Thread: Defining functions below int main() - Best practices?

Originally Posted by slingerland3g

True, yet from time to time in analyzing code I do see separate header files for just declarations only, the modularity of such an implementation of header file madness I am not sure on.

I do not see how that is "header file madness"; it is typical for forward declarations to go into header files, and perhaps the necessary classes have already been defined.

Originally Posted by abachler

There is nothing wrong with having a void return type. Windows and Linux generally prefer that you return int though. When coding for microcontrollers it is generally bad to return type int, as stack and ram space are at a premium and you should generally avoid frivolous reservations, like the space it takes to represent return 0 versus return. 4 bytes may not seem like much, unless you are dealing with 2k of ram.

This might actually point to a minor inconsistency in the C++ Standard: the wording is such that one can interpret the requirement for the global main function to return int as pertaining to freestanding environments as well, even though it is also clearly stated that "start-up and termination is implementation-defined".

Programmer_P;

Code:

int lolwat();

int main()
{
	lolwat();
	return 13;
}

int lolwat()
{
	// ... ten pages worth of code.
}

That just save you from having to scroll through ten pages of code to find main, when all you might want to do is see the program flow real fast (which becomes a frustrating ordeal when you have to scroll through ten pages of code to find main).

Obviously I exaggerated intentionally, since it usually requires blinding contrast to make subtle points clear.

*You might argue that it's less useful, but others would disagree. Should programming features be modified for you? Nah. That's why it's there, because some consider it useful, and some do not. All options satisfied! It really shouldn't need to be argued further, there's pros and cons to everything, and what applies is relative to purpose and context.