How to assign/bind a known function to a variable? - debugging

I wonder how to make a variable within IDA Pro bound to some function so the next time I double click the variable it will send me to the function.
v1 = this
*v2 = Known-Function
At Some Different location:
char __stdcall ClassA__KnownFunction(ClassA *ClassA, void a2) {
commands.....
}
I know you can set type to int, struct, dword etc. But I am looking for some method to point the variable to already known offset/function in IDA Pro.

Function pointer is merely a variable that holds the address of a function; you cannot treat a variable like a constant. You have two options:
Add the name of the function as a comment (just for the sake of documentation).
Get rid of the variable assignment, hard-code the function address by editing the hex, and then perform the analysis again.

Related

SystemVerilog - How to get the number of enumerated types at compile time

I trying to find a way to get the number of possible enumerations in an enum type at compile time. I need this for initializing a templated class that uses enumerated types.
I am curious if there is a utility function (or system task) that gives this. It would be similar to $size() but for enumerated types. However, I can't seem to find a function for that. After doing a lot of research, it doesn't seem to be possible.
Here is an example I am trying to do:
typedef enum {RANDOM, STICKY, SWEEP} bias_t;
// can be parameterized to pick another enum type at random
class enum_picker #(type T = bias_t); //type must be an enumerated type
local T current_type;
local const int weights[$size(T)]; //<--- How do I get the number of enumerated types?
function T pick_type();
... some code ...
endfunction
endclass
So for the variable weights, it is an array of weights in which its size is the number of enumerated types. Right now it is 32 because of the $size() call but that is wrong; in this particular code example, the array size should be 3.
Is there a way to do this? Or is this simply not allowed in SystemVerilog?
You probably don't want to set up weights as a const; you would not be able to set values into it. You can use the num() method to get the number of enumerations.
class enum_picker #(type T = bias_t); //type must be an enumerated type
local T current_type;
local int weights[];
function new;
weights = new[current_type.num()];
foreach (weights[i]) weights[i] = $urandom_range(10);
endfunction
function T pick_type();
endfunction
endclass

Casting to rvalue reference to "force" a move in a return value - clarification

Ok, I am starting to get the jist of rvalue references (I think). I have this code snippet that I was writing:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
std::string get_string()
{
std::string str{"here is your string\n"};
return std::move(str); // <----- cast here?
}
int main ()
{
std::string my_string = std::move(get_string()); // <----- or cast here?
std::cout << my_string;
return 0;
}
So I have a simple example where I have a function that returns a copy of a string. I have read that its bad (and got the core-dumps to prove it!) to return any reference to a local temp variable so I have discounted trying that.
In the assignment in main() I don't want to copy-construct that string I want to move-construct/assign the string to avoid copying the string too much.
Q1: I return a "copy" of the temp var in get_string() - but I have cast the return value to rvalue-red. Is that pointless or is that doing anything useful?
Q2: Assuming Q1's answer is I don't need to do that. Then am I moving the fresh copy of the temp variable into my_string, or am I moving directly the temp variable str into my_string.
Q3: what is the minimum number of copies that you need in order to get a string return value stored into an "external" (in my case in main()) variable, and how do you do that (if I am not already achieving it)?
I return a "copy" of the temp var in get_string() - but I have cast the return value to rvalue-red. Is that pointless or is that doing anything useful?
You don't have to use std::move in that situation, as local variables returned by value are "implicitly moved" for you. There's a special rule in the Standard for this. In this case, your move is pessimizing as it can prevent RVO (clang warns on this).
Q2: Assuming Q1's answer is I don't need to do that. Then am I moving the fresh copy of the temp variable into my_string, or am I moving directly the temp variable str into my_string.
You don't need to std::move the result of calling get_string(). get_string() is a prvalue, which means that the move constructor of my_string will automatically be called (pre-C++17). In C++17 and above, mandatory copy elision will ensure that no moves/copies happen (with prvalues).
Q3: what is the minimum number of copies that you need in order to get a string return value stored into an "external" (in my case in main()) variable, and how do you do that (if I am not already achieving it)?
Depends on the Standard and on whether or not RVO takes place. If RVO takes place, you will have 0 copies and 0 moves. If you're targeting C++17 and initializing from a prvalue, you are guaranteed to have 0 copies and 0 moves. If neither take place, you'll probably have a single move - I don't see why any copy should occur here.
You do not need to use std::move on the return value which is a local variable. The compiler does that for you:
If expression is an lvalue expression that is the (possibly parenthesized) name of an automatic storage duration object declared in the body or as a parameter of the innermost enclosing function or lambda expression, then overload resolution to select the constructor to use for initialization of the returned value is performed twice: first as if expression were an rvalue expression (thus it may select the move constructor), and if no suitable conversion is available, or if the type of the first parameter of the selected constructor is not an rvalue reference to the object's type (possibly cv-qualified), overload resolution is performed a second time, with expression considered as an lvalue (so it may select the copy constructor taking a reference to non-const).

