'error ";" expected' when initialising multiple structs - c

I have typdef'd a struct, and immediately below this I've simultaneously declared and initialised the variables I want using the typedef'd struct.
When I try to compile the code, there are no error messages relating to 'hi_aud', but the rest of the structs bring up the error 'error: ";" expected'. The array also brings up this warning, plus 'error: "}" expected'.
I'm using Hi-Tech C compiler v., which uses the C90 ANSI C standard.
/* Due to C90, do not change order of vars in struct or else code will explode
*/
typedef struct alarm {
const uint_fast32_t pattern[];
const uint_fast8_t size;
void (*toggle)(void);
void (*off)(void);
bool on;
bool init;
uint_fast8_t pos;
uint_fast16_t start;
uint_fast8_t overflows;
};
static struct alarm hi_aud {
[108, 27, 108, 20, 108, 12, 108, 5],
sizeof(hi_aud.pattern) / sizeof(*hi_aud.pattern),
&sounder_toggle,
&sounder_off,
};
static struct alarm med_aud {
[255, 50, 50, 255],
sizeof(med_aud.pattern) / sizeof(*med_aud.pattern),
&sounder_toggle,
&sounder_off,
};
static struct alarm lo_aud {
[255],
sizeof(lo_aud.pattern) / sizeof(*lo_aud.pattern),
&sounder_toggle,
&sounder_off,
};
static struct alarm hi_vis {
[255],
sizeof(hi_vis.pattern) / sizeof(*hi_vis.pattern),
&hi_vis_toggle,
&hi_vis_off;
};
static struct alarm med_vis {
[255],
sizeof(med_vis.pattern) / sizeof(*med_vis.pattern),
&med_vis_toggle,
&med_vis_off,
};
static struct *alarms = {&hi_aud, &med_aud, &lo_aud, &hi_vis, &lo_vis};
static uint_fast8_t alarms_siz = sizeof(alarms) / sizeof(*alarms);
edit When I use the '{}' brackets to initialise the array, another error "error: no identifier in declaration" comes up. This does not happen when I use the '[]' brackets.

Inside a strcut's defintion the elements' defintions are separated by ; not be ,. not the issue :}
Prior to C99 the initialiser list may not end by ,.confused by C99 change for enums. Ending it with a ; is always wrong. And there needs to be a = between the variable and its initialiser.
To initialise a struct's array member use curly braces ({}), not brackets ([]).
const uint_fast32_t pattern[]; is not a complete array definition.
Use const uint_fast32_t pattern[MAX_SOMETHING]; instead.

The proper way to initialize an array is with curly-brackets, not square brackets:
static struct alarm hi_aud = {
{108, 27, 108, 20, 108, 12, 108, 5}, /* Initialize "pattern") */
sizeof(hi_aud.pattern) / sizeof(*hi_aud.pattern), /* Initialize "size" */
Assuming you already declared struct alarm properly (and you didn't quite get it, because you missed the second part of the typedef):
Your code is:
static - This variable will have file-local scope.
struct alarm - The type of the variable.
hi_aud - The name of the variable
{...} - The structure initializers
You should also have an = between your variable at the structure initializers.
Addendum:
As others have pointed out, your code is a mess.
You did not complete a typedef.
You seem to be using variable length arrays in a language which does not support them
Your VLAs are in the middle of a structure which has a comment that says the structure may "explode".
In initializing structures, you're missing an = sign
You are not initializing arrays properly.
Your array sizes are all different.
You have trailing commas and misplaced semi colons, etc, etc.
In general, Write a TINY amount of code first, compile it, debug it.
Then add on a little bit more, compile it and debug it.
Repeat.
Do NOT write several pages of junk, then look on in wonder as it doesn't work.
Towards that end, lets fix your first typedef:
Typedef works with 2-elements, The TYPE, and the new NAME for the type:
typedef {existing element} {new name};
You only put in the first half.
You want:
typedef struct alarm { /* All the structure elements */ } alarm_t;
This makes a new type alarm_t.
After that, you tried to make the first element of the structure an array of undefined size. C allows flexible array members, but ONLY as the very last element of a struct, and those are tricky to use. So I'm going to make your array a fixed size:
typedef struct alarm {
const uint_fast32_t pattern[10]; /* Fixed Size */
const uint_fast8_t size;
void (*toggle)(void);
void (*off)(void);
bool on;
bool init;
uint_fast8_t pos;
uint_fast16_t start;
uint_fast8_t overflows;
} alarm_t;

The syntax for typedef for a struct is:
struct <optional struct name> {
struct fields...
} <typedef name>;
You haven't supplied any typedef name.

