Thread: Using an instance of a struct in one .c file in another .c file

main.c

Code:

#include "myHeaders.h"

 int main(void)
{
    printf("Hello World!", struct1.myInt);
}

myHeaders.h

Code:

extern struct myStruct;

struct myStruct{
    int myInt;
};

myFuncs.c

Code:

#include "myHeaders.h"

struct myStruct struct1;

Compiler complains, in main.c, that "struct1 is undeclared (first use in this function)."

This makes no sense. Ofcourse its declared. Its declared in the header file. The header file is in turn included in main.

Whats wrong?

"struct myStruct" is a type; you can't extern a type.

Perhaps you were thinking more along the lines of this:

Code:

/* -- myheaders.h --------------------------*/
#ifndef MYHEADERS_H
#define MYHEADERS_H

struct myStruct{
    int myInt;
};

#endif  /* MYHEADERS_H */


/* -- myheaders.c --------------------------*/
#include "myheaders.h"

struct myStruct struct1 = { 4 };


/* -- main.c -------------------------------*/
#include <stdio.h>
#include "myheaders.h"

extern struct myStruct struct1;

int main(void)
{
    printf("%d\n", struct1.myInt);

    return 0;
}

Note how the struct is declared in the .c file, not the header.

Thanks - so you're saying to use it I have to extern the instance and not the type to make the instance visible throughout. That makes sense...

But in your main.c I would take the

extern struct myStruct struct1;

out and into the header file instead. My project works easier like that. Or is that not good practice? Its a declaration and declarations should stay in the header. Thoughts?

It's actually a definition (as well as a declaration), so it should be in a source (not header) file. So yes, it is not good practice to have in your header file.

Okay. I think what I meant was if it was

extern struct myStruct;

then it would be a declaration and would stay in the header. But because its instantiated

extern struct myStruct struct1;

then it goes to the .c file. Is my interpretation correct?

As was already mentioned, "extern struct myStruct" is meaningless since you can't "extern" a type.

And "extern struct myStruct struct1" doesn't "instantiate" anything. It just makes struct1 available for use in that source file. It could actually go in the header file. Matticus was saying that the instantiation (definition)

Code:

struct myStruct struct1 = { 4 };

needs to go in a source file.
It could actually go in the source file with main instead of it's own source file.
It just has to be in one and only one source file in the project.