passing pointers

I have this declared above:
char PandaImage[] = "images/panda.png";
SDL_Texture* PandaTexture = nullptr;
I have a function to create textures:
void LoadMedia( SDL_Texture *ThisTexture, char *Image )
{
SDL_Surface* TempSurface = nullptr;
.......................
ThisTexture = SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface( gRenderer, TempSurface );
I call it as:
LoadMedia( PandaTexture, PandaImage );
It builds, logs the image loaded and texture created, but no image
If I hard change the line ( use Panda directly instead of This ):
PandaTexture = SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface( gRenderer, TempSurface );
My image is there.
I have always had trouble with & * and passing.
Is there a good, simple help for me?
Thanks for your kind help - back to Google for now
In short, I think you could solve your problem by changing the function to:
void LoadMedia( SDL_Texture** thisTexture, char* Image)
{
...
(*thisTexture) = SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface( gRenderer, TempSurface);
}
And by calling the function using:
LoadMedia( &PandaTexture, PandaImage);
An explanation:
Variables and Pointers
A variable is used to store data (a primitive or a class instance). For example:
int a = 10;
stores an integer in memory. This means, that symbol 'a' now represents number 10, which is stored somewhere in your computer's memory as 4 bytes.
A pointer is used to store an address (this address points towards a variable). For example:
int* a_address = 1234;
says that there is an integer stored at address 1234 in your computer's memory. A pointer always takes up the same amount of space (4 bytes on a 32 bit machine and 8 bytes on a 64 bit machine), as it simply stores an address.
Getting the Address of a Variable [&]
You will rarely ever set the address of a pointer yourself. Often, pointers are the result of a "new" call. Using "new" reserves memory to store an instance of the class you want to create, and returns the address of the object. In essence, it says: "I created an object for you, and you can find it at this location in your memory".
Alternatively, when you have a normal variable (primitive of class instance), you can find its address by using the & character. For example:
int a = 10;
int* a_address = &a;
says: "store the location of variable a in pointer a_address. Why would you do this? Say you have a very large instance (for example an SDL_Texture consisting of many, many pixels) and you want to pass it to a function (or pass it back outside of the function). If you were to pass it to the function as SDL_Texture thisTexture, you are copying the entire object (a so-called pass by value). This is time consuming. Alternatively, you could simply pass the address to the function, as an SDL_Texture * thisTexture. This is a so called pass by reference, and it is much faster as you can imagine.
Getting the Variable at an Address [*]
Obviously, if you have an address, you also need a way to get the actual variable at that address. This is done using the * character. It is called "dereferencing". For example:
int a = 10;
int* a_address = &a;
int b = (*a_address);
This last line says: "Give me the variable, stored at address a_address, and put it in b".
Function Parameters Going Out-of-scope
When a function ends, its local variables (including parameters) go out-of-scope. This means that their memory is freed (for variables, not for dynamically allocated objects stored as pointers!). Their values will be forgotten. In your case, you are passing an SDL_Texture * as a parameter. This means, a copy is made of the address stored in PandaTexture. This address is copied over to thisTexture. You then write the return value of SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface to thisTexture. Next the function ends, and thisTexture goes out-of-scope. As a result, the location of your SDL_Texture (the SDL_Texture * pointer) is lost forever. You actually want to store the address to pointer PandaTexture, but as you can see, the address is only written to thisTexture.
Solution: How to Fix your Function
We can fix this by passing a pointer, to your pointer called PandaTexture. A "pointer to a pointer" is written as:
SDL_Surface** thisTexture;
We want to pass the address of pointer PandaTexture to this. This way, we can write to PandaTexture from inside your method! After all, we know where PandaTexture stores its pointer in memory, allowing us to change it. To actually put the address of PandaTexture in it, we need to use the & character in the function call as such:
LoadMedia(&PandaTexture, PandaImage);
Next, inside of our function, we want to change the value of PandaTexture. However, we were passed &PandaTexture and not PandaTexture itself. To write the value of &PandaTexture (the address where our texture will be stored), we need dereferencing, as such:
(*thisTexture) = SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface(gRenderer, TempSurface);
This works because: "thisTexture is a pointer to a pointer to an SDL_Texture (aka an SDL_Texture**). By dereferencing it, we obtain a pointer to an SDL_Texture (aka an SDL_Texture*). Here we can store the return value of the SDL_CreateTextureFromSurface function.
Why do we not run into out-of-scope issues here? Parameter thisTexture will still go out of scope, and its value will be forgotten. But! We didn't write to thisTexture, instead we wrote our SDL_Texture * pointer to the address that thisTexture points to! This bit of memory is not cleared due to scoping, so we can view the results from outside the function!
In summary, you can solve your problem using a pointer to a pointer. I hope the above clears up the concepts of pointers, variables, addresses and dereferencing a bit!

