generic programming in C with void pointer

Question

Even though it is possible to write generic code in C using void pointer(generic pointer), I find that it is quite difficult to debug the code since void pointer can take any pointer type without warning from compiler. (e.g function foo() take void pointer which is supposed to be pointer to struct, but compiler won't complain if char array is passed.) What kind of approach/strategy do you all use when using void pointer in C?

Answer 1

The solution is not to use void* unless you really, really have to. The places where a void pointer is actually required are very small: parameters to thread functions, and a handful of others places where you need to pass implementation-specific data through a generic function. In every case, the code that accepts the void* parameter should only accept one data type passed via the void pointer, and the type should be documented in comments and slavishly obeyed by all callers.

Answer 2

Arya's solution can be changed a little to support a variable size:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

void swap(void *vp1,void *vp2,int size)
{
  char buf[size];
  memcpy(buf,vp1,size);
  memcpy(vp1,vp2,size);
  memcpy(vp2,buf,size);  //memcpy ->inbuilt function in std-c
}

int main()
{
  int array1[] = {1, 2, 3};
  int array2[] = {10, 20, 30};
  swap(array1, array2, 3 * sizeof(int));

  int i;
  printf("array1: ");
  for (i = 0; i < 3; i++)
    printf(" %d", array1[i]);
  printf("\n");

  printf("array2: ");
  for (i = 0; i < 3; i++)
    printf(" %d", array2[i]);
  printf("\n");

  return 0;
}