Related

How to access enum defined within a struct in C program

I am new to the C language and struggling with how to access enum's within a struct.
My code is the following:
bankHeader.h File
struct bankAcct{
int amount;
enum typeOfAcc{chck = 0, saving = 1};
int balance;
}
bank.c File
#include <stdio.h>
#include "bankHeader.h"
struct bankAcct test;
test.amount=100;
// I want to be able to get the value within my typeOfAcc
// example something like test.typeOfAcct = "chck" should return 0;
I reviewed some of the forms but I dont see anything that was easy to understand or worked.
If the enum is meant to be local to the struct, use an anonymous enum:
struct bankAcct{
int amount;
enum {chck = 0, saving = 1} type_of_acct;
int balance;
};
You could also put a tagged enum inside the struct:
struct bankAcct{
int amount;
enum typeOfAcc {chck = 0, saving = 1} type_of_acct;
//^this misleadingly puts `enum typeOfAcc` in filescope
int balance;
};
but a tagged (as opposed to an anonymous one) inner definition of an enum (or struct or union) will be hoisted. In effect, the latter snippet is just a confusing way of doing:
enum typeOfAcc {chck = 0, saving = 1};
struct bankAcct{
int amount;
enum typeOfAcc type_of_acct;
int balance;
};
Note that as peter-reinstate-monica points out in his comment below, the chck and saving constants will be "hoisted" regardless of whether or not you choose to use an anonymous embedded enum type.
Every field in your struct declaration is in the form
type fieldName;
With
enum typeOfAcc{chck = 0, saving = 1};
you have specified the type... but not the field name. That's just like defining a structure in this way
struct foo {
int;
}
So, basically, what you need is a field name:
struct bankAcct{
int amount;
enum typeOfAcc{chck = 0, saving = 1} type;
int balance;
}
You will be able to access it with
struct bankAcct var;
printf("%d\n", var.type);
Addendum
I would not recommend defining an enumeration inside a struct, first of all for readability reasons. Another reason might be incompatibility with C++: I wasn't able to compile an example C++ code in which the symbols of the inner enum were accessed. The following assignment
struct bankAcct var;
var.type = chck;
raised an error on gpp because the symbol chck could not be referenced outside the struct definition scope. Even assigning an integer to the enum field lead the compiler to complain, and I could not even perform the casting
b.type = (enum typeOfAcc) 1;
because an error was raised: the enum typeOfAcc wasn't be accessible as well.
But in C these assignments would be ok, and both enum tags and constant identifiers (named and anonymous) would be "reachable". As explained in C specification 6.2.1§4, the scope of an identifier outside any code block is the whole translation unit:
Every other identifier has scope determined by the placement of its declaration (in a declarator or type specifier). If the declarator or type specifier that declares the identifier appears outside of any block or list of parameters, the identifier has file scope, which terminates at the end of the translation unit.
Just for completeness, after saying where the scope ends, we must say where the scope begins (C specification 6.2.1§7):
Structure, union, and enumeration tags have scope that begins just after the appearance of the tag in a type specifier that declares the tag. Each enumeration constant has scope that begins just after the appearance of its defining enumerator in an enumerator list. Any other identifier has scope that begins just after the completion of its declarator.
You should declare the enum type outside the structure, then declare a member variable with that type.
typedef enum {
chck = 0,
saving = 1
} accountType;
struct bankAcct{
int amount;
accountType typeOfAcc ;
int balance;
}

