Parse Error, expecting `'}''

[p_s_ross]

Hi there

the beginning of my program reads:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
main()
{
int Ca; Ca = 998;
int Cm; Cm = 1617;

and the compiler tells me:

line 6: Parse Error, expecting `'}''
'int Cm'
aborting compile

what is wrong with line 6?

[quzah]

 main()
{
int Ca; Ca = 998;
int Cm; Cm = 1617;

and the compiler tells me:

Multiple problems:

1) Main should take this form:

int main( void )

Or this form:

int main( int argc, char *argv[] )

2) Assign your variables in the declaration, or after all variables have been declared:

int Ca = 998;
int Cm = 1617;

Or the second method:

int Ca;
int Cm;
Ca = 998;
Cm = 1617;

3) You have no closing braces

}

4) Main returns an int, so it should actually end up as:

    return 0;
}

Have fun.

Quzah.

[XSquared]

>>1) Main should take this form:
>>int main( void )
>>Or this form:
>>int main( int argc, char *argv[] )

Not necessarily. main( ) is legal in C, but not in C++.

[quzah]

Originally posted by XSquared
Not necessarily. main( ) is legal in C, but not in C++.

Well technicly, this works also:

int main( int argc, char**argv )

However, according to the standard, unless it has changed in C99, the two forms I listed are what the standard defines.

5.1.2.2.1 Program Startup
....
It shall be defined with a return type of int and with no paramegers:

int main( void ) { /* ... */ }

or with two parameters (referred to here as argc and argv, though any names may be used, as they are local to the function in which they are declared):

int main( int argc, char *argv[]) { /* ... */ }

or equivalent) or in some other implementation-defined manner.

So if you want the standard, you use the equivelant of what I listed; anything else is non-standard, implementation specific.

Quzah.

[XSquared]

Whoops. I was wrong.

[skyglin]

>>int main( int argc, char *argv[] )

ok this is one of the standard, my question is that why do we pass two arguments to the main function, one as an int and one as a pointer to a char array. What are some of their use in the program?

[SourceCode]

argc == arguement count
It counts the arguements at the command line.
Like say to run your program you type
./program then argc would be 1 in your program, if you typed say ./program something then argc would be 2

argv is an array of pointers to the strings you used at the command line. argv stands for arguement vector. So if you typed ./program something argv[0] == "./program" and argv[1] == "something".

You use them so your program can accept command line arguements. That's how programs like cp, ls, etc take arguements at the command line.

Almost forgot, this is a good read, it explains it well and you should have a solid understanding of command line arguements if you work through it and understand all the code presented. It's worth it, goodluck.
http://faq.cprogramming.com/cgi-bin/...&id=1043284392

[skyglin]

thanks. I understand it now.