c++ elusive segmentation fault

Question

Im working on this bit of code and I keep getting a segmentation fault. For the life of me I cant figure out why, I know a segmentation fault is when you try to follow a null pointer, but the thing is, in my code "u->previous" isnt null, neither is "u", I checked. If I change the condition in the while loop to (u != NULL), it will iterate twice before faulting on "u->isGreen", Once again, I checked every iteration to see if u was null.

int extractOptimalPath() {
    Node *u = nodes[NUM_NODES - 1];

    int i = 0;
    while (u != NULL) {
        cout << i << endl;
        u->isGreen = true;
        u = u->previous;
        i++;
    }
    return 0;
}

"nodes" is an array of pointers to actual Node objects. I know for sure that the "u->previous" exists in my nodes and "isGreen" is initialized to false;

Heres the Node class, in case you want to see that:

class Node {
    public: 
        GLfloat x, y, z;
        int numLinks;
        Node *link1;
        Node *link2;
        GLfloat distance;
        Node *previous;
        bool isGreen;

        Node(GLfloat x, GLfloat y, Node *link1, Node *link2);
        Node(GLfloat x, GLfloat y, Node *link1);
        Node();
        Node(GLfloat x, GLfloat y);
        ~Node();

        bool dijkstra(Node* graph[], Node *source, Node *target); //returns true if a path to target is found
        int dist(Node *n1, Node *n2);
        int extractOptimalPath(Node* graph[]);
};

What could be causing the seg fault?

Answer 1

That error isn't just for null pointers, it is a pointer that points to anything invalid. That can be null, but it can also be memory that was freed.

Answer 2

I don't see a copy constructor in Node, while I see pointers and a destructor. So you violated the Rule of Three.

As a result, if you accidently copy a Node, that copy's destructor will result in effects you see now.

Update: To quickly test for this, add a private copy constructor to your Node class, like this:

class Node {
...

private:
  Node(const Node&);
};

If you get compiler errors now, you are making copies. The compiler will point you to the locations where that happens.