Use of macros in array definition in C

I am new to C and using it to program a Nordic nrf52 chip. I believe my problem is a general C one though rather than application.
I am setting up an array of structs using macros predefined in the chip SDK. Using those macros in the array initialisation works, but doing element by element does not.
So, the following works:
nrf_twi_mngr_transfer_t transfers_1[2] = { \
NRF_TWI_MNGR_WRITE(MSBARO5X_0_ADDR , &reg_addr[1], 1, NRF_TWI_MNGR_NO_STOP), \
NRF_TWI_MNGR_READ (MSBARO5X_0_ADDR , &p_buffer[0], sizeof(p_buffer), 0)
};
Where:
typedef struct {
uint8_t * p_data; ///< Pointer to the buffer holding the data.
uint8_t length; ///< Number of bytes to transfer.
uint8_t operation; ///< Device address combined with transfer direction.
uint8_t flags; ///< Transfer flags (see #ref NRF_TWI_MNGR_NO_STOP).
} nrf_twi_mngr_transfer_t;
NRF_TWI_WRITE and _READ are macros that use further macros, for example:
#define NRF_TWI_MNGR_WRITE(address, p_data, length, flags) \
NRF_TWI_MNGR_TRANSFER(NRF_TWI_MNGR_WRITE_OP(address), p_data, length, flags)
which uses
#define NRF_TWI_MNGR_WRITE_OP(address) (((address) << 1) | 0)
and
#define NRF_TWI_MNGR_TRANSFER(_operation, _p_data, _length, _flags) \
{ \
.p_data = (uint8_t *)(_p_data), \
.length = _length, \
.operation = _operation, \
.flags = _flags \
}
What I want to do is change individual items in this array, for example:
transfers_1[0] = NRF_TWI_MNGR_WRITE(MSBARO5X_0_ADDR , &reg_addr[1], 1, NRF_TWI_MNGR_NO_STOP);
However when I do that, I get the error "expected an expression".
MSBARO5X_0_ADDR is also defined in a define statement:
#define MSBARO5X_0_ADDR 0x76
If I replace this in any of the above code with a variable, I get the same "expected an expression" error. I suspect the two problems I have are due to the same lack of understanding on my part. SO forgive me for combining the two in a single post.
So the questions are:
-Why am I getting this error?
-Is it possible to change individual items in my array, and if so how?
-Is it possible to use a variable in place of the MSBARO5X_ADDR, and if so how?
Many thanks!
Ultimately, the macro expands into a brace enclosed initializer. Such a thing is not an expression, so it cannot be used as the right hand side of plain assignment (assignment and initialization are different things). It will work as part of a larger initializer, but not the way you try to use it unmodified.
But all is not lost. The syntax of the initializer implies c99 support. So we can use a trick. Structure objects can be assigned to eachother. So we need only obtain an object from somewhere. We can use a compound literal in order to create said object:
transfers_1[0] = (nrf_twi_mngr_transfer_t)NRF_TWI_MNGR_WRITE(/*Your arguments*/);
If you define the value of a structure the moment you declare it, the compiler will infer the type of the structure from the declaration. So this here will compile:
struct coordinates {
int x;
int y;
};
struct coordinates origin = { 10, 20 }; // This is OK
But if you assign a value to a previously declared variable, the compiler cannot infer its type. This code won't compile:
struct coordinates origin;
origin = { 10, 20 }; // ERROR! The type of the rvalue is unknown!
The type is unknown, because two structures are not equivalent in C just because they have the same members. E.g. this is legal in C:
struct coordinates {
int x;
int y;
};
struct dayOfYear {
int day;
int month;
};
Now what would { 5, 8 } be? The coordinates (5/8) or the 5th of August? It could be both. All that he compiler knows is that it is a struct of type { int, int }. Yet this does not define a type in C. The following is possible in some languages but it's not possible in C:
struct dayOfYear date = { 2, 3 };
struct coordinates cords = date; // ERROR!
Despite the fact that both structures are of type { int, int }, for the compiler struct dayOfYear and struct coordinates are two completely distinct and unrelated data types.
If you want to declare a hardcoded struct value, you need to tell the compiler what kind of struct that is:
struct coordinates origin;
origin = (struct coordinates){ 10, 20 }; // This is OK
Your NRF_TWI_MNGR_TRANSFER defines a hardcoded struct but only when you use that in a definition the compiler knows the type. If you try to use it as an assignment, you need to cast to the correct type.
transfers_1[0] = (nrf_twi_mngr_transfer_t)NRF_TWI_MNGR_WRITE(MSBARO5X_0_ADDR , &reg_addr[1], 1, NRF_TWI_MNGR_NO_STOP);
Which is not really a cast, even though it has the same syntax. In fact this is just telling the compiler how to interpret the following data.

