Embedding data into code

When working in Windows, you can easily read data from a text file. But when you deploy your code to custom hardware with an operating system that does not have text file reading and parsing functions, it will be easier to embed data in file to arrays in code.

When data is large like Geoid Height Data (721*1440 elements), you cannot embed it into a header file. If you do and try to build in Visual Studio, the build might hang. You have to embed data into a cpp file and expose it in header via extern keyword.

To use two dimensional (2D) data in a function you can use the following example:

	//Send one and two dimensional arrays to a function.
	#include<stdio.h>
	//Function to find max in 1D or 2D arrays
	double findMax(const double *vals, const size_t nRow, const size_t nCol) {
	double maxVal = -1;
	for (size_t iRow = 0; iRow < nRow; iRow++) {
	for (size_t iCol = 0; iCol < nCol; iCol++) {
	double currentVal = *(vals + iRow * nCol + iCol);
	if (currentVal > maxVal) {
	maxVal = currentVal;
	}
	}
	}
	return maxVal;
	}
	int main() {
	const double vals1D[] = { 1, 5, 7, 9, 3 };
	printf("maxVal1D = %1.1f\n", findMax(vals1D, 5, 1));
	const double vals2D[][2] = { {1, 3}, {9, 3}, {11, 4} };
	printf("maxVal2D = %1.1f\n", findMax(*vals2D, 3, 2));
	printf("Press enter...\n");
	getchar();
	}

view raw sendTwoDimArrayToFunction.cpp hosted with ❤ by GitHub