C program compiled with cygwin in Windows works, segmentation fault under Linux. Is cygwin GCC 'bad'?

Question

For my Programming 102 class we are asked to deliver C code that compiles and runs under Linux. I don\'t have enough spare space on my hard drive to install Linux alongside Wind

Answer 1

A segmentation fault means that you tried to access memory you couldn't, which usually means you tried dereferencing a null pointer or you double-deleted memory or got a wild pointer. There's two reasons why you might have appeared to be fine on cygwin and not on Linux: either it was an issue with the memory managers, or you got more lucky on one of them than the other. It is almost certainly an error with your code.

To fix this, look at your pointer use. Consider substituting smart pointers for raw pointers. Consider doing a search for delete and zeroing the pointer immediately afterwards (it's safe to try to delete a null pointer). If you can get a crack at Linux, try getting a stack trace through gdb and see if there's anything obviously wrong at the line it happens. Examine how you use all pointers that aren't initialized. If you have access to a memory debugging tool, use it.