How to Handle Access Violation in C++

1. Resolve Access Violation by Dynamic Memory Allocation in C++
2. Resolve Access Violation by Creating an Object of the Class in C++

Access violation, also known as segmentation fault, means that your C++ program tried to access a memory that was not reserved in the scope. This tutorial will teach you how to solve the access violation error in C++.

Violating the norms of accessing a location without a proper invitation or access, understanding, or ignoring the different entities of C++ can lead to access violation errors. You can use dynamic memory or create a valid object of the target class to fix the access violation errors in C++.

Resolve Access Violation by Dynamic Memory Allocation in C++

The creation of the target class pointer is important to access the class member functions so that the programmers can use this method by allocating dynamic memory. Understand the following C++ code compilation and execution to understand how this method works to get the desired output.

Forgetting to set the pointer in the constructor, not initializing all variables at declaration, and read/write access authorization are common reasons behind these errors. It’s hard to recover from an Access Violation exception because catching it is a very bad idea.

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

class dynamicMemory {
 public:
  void outputPrint() {
    cout << "Dynamic memory allocated successfully!" << endl;
  }
};

int main() {
  // object of the `dynamicMemory` class
  dynamicMemory *accTest = new dynamicMemory;
  accTest->outputPrint();
  return 0;
}

Output:

Dynamic memory allocated successfully!

Sometimes, developers misunderstand exceeding the bounds of an array as a valid cause for access violation; however, because the incremented pointer is accessing stack space, it won’t cause any segmentation fault or violation.

Access violation error can be caused by accessing memory that does not belong to that particular user or C++ program; for example, when a program tries to do a read/write operation in a read-only location in memory.

It is hard to find the reason behind this error which leads to difficulty in finding the pointer or target class that caused the error on a line of code.

There can be different types of access violation errors, including; read-access-violation, read access violation on linked list, and Exception is thrown: read access violation. ** Right data** was 0x4 in C++.

Resolve Access Violation by Creating an Object of the Class in C++

The object creation of the target class is an alternative approach to solving access violation errors in C++. You can use a valid class object to make the whole process more efficient, enabling you to access the member functions of the target class.

This newly created class object enables you to use the . operator to access its member functions. This particular change in your program can solve access violation or segmentation fault errors associated with your code to compile it successfully to get the desired output.

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

class dynamicMemory {
 public:
  void outputPrint() {
    cout << "A valid object of the target class is created successfully!"
         << endl;
  }
};

int main() {
  dynamicMemory accTest;
  accTest.outputPrint();
  return 0;
}

Output:

A valid object of the target class is created successfully!

As access violation is an error indicating memory corruption, modifying a string literal, accessing an address that is freed, accessing out of array index bounds, dereferencing the uninitialized pointer, and the improper use of cin >> can be primary reasons behind its occurrence.

It can be a challenging error to resolve; however, the access violation error reflects nothing but the consequences of your carelessness or careless mistakes.

This tutorial gives an in-detail understanding of the access violation error and how to solve it by utilizing different programming practices. In the end, this learning will enable you to avoid access violation errors while writing your C++ programs.