRectangularCuboids, unlimited_rectangular_cuboids);
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
      }
    }

    UnlimitedRectangularCuboids_t *decoded_unlimited_rectangular_cuboids = (UnlimitedRectangularCuboids_t *) encode_and_decode_object(
        &asn_DEF_UnlimitedRectangularCuboids, unlimited_rectangular_cuboids);

    if (decoded_unlimited_rectangular_cuboids != NULL) {
      for (i = 0; i < decoded_unlimited_rectangular_cuboids->list.count; i++) {
        RectangularCuboid_t *tmp_rectangular_cuboid = decoded_unlimited_rectangular_cuboids->list.array[i];
        if (tmp_rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.height != i * 11
            || tmp_rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.width != i * 101
            || tmp_rectangular_cuboid->depth != i) {
          perror("uper_decode() failed. Wrong values found after decoding");
          ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_UnlimitedRectangularCuboids, unlimited_rectangular_cuboids);
          ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_UnlimitedRectangularCuboids, decoded_unlimited_rectangular_cuboids);
          exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
        }
      }
    }
    ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_UnlimitedRectangularCuboids, unlimited_rectangular_cuboids);
    ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_UnlimitedRectangularCuboids, decoded_unlimited_rectangular_cuboids);
  }

  //Scenario E: We will create an array of elements that has a limitation on how many elements it can accept.
  //We will add more elements than expected and we expect the encoding to fail.
  {
    LimitedRectangularCuboids_t *limited_rectangular_cuboids = (LimitedRectangularCuboids_t *) calloc(1,
                                                                                                      sizeof(LimitedRectangularCuboids_t));
    if (limited_rectangular_cuboids == NULL) {
      perror("calloc() failed");
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    int i;
    for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {       RectangularCuboid_t *tmp_rectangular_cuboid = (RectangularCuboid_t *) calloc(1, sizeof(RectangularCuboid_t));       if (tmp_rectangular_cuboid == NULL) {         perror("calloc() failed");         exit(EXIT_FAILURE);       }       tmp_rectangular_cuboid->depth = i;
      tmp_rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.height = i * 11;
      tmp_rectangular_cuboid->rectangle.width = i * 101;

      const int result = asn_set_add(limited_rectangular_cuboids, tmp_rectangular_cuboid);
      if (result != 0) {
        perror("asn_set_add() failed");
        ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_LimitedRectangularCuboids, limited_rectangular_cuboids);
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
      }
    }

    LimitedRectangularCuboids_t *decoded_limited_rectangular_cuboids = (LimitedRectangularCuboids_t *) encode_and_decode_object(
        &asn_DEF_LimitedRectangularCuboids, limited_rectangular_cuboids);

    if (decoded_limited_rectangular_cuboids != NULL) {
      perror("This test should have failed due to limitation on the size of the list.");
      ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_LimitedRectangularCuboids, limited_rectangular_cuboids);
      ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_LimitedRectangularCuboids, decoded_limited_rectangular_cuboids);
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }
    ASN_STRUCT_FREE(asn_DEF_LimitedRectangularCuboids, limited_rectangular_cuboids);
  }

  printf ("All tests were successful\n");
  return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}

[download id=”2470″]

C/C++: Full example using a linked list with custom struct

 in C / C++  tagged append / C/C++ / C++ / linked list / prepend / struct by

The following code is an example that presents some basic functionality on simply linked lists. Specifically, it presents how to add an element to an empty list and then how to add more elements either to the start (prepend) or to the end (append) of the list.

[download id=”2444″]

We assume that our structure holds an integer and a dynamically created string, which we free after pop.

[download id=”2444″]

 

Source file (list_helpers.c)

#include <malloc.h>
#include "list_helpers.h"

void append(node_t **head, element_t *element) {

  struct node_t *new = malloc(sizeof(node_t));
  new->element = element;
  new->next = NULL;

  if (*head == NULL) {
    *head = new;
    return;
  }

  struct node_t *current = *head;

  while (current->next != NULL) {
    current = current->next;
  }

  current->next = new;
  return;
}

void prepend(node_t **head, element_t *element) {
  struct node_t *new = malloc(sizeof(node_t));

  new->element = element;
  new->next = *head;
  *head = new;
}

element_t *pop(node_t **head) {

  node_t *next = NULL;

  if (*head == NULL) {
    return NULL;
  }

  next = (*head)->next;
  element_t *element = (*head)->element;
  free(*head);
  *head = next;

  return element;
}

void clear(node_t **head) {
  element_t *current = pop(head);
  while (current != NULL) {
    free(current->username);
    free(current);
    current = pop(head);
  }
}

Header file (list_helpers.h)

#ifndef GM_S_LITTLE_HELPERS_LIST_HELPERS_H
#define GM_S_LITTLE_HELPERS_LIST_HELPERS_H

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif

typedef struct element_t element_t;
struct element_t {
  //We add random members to the element struct for the sake of the example
  char *username;
  unsigned int server;
};

typedef struct node_t node_t;
struct node_t {
  element_t *element;
  node_t *next;
};

void append(node_t **head, element_t *element);

void prepend(node_t **head, element_t *element);

element_t *pop(node_t **head);

void clear(node_t **head);

