struct not yet defined...[newb]

[zguL]

I have created a file.h that contains a struct (Cards) and it compiles well, but when I create another file that includes my .h file (#include deck.h) the compiler complains about my struct is not yet defined! I'm using dev-c++ version 4, the two files are in a project.dev. Keep in mind, I'm a newb let's just say this is kind of my first program.

code:

//deck.h

#ifndef _CARDS_
#define _CARDS_
#include <iostream>
struct Cards {

  private:

  float value; //2-14
  float colorvalue; //1=red,2=black
  float suitvalue; //1=hearts,2=diamonds,3=clubs,4=spades

  public:

  Cards(float a_value, float a_colorvalue, float a_suitvalue) {
    value = a_value; colorvalue = a_colorvalue; suitvalue = a_suitvalue;
  }
  inline void dispCard() const {
      switch(suitvalue) {
        case 1: cout << "Hearts of ";
                        break;
        case 2: cout << "Diamonds of ";
                        break;
        case 3: cout << "Clubs of ";
                        break;
        case 4: cout << "Spades of ";
                        break;
      }
};

const Cards card[52] = {Cards(2, 1, 1), Cards(3, 1, 1), Cards(4, 1, 1),
      Cards(5, 1, 1), Cards(6, 1, 1), Cards(7, 1, 1), Cards(8, 1, 1),
      Cards(9, 1, 1), Cards(10, 1, 1), Cards(11, 1, 1), Cards(12, 1, 1),
      Cards(13, 1, 1), Cards(14, 1, 1),

      Cards(2, 1, 2), Cards(3, 1, 2), Cards(4, 1, 2), Cards(5, 1, 2),
      Cards(6, 1, 2), Cards(7, 1, 2), Cards(8, 1, 2), Cards(9, 1, 2),
      Cards(10, 1, 2), Cards(11, 1, 2), Cards(12, 1, 2), Cards(13, 1, 2),
      Cards(14, 1, 2),

      Cards(2, 2, 3), Cards(3, 2, 3), Cards(4, 2, 3), Cards(5, 2, 3),
      Cards(6, 2, 3), Cards(7, 2, 3), Cards(8, 2, 3), Cards(9, 2, 3),
      Cards(10, 2, 3), Cards(11, 2, 3), Cards(12, 2, 3), Cards(13, 2, 3),
      Cards(14, 2, 3),

      Cards(2, 2, 4), Cards(3, 2, 4), Cards(4, 2, 4), Cards(5, 2, 4),
      Cards(6, 2, 4), Cards(7, 2, 4), Cards(8, 2, 4), Cards(9, 2, 4),
      Cards(10, 2, 4), Cards(11, 2, 4), Cards(12, 2, 4), Cards(13, 2, 4),
      Cards(14, 2, 4)};

#endif

//main.cpp
#include "deck.h"
int main() {

system("PAUSE");
return 0;
}

[bennyandthejets]

1. _CARDS_ should not be used at the top. Underscore-capital constants are reserved. Use something like cardsH instead.

2. Hmmm. I can't see why it wouldn't work. Change 'struct' to 'class' and give it a shot.

EDIT:
3. You should also add "using namespace std;" after #include <iostream>. That should have triggered errors, because cout wouldn't be defined.

EDIT:
4. When I tried to compile the code in VS.NET, I had beef with the opening curly brace here:

const Cards card[52] = {Cards(2, 1, 1),

And that was all that flagged an error. What compiler are you using, and what are all the errors you got?
EDIT:
5. Found the problem. Unmatched braces. Add one more here:

       case 4: cout << "Spades of ";
                        break;
      }
  }//<------New brace
};

6. Why are you using floats here?

  float value; //2-14
  float colorvalue; //1=red,2=black
  float suitvalue; //1=hearts,2=diamonds,3=clubs,4=spades

You should be using ints.
7. Mine now compiles fine.

[zguL]

THANK YOU!
thanks for taking your time! It works fine now.
I also changed the floats to ints (don't know why I had floats )

[bennyandthejets]

My pleasure. Brace mismatches are very tricky, because compilers never seem to give you enough information to find them. What could help is better indenting. Make sure you are very strict with your indents, keeping pairs of braces at the same indent.

[zguL]

yeah I noticed they can be tricky, thanks for the tips.