How to check if a variable exists

[Chenaldo]

Hi,

I was hoping someone may be able to help me. What I want to do is basically perfrom an if statement to check if a varaible has been declared. If it has, then perform some code, if not don't perform the code.

Now I have tried my best to research this, but all I can find is #ifdef, which only seems to work if you declare a variable as #define.

What I have got is:

• file_a.h (int varname; )
• file_b.c (I DO NOT #include file_a.h)

I can't use #define because this only works if I am using the #ifdef in a file that includes the header file where the variable is declared #define, and in this case I am not.




I want to say in file_b.c:

if (varname exists)
{

Perform code;
}


Is this possible??? Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks
Chenaldo

[quzah]

Why do you need to check to see if a named variable exists? Give an example scenario if you will, because I'm not sure I see the point of this.

Quzah.

[Chenaldo]

Ok, sorry i didn't make that very clear.

What I've got is several main files. Lets call them:

file_1.h + file_1.c
file_2.h + file_2.c
file_3.h + file_3.c


Each file is standalone, meaning no variables overalp into other files. However there is one generic file, lets call it (generic.c + generic.h) that references some variables from the other files externally,

e.g. extern int varname;


There are occasions where a file e.g. file_1.c and file_1.h are not included in the overall program i.e. missing when the code is run.

So I need to have a way of checking to see if variables being referenced externally in generic.h have actaully been declared in file_1.h. If they haven't i.e file_1.h is missing this will not effect generic.h or generic.c because the variables will not be referenced.


Example:

file_1.h:

int varname;

generic.h:

if (varname exists)
{
   extern int varname;
}

int newvariable;

generic.c:

if(varname exists)
{

   newvariable = varname;
}

   other code........

I hope this example makes more sense,

thanks for your help its much appreciated

Chenaldo

[Nyda]

It's not possible to query if a symbol exists or not. (Ok, it is "possible", but not what you want). It doesn't make too much sense for compiled code.

I don't quite understand what you are trying to do either. Your program won't even link if an external does not exists in any of the linked objects. In consequence, you cannot use any runtime code to check for existance. You *will* have to do this with preprocessor commands (which are processed before compilation)

[bithub]

Well in file_1.h you probably have some something to prevent multiple exclusion like:

#ifndef FILE_1_H
#define FILE_1_H

// file_1.h contents

#endif

Then in generic.c you can do:

#ifdef FILE_1_H
    newvariable = varname;
#endif

Another (better) option would be to compile file_1.h and file_1.c into a library, and then link to that library dynamically from generic.c

[andersRson]

Is there any good reason to not include file[1, 2, 3].h in generic.h?
The only way of knowing if a variable is defined externally is to use it - if it's not in the .o/.lib file you link to later, the linker will bail out, if it is there it will link.
This is the kind of stuff header files are used for, maybe use (yet) another header file, where the external var's are declared?

[Salem]

See the code attached
It uses a little bit of magic called tentative definitions

I get these results

$ gcc generic.c && ./a.out
main starts
main ends
$ gcc generic.c file1.c && ./a.out
main starts
Var1=42
main ends
$ gcc generic.c file2.c && ./a.out
main starts
Var2=24
main ends
$ gcc generic.c file1.c file2.c && ./a.out
main starts
Var1=42
Var2=24
main ends

You might want to look at using the -DVAR_EXISTS type of construct on the command line (which creates #define VAR_EXISTS) so you can control what happens from the command line without having to edit files.