Makefiles and structures in C - c

Question

EDIT: To try and make things easier for the kind souls trying to help me, here are a couple links that should make things more clear:
Pre-makefile repl
Post-makefile repl
A little background on the assignment: We are supposed to take a program we wrote last week and break up the separate functions into their own files and use a makefile to compile and link and all that stuff. This is my original program (basically, it reads a file of name number and stores them in a struct, then uses the command line arguments to search for a name).
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
struct _data {
char* name;
long number;
};
int SCAN(FILE *(*input)) {
int lines = 0;
char word[50];
long num = 0;
while (1) {
fscanf(*input,"%s %ld",word, &num);
lines++;
if (feof(*input)) break;
}
return lines;
}
struct _data *LOAD(FILE *input, int size) {
char* line = NULL;
size_t len = 0;
int i=0;
rewind(input);
struct _data *book = calloc(size,sizeof(struct _data));
for (i = 0;i<size;i++) {
getline(&line, &len, input);
book[i].name = calloc(len+1,sizeof(char));
strcpy(book[i].name,strtok(line," "));
book[i].number = atoi(strtok(NULL, " "));
}
return book;
}
void SEARCH(struct _data *BlackBook, char *name, int size) {
int i;
for (i=0;i<size;i++) {
if (strcmp(name,BlackBook[i].name) == 0) {
printf("*******************************************\n");
printf("The name was found at the %d entry.\n",i+1);
printf("*******************************************\n");
break;
}
//If we reach the end of the array and name was not found
if (i == size-1) {
printf("*******************************************\n");
printf("The name was NOT found.\n");
printf("*******************************************\n");
}
}
}
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size) {
int i;
for (i=0;i<size;i++){
free(BlackBook[i].name);
}
free(BlackBook);
}
//MAIN DRIVER ===================
int main(int argv, char** argc) {
int size;
char* filename = "hw5.data";
FILE *input = fopen(filename,"r");
size = SCAN(&input);
struct _data *phone_book = LOAD(input,size);
fclose(input);
//Check a name is given. If so, search
if (argv < 2) {
printf("*******************************************\n");
printf("* You must include a name to search for. *\n");
printf("*******************************************\n");
} else {
SEARCH(phone_book, argc[1], size);
}
FREE(phone_book,size);
return 0;
}
When I make my makefile, I can get the SCAN and LOAD functions to work appropriately. But, when I try to put either SEARCH or FREE into their own files, my compiler freaks out and I get warnings like:
In file included from hw6-free.c:1:0:
hw6-free.h:9:18: warning: ‘struct _data’ declared inside parameter list
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size);
^
hw6-free.h:9:18: warning: its scope is only this definition or declaration, which is probably not what you want
hw6-free.c:3:18: warning: ‘struct _data’ declared inside parameter list
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size) {
^
hw6-free.c:3:6: error: conflicting types for ‘FREE’
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size) {
^
In file included from hw6-free.c:1:0:
hw6-free.h:9:6: note: previous declaration of ‘FREE’ was here
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size);
^
hw6-free.c: In function ‘FREE’:
hw6-free.c:6:5: error: invalid use of undefined type ‘struct _data’
free(BlackBook[i].name);
^
hw6-free.c:6:19: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type ‘struct _data’
free(BlackBook[i].name);
^
Makefile:20: recipe for target 'hw6-free.o' failed
make: *** [hw6-free.o] Error 1
And reading through it, it looks like the fact my program takes a struct as an argument is my main problem? My 'post-makefile' program looks like:
#include "hw6-main.h"
int main(int argv, char** argc) {
int size;
char* filename = "hw5.data";
FILE *input = fopen(filename,"r");
size = SCAN(&input);
struct _data *phone_book = LOAD(input,size);
fclose(input);
//Check a name is given. If so, search
if (argv < 2) {
printf("*******************************************\n");
printf("* You must include a name to search for. *\n");
printf("*******************************************\n");
} else {
SEARCH(phone_book, argc[1], size);
}
FREE(phone_book,size);
return 0;
}
And my makefile looks like:
DEP = hw6-scan.o hw6-load.o hw6-search.o hw6-free.o hw6-main.o
HDR = hw6-scan.h hw6-load.h hw6-search.h hw6-free.h hw6-main.h
NAME = output
all: $(NAME)
output: $(DEP) $(HDR)
gcc $(DEP) $(HDR) -o $(NAME)
hw6-scan.o: hw6-scan.c
gcc -c hw6-scan.c
hw6-load.o: hw6-load.c
gcc -c hw6-load.c
hw6-search.o: hw6-search.c
gcc -c hw6-search.c
hw6-free.o: hw6-free.c
gcc -c hw6-free.c
hw6-main.o: hw6-main.c
gcc -c hw6-main.c
clean:
rm *.o *.gch *.out output testfile
As an example, my hw6-free.c and hw6-free.h look like:
#include "hw6-free.h"
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size) {
int i;
for (i=0;i<size;i++){
free(BlackBook[i].name);
}
free(BlackBook);
}
and
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size);
respectively.
And, finally, I defined the struct in the hw6-load.h file, along with a function prototype. Is that also a problem? Should I be defining it elsewhere?
I am SO SORRY for the long post, but I have been working on the for 10 hours and I'm about to throw my computer of a cliff.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP STACK OVERFLOW!

