advanced patterns When Using `malloc` and `memcpy` with Structs in C - Data Corruption guide
I'm trying to figure out This might be a silly question, but I'm working with a data corruption scenario in my C program when trying to copy a struct using `malloc` and `memcpy`. I have a struct defined as follows: ```c typedef struct { int id; char name[50]; float score; } Student; ``` In my main function, I'm allocating memory for a `Student` instance and then using `memcpy` to copy data from another instance. Here's the relevant code snippet: ```c int main() { Student *student1 = malloc(sizeof(Student)); Student student2 = {1, "John Doe", 85.5}; if (student1 == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Memory allocation failed\n"); return 1; } memcpy(student1, &student2, sizeof(Student)); printf("ID: %d, Name: %s, Score: %.2f\n", student1->id, student1->name, student1->score); free(student1); return 0; } ``` When I run the program, I occasionally receive unexpected output for the `name` field, where it prints garbage values instead of "John Doe". The output looks like this: ``` ID: 1, Name: John Doe, Score: 85.50 ``` However, sometimes it shows random characters or, in some cases, even crashes with a segmentation fault. I've ensured that the size of `Student` is consistent between the allocation and the memcpy. I've also checked that `student1` is not NULL before using it. I suspect that the scenario might be related to how memory is being handled, but I need to pinpoint the exact question. I've tried using `strncpy` instead of `memcpy` for the `name` field, but that didn't solve the scenario. Is there a common pitfall I might be missing regarding struct memory management in C? Any insights would be appreciated! What's the best practice here? I'm working on a service that needs to handle this. What's the best practice here? The stack includes C and several other technologies.