How do I initialize a const struct with a union in C

I've been trying to solve this problem for hours now. Although I found some similar questions, it just won't work.
I have a union within a struct. Now I want to initialize a const variable of this struct.
struct length
{
int minutes;
int seconds;
};
typedef struct article
{
char name[MAXLENGTH_A]
double price;
char type;
union size
{
int pages;
struct length blength;
} bsize
} art;
Now I want to initialize a const variable of this struct. I read somewhere that the following should work, but it doesn't. I always get the errors:
C2224: The operand to the left of '.pages' is not a class, structure, or union and
C2078: To many Initializers
const art book = {"Title", 24.99, NORMAL, { .pages = 50}};
I know that this example could be solved easier. But my real problem is, to initialize the 2nd element of the union, like this:
const art book = {"Title", 24.99, AUDIO, { .blength.seconds = 40}};
Neither the first, nor the second initialization is working.
Can someone tell me how do it right? I'm using C99 btw.
The { .pages = 50} construct is a designated initializer, a C99 feature unsupported by the MS C compiler (which is a C89 compiler, I'm told). This also restricts your ability to initialize unions only via their first member.
I can see these ways around this limitation: use { 50 } to initialize pages. Then forget the const and explicitly initialize .blength.seconds. The effects of const declaring objects are, uhm, overrated :-)
You need to initialise minutes and seconds
You don't need to explicitly specify member names
{"title",24.99,NORMAL,50,40}
Should sort your problem
Key is the members pages and length.minutes occupy the same memory space as its inside a union
Hope it helps

About default C struct values, what about this code?

