This discussion focuses on implementing a dynamic circular chasing pointer array of integers using C programming. The proposed solution utilizes a fixed-size array with a maximum capacity of 1024 integers, employing pointers for efficient element insertion and retrieval. Key functions include PutElement, GetElement, and PeekElement, which manage the circular behavior of the array. Mutexes are recommended for multi-tasking scenarios to ensure thread safety during operations.
Software developers, particularly those working with C programming, embedded systems engineers, and anyone interested in implementing efficient data structures for real-time applications.
// for multi-tasking, a common mutex should be used in these functions
// if there's no need for overflow checking, iNumElements can be removed,
// and an empty array is indicated when pGet == pPut
// if PutElement returns a 1, the array just went from empty to non-empty.
#define MAXSIZE 1024 // up to 1024 integers
static int aIntegers[MAXSIZE];
static constant int *pBase = &aIntegers[0];
static constant int *pEnd = &aIntegers[MAXSIZE];
static int *pPut = &aIntegers[0];
static int *pGet = &aIntegers[0];
static int iNumElements = 0;
int PutElement(int iElement)
{
if(iNumElements == MAXSIZE) // prevent overflow, caller code should check this
return;
*pPut++ = iElement
if(pPut >= pEnd)
pPut = pBase;
iNumElements += 1;
return(iNumElements);
}
int GetElement(void)
{
int iValue;
if(iNumElements == 0) // return 0 if empty array, calling code should do this check
return(0);
iNumElements -= 1;
iValue = *pGet++;
if(pGet >= pEnd)
pGet = pBase;
return(iValue);
}
int PeekElement(void)
{
if(iNumElements == 0) // return 0 if empty array, calling code should do this check
return(0);
return(*pGet);
}