Lambda expression in c++, OS X's clang vs GCC

A particular property of c++'s lambda expressions is to capture the variables in the scope in which they are declared. For example I can use a declared and initialized variable c in a lambda function even if 'c' is not sent as an argument, but it's captured by '[ ]':
#include<iostream>
int main ()
{int c=5; [c](int d){std::cout<<c+d<<'\n';}(5);}
The expected output is thus 10. The problem arises when at least 2 variables, one captured and the other sent as an argument, have the same name:
#include<iostream>
int main ()
{int c=5; [c](int c){std::cout<<c<<'\n';}(3);}
I think that the 2011 standard for c++ says that the captured variable has the precedence on the arguments of the lambda expression in case of coincidence of names. In fact compiling the code using GCC 4.8.1 on Linux the output I get is the expected one, 5. If I compile the same code using apple's version of clang compiler (clang-503.0.40, the one which comes with Xcode 5.1.1 on Mac OS X 10.9.4) I get the other answer, 3.
I'm trying to figure why this happens; is it just an apple's compiler bug (if the standard for the language really says that the captured 'c' has the precedence) or something similar? Can this issue be fixed?
EDIT
My teacher sent an email to GCC help desk, and they answered that it's clearly a bug of GCC compiler and to report it to Bugzilla. So Clang's behavior is the correct one!
From my understanding of the c++11 standard's points below:
5.1.2 Lambda expressions
3 The type of the lambda-expression (which is also the type of the closure object) is a unique, unnamed non-union class type — called
the closure type — whose properties are described below.
...
5 The closure type for a lambda-expression has a public inline function call operator (13.5.4) whose parameters and return type are
described by the lambda-expression’s parameter-declaration-clause and
trailing-return-type respectively. This function call operator is
declared const (9.3.1) if and only if the lambda-expression’s
parameter-declaration-clause is not followed by mutable.
...
14 For each entity captured by copy, an unnamed non static data member is declared in the closure type
A lambda expression like this...
int c = 5;
[c](int c){ std::cout << c << '\n'; }
...is roughly equivalent to a class/struct like this:
struct lambda
{
int c; // captured c
void operator()(int c) const
{
std::cout << c << '\n';
}
};
So I would expect the parameter to hide the captured member.
EDIT:
In point 14 from the standard (quoted above) it would seem the data member created from the captured variable is * unnamed *. The mechanism by which is it referenced appears to be independent of the normal identifier lookups:
17 Every id-expression that is an odr-use (3.2) of an entity captured by copy is transformed into an access to the corresponding unnamed data member of the closure type.
It is unclear from my reading of the standard if this transformation should take precedence over parameter symbol lookup.
So perhaps this should be marked as UB (undefined behaviour)?
From the C++11 Standard, 5.1.2 "Lambda expressions" [expr.prim.lambda] #7:
The lambda-expression’s compound-statement yields the function-body (8.4) of the function call operator,
