return 0; question???

[aosterminal]

On the first programs I compiled, like this:

#include <stdio.h>


int main()
{
    printf("Hello world!\n");
    getchar();
    return(0);
}

there is a return function. However in this program I just compiled:

#include <stdio.h>


int main()
{
    int x;
    for (x = 0; x < 100; x++){
    printf("%d\n", x);
    }
    getchar();
}

there is not a return function (is return a "function?") to tell the program that it completed successfully, and as I type this I'm thinking it's because the second program is a loop? Did I just answer my own question?

Thank you! haha

[laserlight]

is return a "function?"

No, it is a keyword used to implement return statements. Consequently, you may write return 0; instead of return(0);

there is not a return function (...) to tell the program that it completed successfully, and as I type this I'm thinking it's because the second program is a loop? Did I just answer my own question?

No, the loop is not relevant here. You declared main as returning an int, so it should be expected for you to return an int value. Returning 0 means success here. If you are compiling with respect to the 1999 edition of the C standard (or later), the lack of a return statement for the main function (as a special case) means return 0; at the end.

[grumpy]

No, you did not come close to answering your own question.

Firstly, return is not a function. It is a keyword that, when used in a statement, causes the function to end, and return any value specified to the caller of the function. "return 0;" is the same as "return (0);" (for a function that returns int).

Second, your second function is not a loop. It contains a variable definition, a loop construct, and a subsequent statement calling getchar(). However, the main() function receives special consideration in the C standard: if control reaches the end of main() (i.e. the closing curly brace) without a return statement, the effect is the same as if a "return 0;" statement had been placed immediately before the end of the function. Such things do not happen with other functions: falling off the end of any non-void function other than main() causes the value received by the caller to be undefined.