Answer 1

This is an in-depth explanation of the details. It might be a bit too much, but if you keep reading, you may get a much deeper understanding of the language than if you just learn to write code that your compiler is ok with.
You are using your struct before you have declared it. Keep in mind that an #include is just a fancy way of telling your compiler: "Please, paste the contents of this .h file at this spot." The result of this pasting must read like valid code to the compiler.
It is true that the compiler's error message looks a bit weird. It certainly does not say "You used struct _data before you declared it". The reason for this is, that structs are implicitly declared at their first use. So, if you declare a variable with struct foo* bar; and the compiler has never seen a struct foo before, it will immediately consider struct foo as being declared, and a pointer variable to this struct foo of unknown size and shape will be defined. Likewise, when your compiler sees the function declaration
void foo(struct bar *baz);
it sees that it doesn't know a struct bar and implicitly declares one. Because this struct declaration happens inside a function declaration, the resulting type is declared local to the declaration at hand. As such, it is impossible for calling code to pass an argument of the correct type into this function, or even to implement the function in a separate statement. Such a function declaration is always useless. This is what the warning text "its scope is only this definition or declaration, which is probably not what you want" means: The compiler writers knew that such a declaration is bullshit, but it's legal C as far as the standard is concerned, so they compile it, but warn about it.
Ok, let's get to the actual error message. As the compiler tells you, the struct _data was only declared for the function declaration at hand. When your compiler later sees the function implementation, it stumbles across the undeclared struct _data a second time. Again, it implicitly declares a local struct type which is distinct from the previously implicitly declared type. Because those two implicitly declared types are distinct, so are the signatures of the declared functions. However, C mandates that a function can only have one signature, so the compiler produces the error "conflicting types for ‘FREE’".
You can try this out with this simple code:
void foo(struct bar* baz); //warning: local declaration of `struct bar`
void foo(struct bar* baz); //repeated warning + conflicting types error
So, how to fix this?
Simple. Declare your struct before you use it. That way you avoid its implicit declaration. The following code compiles fine:
struct bar; //global declaration of `struct bar`
void foo(struct bar* baz); //`struct bar` is known and the global declaration is used
void foo(struct bar* baz); //same as above, because this uses the same global declaration of `struct bar`, this redeclaration of `foo()` is ok
The declaration of the struct _data belongs into the header file that declares the functions which use struct _data as arguments.
Idiomatic declarations
Usually, types are declared with a typedef. This allows the code to omit the struct keyword when declaring variables. This takes one of two idiomatic forms:
To have a type with public members (pure data, no object in the OO sense), put the struct definition into the header:
typedef struct foo //`struct foo` is declared implicitly here
{ //it is also defined (= inner details are given) right here
int bar; //its member variables are defined
} baz; //this concludes the typedef, giving `struct foo` a second name
//`struct foo` and `baz` are now equivalent.
Usually, the two names will be the same or very similar, so the cleaned definition looks like this:
typedef struct foo {
int bar;
} foo;
//declarations of the functions that use `struct foo`
...
If the type is an object that should keep its data members to itself, the declaration and definitions are split like this:
Inside foo.h:
typedef struct foo foo; //declare that `struct foo` == `foo` exists, but don't give details
//declare the functions working on a `foo`
void foo_bim(foo* me);
void foo_bam(foo* me, ...);
...
Inside foo.c:
#include "foo.h" //so that the compiler may check that the function declarations in the header agree with the implementations in this file
struct foo { //define the size and shape of `struct foo` == `foo`
int bar;
};
//now only this file knows how a `struct foo` actually looks like
//implement the member functions of `foo`
void foo_bim(foo* me) {
...
}
void foo_bam(foo* me, ...) {
...
}
Note that the typedef ... non-struct-name; is purely optional in both cases, and there are quite a few programmers who want to see the struct keyword wherever a struct is used (like a certain Mr. Torvalds). These programmers simply leave off the typedef ... non-struct-name; part, otherwise they use the idioms above in the same way. I have described the full-featured version here, to ensure that you'll not be surprised when you first see the typedef construct.

Answer 2

I'm not sure what you did. But to step back: keep clear in your mind the difference between declarations and definitions. A declaration shows a variable or function signature, but does not create any variables of that type or implement that function. A definition declares a new variable (of some type) or implements a function. A declaration of a type just states that it exists (basically). A definition of a type shows its structure and members.
So, a definition of your type would be:
struct _data {
char* name;
long number;
};
And a declaration of a function would be:
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size);
and a definition of a function would be:
void FREE(struct _data *BlackBook, int size) {
int i;
for (i=0;i<size;i++){
free(BlackBook[i].name);
}
free(BlackBook);
}
So here're the rules:
Only #include header files in other files, never #include source files.
If a type is needed in more than one file, put its definition into a header file and #include that header file in all source files that use the type.
If a function is used in more than one file, put the declaration of that function into a header file and #include that header file in all the source files that use the function, including the source file containing the definition of the function.
If you follow these rules you'll never run into duplicate definitions at link time: you can't have duplicate definitions if you link each source file only one time and no included file contains a definition.
Type declarations can be useful, and breaking some of these rules can be useful, but for the work you're doing that's probably not worth worrying about.

Answer 3

Try to put header of struct declaration at top of files which uses it and be sure you’ve imported the file which contains struct declaration.