but for purposes of name lookup (3.4), determining the type and value of this (9.3.2) and transforming id-expressions
referring to non-static class members into class member access expressions using (*this) (9.3.1),
the compound-statement is considered in the context of the lambda-expression.
Also, from 3.3.3 "Block scope" [basic.scope.local] #2:
The potential scope of a function parameter name (including one appearing in a lambda-declarator) or of
a function-local predefined variable in a function definition (8.4) begins at its point of declaration.
Names in a capture list are not declarations and therefore do not affect name lookup. The capture list just allows you to use the local variables; it does not introduce their names into the lambda's scope. Example:
int i, j;
int main()
{
int i = 0;
[](){ i; }; // Error: Odr-uses non-static local variable without capturing it
[](){ j; }; // OK
}
So, since the parameters to a lambda are in an inner block scope, and since name lookup is done in the context of the lambda expression (not, say, the generated class), the parameter names indeed hide the variable names in the enclosing function.

Do I need to use std::move again?

For below code, I want to use the std::move to improve the efficiency. I have two functions, the first function uses std::move, and the second function just calls the first function. So, do I need to use std::move again in the function "vector convertToString()"? Why and why not? Thank you.
class Entity_PortBreakMeasure
{
public:
Entity_PortBreakMeasure(){}
int portfolioId;
string portfolioName;
int businessDate;
string assetType;
string currency;
string country;
string industry;
string indicator;
double value;
inline double operator()()
{
return value;
}
static vector<string> convertToString(Entity_PortBreakMeasure& pbm)
{
//PORTFOLIOID INDUSTRY CURRENCY COUNTRY BUSINESSDATE ASSETTYPE INDICATOR VALUE PORTFOLIONAME
vector<string> result;
result.push_back(boost::lexical_cast<string>(pbm.portfolioId));
result.push_back(pbm.industry);
result.push_back(pbm.currency);
result.push_back(pbm.country);
result.push_back(Date(pbm.businessDate).ToString());
result.push_back(pbm.assetType);
result.push_back(pbm.indicator);
result.push_back(boost::lexical_cast<string>(pbm.value));
result.push_back(pbm.portfolioName);
return std::move(result);
}
vector<string> convertToString()
{
return convertToString(*this);
}
move() shouldn't be used for either of these functions.
In the first function, you're returning a local variable. Without move(), most (all?) compilers will perform NRVO and you won't get a copy or a move -- the returned variable will be constructed directly in the returned value for the caller. Even if the compiler is, for some reason, unable to do NRVO, local variables become r-values when used as the argument to a return, so you'll get a move anyway. Using move() here serves only to inhibit NRVO and force the compiler to do a move (or a copy in the event that the move isn't viable).
In the second function, you're returning an r-value already, since the first function returns by value. move() here doesn't add anything but complexity (which might possibly confuse an optimizer into producing suboptimal code or failing to do copy elision).

Resources