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fix: Replace VLAs with std::vector in C++ Huffman Code - #33

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fix-huffman-vla-3341179921368451821
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fix: Replace VLAs with std::vector in C++ Huffman Code#33
tsainez wants to merge 1 commit into
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fix-huffman-vla-3341179921368451821

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@tsainez

@tsainez tsainez commented Jul 14, 2026

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This pull request replaces the non-standard C-style Variable Length Arrays (VLAs) in c++/huffmanCodes.cpp with standard std::vector<int>.

The author of the code noted that the previous array initialization (int arr[n];) caused segmentation faults. This is because dynamically allocating variable-length arrays on the stack is not standard C++ and can lead to stack overflows or compiler issues depending on the extensions supported by the compiler used.

Changes made:

  • Replaced int arr[n] and int bits[n] with std::vector<int> arr(n) and std::vector<int> bits(n).
  • Updated function signatures huffmanEncode, traverse, and printBits to use const std::vector<int>& where applicable to avoid unnecessary copies while providing the array data to helper functions.
  • Removed outdated and incorrect array-size logic (sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0])).
  • Changed int j to size_t j in the loop condition in main to address signed/unsigned comparison warnings against .size().

Tested locally by providing an input set and verifying output encoded binaries remain correct.


PR created automatically by Jules for task 3341179921368451821 started by @tsainez

The huffmanCodes.cpp script previously used C-style Variable Length
Arrays (VLAs), which are non-standard in C++ and can cause segfaults
or undefined behavior. This commit replaces those VLAs with memory-safe
std::vector<int> implementations. Function signatures were updated to
take std::vector references instead of pointers, and outdated size
calculations have been removed. Additionally, resolved signed/unsigned
comparison warnings in the output loops.

Co-authored-by: tsainez <13399044+tsainez@users.noreply.github.com>
@google-labs-jules

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