Compiler warnings - sscanf - function or variable may be unsafe

[pappde]

STEPS:

1. load in VS
2. compile
3. observe warnings about sscanf

EXPECTED:
no warnings

NOTES:
The exact warning

...\src\bmai.cpp(3344): warning C4996: 'sscanf': This function or variable may be unsafe. Consider using sscanf_s instead. To disable deprecation, use _CRT_SECURE_NO_WARNINGS. See online help for details.

Example code:
''''
else if (sscanf(line, "ply %d %d", &param, &param2)==2)
''''

The code looks safe and sscanf() isn't really deprecated, so not a priority.

[danlangford]

It should also be noted that sscanf_s may be Microsoft specific and may break the current cross platform build

[pappde]

Yes, it looks like it is. Need to look at this and determine if the use is safe, and the warning can be disabled, or if the warning is warranted, in which case case we can just define a wrapper for other platfforms.

Need to determine what is the proper #ifdef to indicate running under the microsoft compiler

[danlangford]

I did some research (don’t have links handy) that showed you cannot just ifdef sscanf_s for sscanf. Different parameters. But one resource suggested the “right” way is to avoid scanf and use iostreams? Or std::string? or std::stringstream ? 🤷‍♂️

[pappde]

The signature is the same, so a #ifdef...#define should work. If the parameters were not the same, we could just define a wrapper method (i.e. implement "sscanf_s()" for other platforms). I did a quick test and simply replacing sscanf() with sscanf_s() works, however, it doesn't like this one line:

else if (sscanf_s(line, "debug %32s %d" ,&sparam,&param)==2)

src\bmai.cpp(3984): warning C4477: 'sscanf_s' : format string '%32s' requires an argument of type 'unsigned int', but variadic argument 2 has type 'INT *'

That warning looks wrong.

Also, still need to identify the proper "#ifdef" for this compile environment.

[danlangford]

I found some clues in this dated article https://www.gamedev.net/forums/topic/564260-sscanf_s-in-linux-ubuntu/ may not even be relevant anymore