namealloc.3alc - Man Page

hash table for strings

Synopsis

#include "mut.h"
char ∗namealloc(inputname)
char ∗inputname;

Parameter

inputname

Pointer to a string of characters

Description

The namealloc function creates a dictionary of names in mbk. It warranties equality on characters string if the pointers to these strings are equal, at strcmp(3) meaning. This means also that there is a single memory address for a given string.
The case of the letters do not matter. All names are changed to lower case before being introduced in the symbol table. This is needed because most of the file format do not check case.
namealloc is used by all mbk utility function using names, so its use should be needed only when directly filling or modifying the structure, or when having to compare an external string to mbk internal ones. This should speed up string comparisons.
One shall never modify the contains of a string pointed to by a result of namealloc, since all the field that points to this name would have there values modified, and that there is no chance that the new hash code will be the same as the old one, so pointer comparison would be meaningless. All string used by namealloc are constants string, and therefore must be left alone.

Return Value

namealloc returns a string pointer. If the inputname is already in the hash table, then its internal pointer is returned, else a new entry is created, and then the new pointer returned.

Example

#include "mut.h"
#include "mlo.h"
lofig_list ∗find_fig(name)
char ∗name;
{
lofig_list ∗p;
	name = namealloc(name);
	for (p = HEAD_LOFIG; p; p = p->NEXT)
		if (p->NAME == name) /∗ pointer equality ∗/
			return p;
	return NULL;
}

Diagnostics

namealloc can be used only after a call to mbkenv(3).

See Also

mbk(1).

Referenced By

concatname.3alc(3), namefind.3alc(3), nameindex.3alc(3).

October 1, 1997 ASIM/LIP6 MBK UTILITY FUNCTIONS