How to correctly assign a pointer returned by dlsym into a variable of function pointer type?

Question

I am trying to use dlopen() and dlsym() in my code and compile it with gcc.

Here is the first file.

/* main.c          


        

Answer 1

you can use union, like this:

union {
    void *ptr;
    void (*init_google_logging) (char* argv0);
} orig_func;

orig_func.ptr = dlsym (RTLD_NEXT, "_ZN6google17InitGoogleLoggingEPKc");

orig_func.init_google_logging (argv0);

Answer 2

The compiler only "tries to help", so you have to use two typecasts:

#include <inttypes.h>

void (*func)() = (void (*)())(intptr_t)dlsym(handle, "func");

Answer 3

The problem here is that a pointer to object is subtly separated from a function pointer. In ISO/IEC 9899:201x paper §6.3.2.3 Pointers it's stated:

1. A pointer to void may be converted to or from a pointer to any object type. A pointer to any object type may be converted to a pointer to void and back again; the result shall compare equal to the original pointer.

.

8. A pointer to a function of one type may be converted to a pointer to a function of another type and back again; the result shall compare equal to the original pointer. If a converted pointer is used to call a function whose type is not compatible with the pointed-to type, the behavior is undefined.

So a function pointer is different from object pointers, and consequently the assignment of a void * to a function pointer is always strictly non compliant.

Anyway, as I said in comments, in 99.9999....9999% of cases it is permitted thanks to the ANNEX J - Portability issues, §J.5.7 Function pointer casts of the previously mentioned paper that states:

1. A pointer to an object or to void may be cast to a pointer to a function, allowing data to be invoked as a function (6.5.4).
2. A pointer to a function may be cast to a pointer to an object or to void, allowing a function to be inspected or modified (for example, by a debugger) (6.5.4).

Now on the practical side a technique that avoid the splitting of code in more files is to use pragmas to suppress pedantic warnings for a small piece of code.
The more brutal form can be:

/* main.c */

#include <dlfcn.h>

#pragma GCC diagnostic push    //Save actual diagnostics state
#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-pedantic"    //Disable pedantic
int main()
{
    void *handle = dlopen("./foo.so", RTLD_NOW);
    if (handle) {
        void (*func)() = dlsym(handle, "func");
        func();
    }
    return 0;
}
#pragma GCC diagnostic pop    //Restore diagnostics state

A more sophisticated way could be actuated isolating the offending code in a small function, then forcing its inlining. It's more a makeup than effective solution, but will suppress the unwanted diagnostic:

/* main.c */

#include <dlfcn.h>

#pragma GCC diagnostic push    //Save actual diagnostics state
#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-pedantic"    //Disable pedantic
void (*)() __attribute__((always_inline)) Assigndlsym(void *handle, char *func)
{
    return dlsym(handle, func);  //The non compliant assignment is done here
}
#pragma GCC diagnostic pop    //Restore diagnostics state

int main()
{
    void *handle = dlopen("./foo.so", RTLD_NOW);
    if (handle) {
        void (*func)() = Assigndlsym(handle, "func"); //Now the assignment is compliant
        func();
    }
    return 0;
}

Answer 4

This made my code sufficiently pedantic:

*(void**)(&func_ptr) = dlsym(handle, "function_name");

(I found it here http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/functions/dlsym.html)

Answer 5

To keep the -pedantic option for your code while having parts of code that are not strictly conforming, separate that code into a separate file with custom warning options.

So, make a function that wraps the dlsym function and returns a function pointer. Put it in a separate file and compile that file without -pedantic.

Answer 6

If you want to be pedantically correct, don't try to resolve the address of a function. Instead, export some kind of structure from the dynamic library:

In the library

struct export_vtable {
   void (*helloworld)(void);
};
struct export_vtable exports = { func };

In the caller

struct export_vtable {
   void (*helloworld)(void);
};

int main() {
   struct export_vtable* imports;
   void *handle = dlopen("./foo.so", RTLD_NOW);

   if (handle) {
        imports = dlsym(handle, "exports");
        if (imports) imports->helloworld();
    }

    return 0;
}

This technique is actually quite common, not for portability -- POSIX guarantees that function pointers can be converted to and from void* -- but because it allows more flexibility.