deallocate memory from deleted node in Linked list

Question

I am having a problem with memory leaking when I remove a node and I would appreciate some with some sort of work arround so that I wont leak when I remove element. BTW, if I just deallocate the linked list I am not leaking anything. Only when using the function to remove element.

This is how i call the functions:

remove_element(&head, create_node(input));
insert_sorted(&head, create_node(input));

Here are the main functions for this opperation:

struct link_list* create_node(char *input)
    {
    
        link_list* node = malloc(sizeof(tstr_node));
        if (node == NULL)
        {
            exit(FAIL);
        }
        strcpy(node->data, input);
        if (node->data== NULL)
        {
            exit(FAIL);
        }
        node->next = NULL;
        return node;
    }
    
int remove_element(link_list**head, link_list* node)
{
    struct link_list *curr, *previous;
    curr = *head;
    previous = *head;

    if(*head == NULL)
    {
        printf("List is already empty\n");
        return FAIL;
    }
    else if(strcmp((char*)curr, (char*)node->data)==0)
    {
        *head = curr->next;
        free(curr);
    }
    else
    {
        while(strcmp((char*)curr, (char*)node->data)!=0)
        {
            previous = curr;
            curr = curr->next;
        }
        previous->next = curr->next;
        free(curr);
    }
    return SUCCES;
}

int insert_sorted(link_list ** head, link_list * node)
{
    link_list * curr;

    if(*head == NULL || strcmp(((*head)->data), node->data) > 0)
    {
        node->next = *head;
        *head = node;
        return SUCCES;
    }
    else
    {
        curr = *head;
        while( curr->next != NULL && strcmp(curr->next->data,node->data) < 0)
        {
            curr = curr->next;
        }
        node->next = curr->next;
        curr->next = node;
        return SUCCES;
    }
    return FAIL;
}

void deallocate(link_list** head)
{
    link_list* curr = *head;
    while(curr != NULL)
    {
        curr = curr->next;
        free(*head);
        *head = curr;
    }
}

Answer 1

You're leaking the node that you created with create_node(input).

Simplest would be to change remove_element so it just takes the data string as the second argument, rather than a node. But if you can't do that, you need to assign this temporary node to a variable so you can free it.

link_list *temp = create_node(input);
remove_element(&head, temp);
free(temp);