Possible Scope Problem

Why am I having a problem with scope here. The record count is zero after the loop? BTW this is a code slice. Also if I use a static integer I get a proper record count, but I'm not sure why I would have to bother with a static counter since the structure is defined outside of the loop.

Code:

---

       
int main()
{
        FILE *fptr;
        counter_t counter = {0,0,1,1,NULL};
        strcpy( counter.date, GetSystemDate() );

while( (buffer = GetRecord(fptr) ) != NULL)
        {
                counter.rec_count += 1;
                //Break up COBOL datafile record for each salesman
                GetCobolRecord(buffer,unedited_rec);
                //build C style linked list out of extracted members
                AddNode(&first,unedited_rec, key);
        }
        fclose(fptr); //close input file

        printf("%d",counter.rec_count); exit(1);
}

---

Very strange. The variable should retain it's value...can't see the innerworkings of the functions, but, again, the scope looks fine.

Is in your original code the file opened? In the code you've posted, you are using the filepointer and closing the file. But it's not opened.

I guess the function GetRecord returns NULL imediately. A good method of debugging your program is putting printf's in the code.
I suggest you put a printf inside the loop, if this printf is never printed, then GetRecord returns NULL imediately.

Just another note. Don't use exit at the end of the main-function, but return. Some people use exit when something fatal has occurred. But it is always possible to avoid the use of exit, it's just like goto.

How is counter_t declared?

Quote:

---

How is counter_t declared?

---

Code:

---

typedef struct
{
        int rec_count;
                  //....
}counter_t;

---

Wait, there is nothing wrong with my code, the file pointer or anything like that. I know that it all works. It's just that I can't get this counter to work. Everything else works.

> counter_t counter = {0,0,1,1,NULL};
This suggests to me that .date is a char*, not a char []

> strcpy( counter.date, GetSystemDate() );
Which means this is simply broken in the absence of more information.

To detect the possibility that it is a memory overrun problem, try this

Code:

---

typedef struct {
    char low_guard[10];
    // rest of structure members
    int rec_count;
    //....
    char high_guard[10];
}counter_t;

---

Initialise the guards to some pattern, and check it survives the loop.

There is not enough information in this code snippet to find out what is wrong. For example:

What does 'GetRecord' do? Where does it get the record too?
Where is 'unedited_rec' declared?

You're obviously leaving something out here.

Quzah.

Actually Salem did figure out the problem. There is an overrun and indeed I had mistakenly used a char date[9] instead of a char *. After I used the high and low buffers I was getting the number of records. Just trying to track down the over run now.

The reason why I accidently used char date[9] is because I've been making a lot of changes to this damn code!

Okay, I found the over-run. Thanks.