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif

#endif //GM_S_LITTLE_HELPERS_LIST_HELPERS_H

Usage example (main.cpp)

#include <iostream>
#include "list_helpers.h"

element_t *create_user(const unsigned int server, const char *username) {

  element_t *user = (element_t *) malloc(sizeof(element_t));
  user->server = server;

  //For the sake of the example we used snprintf.
  //Upon successful return, snprintf returns the number of characters printed (excluding the null byte used to end output to strings).
  //For that reason we add one at the end of the length.
  const int length = snprintf(NULL, 0, "%s", username) + 1;
  user->username = (char *) malloc((sizeof(char) * length));
  snprintf(user->username, (size_t) length, "%s", username);
  return user;
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {

  node_t *head = NULL;

  //Add the first element to the linked list
  append(&head, create_user(10, "xeirwn"));

  //Add the second element to the end of the linked list
  append(&head, create_user(12, "test"));

  //Add the third element to the end of the linked list
  append(&head, create_user(14, "banana"));

  //Add the fourth element to the beginning of the linked list
  prepend(&head, create_user(8, "apple"));

  //Popping each one to process it and then free it
  //Clearing the list
  element_t *current = pop(&head);
  while (current != NULL) {

    printf("%s\t%u\n", current->username, current->server);
    free(current->username);
    free(current);
    current = pop(&head);
  }

  //Safely clear the list. In this specific scenario it will have 0 side effects as the list was cleared above
  clear(&head);
  return 0;
}

[download id=”2444″]

C/C++: Full example of using C code in a C++ project

 in C / C++  tagged C/C++ / C++ / extern by

The following set of code present a fully functioning example of using a simple C library as part of a CPP based project to print on screen.

[download id=”2434″]

The trick relies on encapsulating the C header definitions in the extern "C" declaration. extern "C" will make all function and variable names in C++ have C linkage. What this means at the compiler level is that the compiler will not modify the names so that the C code can link to them and use them using a C compatible header file containing just the declarations of your functions and variables.

[download id=”2434″]

main.c

#include "cpp_library.h"
#include "c_library.h"

extern "C" void c_hello_world();

int main() {

    cpp_hello_world();
    c_hello_world();
    return 0;
}

cpp_library.h

#ifndef CPP_BASE_CPP_LIBRARY_H
#define CPP_BASE_CPP_LIBRARY_H

void cpp_hello_world();

#endif //CPP_BASE_CPP_LIBRARY_H

cpp_library.cpp

#include <iostream>
#include "cpp_library.h"

void cpp_hello_world() {

    std::cout << "Hello, World!" << std::endl;
}

c_library.h

#ifndef CPP_BASE_C_LIBRARY_H
#define CPP_BASE_C_LIBRARY_H

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif

void c_hello_world();

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif

#endif //CPP_BASE_C_LIBRARY_H

c_library.c

#include <stdio.h>
#include "c_library.h"

void c_hello_world() {

    printf("Hello, World!\n");
}

CMakeLists.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.6)
project(CPP_Base)

set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -std=c++11")

set(SOURCE_FILES main.cpp cpp_library.cpp cpp_library.h c_library.c c_library.h)
add_executable(CPP_Base ${SOURCE_FILES})

[download id=”2434″]

C/C++: Full example of using C++ code in a C project

 in C / C++  tagged C/C++ / C++ / extern by

The following set of code present a fully functioning example of using a simple CPP library as part of a C based project to print on screen.

[download id=”2428″]

The trick relies on encapsulating the CPP header definitions in the extern "C" declaration. extern "C" will make all function and variable names in C++ have C linkage. What this means at the compiler level is that the compiler will not modify the names so that the C code can link to them and use them using a C compatible header file containing just the declarations of your functions and variables.

[download id=”2428″]

 

main.c

#include "cpp_library.h"
#include "c_library.h"

int main() {

    cpp_hello_world();
    c_hello_world();
    return 0;
}

cpp_library.h

#ifndef C_BASE_CPP_LIBRARY_H
#define C_BASE_CPP_LIBRARY_H

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif

void cpp_hello_world();

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif

#endif //C_BASE_CPP_LIBRARY_H

cpp_library.cpp

#include <iostream>
#include "cpp_library.h"

void cpp_hello_world() {

    std::cout << "Hello, World!" << std::endl;
}

c_library.h

#ifndef C_BASE_C_LIBRARY_H
#define C_BASE_C_LIBRARY_H

void c_hello_world();

#endif //C_BASE_C_LIBRARY_H

c_library.c

#include <stdio.h>
#include "c_library.h"

void c_hello_world() {

    printf("Hello, World!\n");
}

CMakeLists.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.6)
project(C_Base)

set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -std=c++11")

set(SOURCE_FILES main.c cpp_library.cpp cpp_library.h c_library.c c_library.h)
add_executable(C_Base ${SOURCE_FILES})

[download id=”2428″]