correct C function usage

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005, Ido M. Tamir wrote:

Hello,
I am not sure if I am interfacing with C correctly and _safely_
or if there is a better way esp. with regards to terminating
the "returned" array.

You need to pass the length to the C routine and check you do not
overwrite it.  (As in the parts you -snip-ed below.)

testFillC <- function(a){
 .C("testFill", as.integer(a), newvalues=integer(length(a)),
endposition=integer(1))
}

What do testFillC(1) or testFillC(logical(0)) do?

Thats undefined - probably a segmentation fault. 

Thank you very much for your answers.

I was trying to cut down my actual function so readers could focus
on what I was seeing as the main problem: terminating the array.
I was hoping that somebody would tell me that I only have to terminate
the array in the C function somehow and the R part would recognize
that automagically - and no more passing lengths explicitly around and 
copying arrays up to  length - e.g (ignoring wrong arguments):

void testFill(int *values, int *newvalues ){
         newvalues[0] = 1;
         newvalues[1] = 2;
         newvalues[2] =  '\0';
 }

testTestFill <- function(){
  realfilled <- testFillC( 1:10 ) 
  return(realfilled)
 }

testFillC <- function(a){
 .C("testFill", as.integer(a), newvalues=integer(length(a)))$newvalues
 }

But I tried this and it does not help.

sincerely, 
Ido Tamir