MISRA C:2012 Rule 18.3

The relational operators >, >=, < and <= shall not be applied to expressions of pointer type except where they point into the same object

Description

Rule Definition

The relational operators >, >=, <, and <= shall not be applied to expressions of pointer type except where they point into the same object¹ .

Rationale

If two pointers do not point to the same object, comparisons between the pointers produces undefined behavior.

You can address the element beyond the end of an array, but you cannot access this element.

Polyspace Implementation

Polyspace^® reports a violation of this rule when you compare pointers that are null or that point to elements in different arrays. The relational operators for the comparison are >, <, >=, and <=.

If one of the pointers in the comparison operation is unknown to Polyspace in the current analysis, a violation of this rule is not reported. For example, in this code, Polyspace cannot determine the underlying objects of arg_ptr and temp:

extern int *getPtr();
void foo(int *arg_ptr) {
	int diff, diff2;
	int c_str[50];
	int *temp = getPtr();

	if(c_str < arg_ptr) {/**/} //No violation
	if(c_str < tmp) {/**/} //No violation
}

The comparison involving these pointers are not reported as violations of this rule.

Troubleshooting

If you expect a rule violation but do not see it, refer to Diagnose Why Coding Standard Violations Do Not Appear as Expected.

Examples

Pointer and Array Comparisons

void f1(void){
    int arr1[10];
    int arr2[10];
    int *ptr1 = arr1;

    if(ptr1 < arr2){}    /* Non-compliant */
    if(ptr1 < arr1){}    /* Compliant */
}

In this example, ptr1 is a pointer to arr1. To be compliant with rule 18.3, you can compare only ptr1 with arr1. Therefore, the comparison between ptr1 and arr2 is noncompliant.

Structure Comparisons

struct limits{
  int lower_bound;
  int upper_bound;
};

void func2(void){
    struct limits lim_1 = { 2, 5 };
    struct limits lim_2 = { 10, 5 };

    if(&lim_1.lower_bound <= &lim_2.upper_bound){}  /* Non-compliant *
    if(&lim_1.lower_bound <= &lim_1.upper_bound){}  /* Compliant */
}

This example defines two limits structures, lim1 and lim2, and compares the elements. To be compliant with rule 18.3, you can compare only the structure elements within a structure. The first comparison compares the lower_bound of lim1 and the upper_bound of lim2. This comparison is noncompliant because the lim_1.lower_bound and lim_2.upper_bound are elements of two different structures.

Check Information

Group: Pointers and Arrays

Category: Required

AGC Category: Required

Version History

R2024b: Rule Applies to Expressions

Following MISRA C:2012 Amendment 4, the rule now applies to expressions of pointer type instead of objects of pointer type. The rule definition is changed to "The relational operators >, >=, < and <= shall not be applied to expressions of pointer type except where they point into the same object".

R2023a: Pointer comparison involving outputs of stubbed function no longer ignored

Polyspace reports violations of this rule even if you use the output of a stubbed function to perform a pointer comparison operation. For instance, in this code, the pointer ptr is returned by the function get_ptr():

int32_t *ptr = get_ptr ( );
int32_t a1[ 10 ];
int32_t *p1 = &a1[ 1 ];
int32_t diff = ptr - p1;   //Noncompliant

Because the function get_ptr() lacks a body, Polyspace treats it as a stubbed function. Polyspace no longer ignores pointer arithmetic operations when one of the operands is the output of the stubbed function. In this case, because get_ptr() is called before p1 is declared, the pointers ptr and p1 cannot point to the same array. Polyspace reports a violation.