I'm trying to create structs with default values. I don't know how to accomplish this because every code that I see, is about initialising, and I would it for the natural way like...
struct stuff {
int stuff_a = 1;
int stuff_b = 2...
...and so on...
};
and looking about, I found this (C++) code:
struct a{ a() : i(0), j(0) {}; INT i; INT j;}
I never saw anything like this for C. Please, help me to understand it; I think that it is very nice!
UPDATE: Wait, I'm asking about C!!!! Why changed my question? If that is not possible in C just say... I don't know C++, I didn't know that was about C++...
If you want to set a struct object in one go and you have a C99 compiler, try this:
struct stuff {
int stuff_a;
int stuff_b;
// and so on...
};
struct stuff foo;
/* ... code ... */
foo = (struct stuff){.stuff_b = 42, .stuff_a = -1000};
Otherwise, with a C89 compiler, you have to set each member one by one:
foo.stuff_b = 42;
foo.stuff_a = -1000;
Running example # ideone : http://ideone.com/1QqCB
The original line
struct a{ a() : i(0), j(0) {} INT i; INT j;}
is a syntax error in C.
As you have probably learned from the other answers, in C you can't declare a structure and initialize it's members at the same time. These are different tasks and must be done separately.
There are a few options for initializing member variables of a struct. I'll show a couple of ways below. Right now, let's assume the following struct is defined in the beginning of the file:
struct stuff {
int stuff_a;
int stuff_b;
};
Then on your main() code, imagine that you want to declare a new variable of this type:
struct stuff custom_var;
This is the moment where you must initialize the structure. Seriously, I mean you really really must! Even if you don't want to assign specific values to them, you must at least initialize them to zero. This is mandatory because the OS doesn't guarantee that it will give you a clean memory space to run your application on. Therefore, always initialize your variables to some value (usually 0), including the other default types, such as char, int, float, double, etc...
One way to initialize our struct to zero is through memset():
memset(&custom_var, 0, sizeof(struct stuff));
Another is accessing each member individually:
custom_var.stuff_a = 0;
custom_var.stuff_b = 0;
A third option, which might confuse beginners is when they see the initialization of struct members being done at the moment of the declaration:
struct stuff custom_var = { 1, 2 };
The code above is equivalent to:
struct stuff custom_var;
custom_var.stuff_a = 1;
custom_var.stuff_b = 2;
... create structs with default values ...
That is impossible in C. A type cannot have default values. Objects of any type cannot have a default value other than 0, though they can be initialized to whatever is wanted.
The definition of a struct is a definition of a type, not of an object.
What you asking is about the same thing as a way to have ints default to, say, 42.
/* WRONG CODE -- THIS DOES NOT WORK */
typedef int int42 = 42;
int42 a;
printf("%d\n", a); /* print 42 */
Or, adapting to your example
/* WRONG CODE -- THIS DOES NOT WORK */
struct stuff {
int42 stuff_a;
int65536 stuff_b;
}
struct stuff a;
printf("%d\n", a.stuff_b); /* print 65536 */
Update: This answer assumes we 're talking about C++ because the code posted in the answer is not legal C.
struct a {
a() : i(0), j(0) {} // constructor with initialization list
int i;
int j;
}
The line marked with the comment is simply the constructor for instances of struct a (reminder: structs are just like classes, except that the default member visibility is public instead of private).
The part after the : is called an initialization list: it allows you to initialize the members of the struct with values (either constants or passed as constructor parameters). Initialization of members in this list happens before the body of the constructor is entered. It is preferable to initialize members of classes and structs this way, if at all possible.
See also C++: Constructor versus initializer list in struct/class.
in C (pre C99) the following also works:
#include <stdio.h>
typedef struct
{
int a;
int b;
int c;
} HELLO;
int main()
{
HELLO a = {1,2,3};
printf("here: %d %d %d\n",a.a,a.b,a.c);
exit(1);
}
See codepad
I'm not sure quite sure what your problem is. The standard way of initialising structures in c is like this:
struct a_struct my_struct = {1, 2};
Or the more recent and safer:
struct a_struct my_struct = {.i1 = 1, .i2 = 2};
If there is more than one instance of a structure, or it needs to be re-initialised, it is useful to define a constant structure with default values then assign that.
typedef struct a_struct {
int i1;
int i2;
} sa;
static const sa default_sa = {.i1 = 1, .i2 = 2};
static sa sa1 = default_sa;
static sa sa2 = default_sa;
// obviously you can do it dynamically as well
void use_temp_sa(void)
{
sa temp_sa = default_sa;
temp_sa.i2 = 3;
do_something_with(&temp_sa);
}
// And re-initialise
void reset_sa(sa *my_sa)
{
*my_sa = default_sa;
}
Type initializer is not possible in C.
A value must be stored in the memory.
A type does not occupy memory, what occupies memory is a variable of that type.
struct stuff; is a type; it does not occupy memory
struct stuff aStuff; is a variable of that type; aStuff occupies memory
Because a type does not occupy memory, it is not possible to save values into a type.
If there is syntactic sugar to support store/initialize values into a type then there must be additional code that is inserted to assign values to every instant variables of that type (e.g: in constructor in C++). This will result in a less efficient C if this feature is available.
How often do you need to retain this default values? I think it is unlikely. You can create a function to initialize variable with the default values or just initialize every fields with the values you want. So type initializer is not fundamental thing. C is about simplicity.
Can't initialize values within a structure definition.
I'd suggest:
typedef struct {
int stuff_a;
int stuff_b;
} stuff ;
int stuffInit(int a, int b, stuff *this){
this->stuff_a = a;
this->stuff_b = b;
return 0; /*or an error code, or sometimes '*this', per taste.*/
}
int main(void){
stuff myStuff;
stuffInit(1, 2, &myStuff);
/* dynamic is more commonly seen */
stuff *dynamicStuff;
dynamicStuff = malloc(sizeof(stuff)); /* 'new' stuff */
stuffInit(0, 0, dynamicStuff);
free(dynamicStuff); /* 'delete' stuff */
return 0;
}
Before the days of Object Oriented Programming (C++), we were taught "Abstract Data Types".
The discipline said 'never access your data structures directly, always create a function for it' But this was only enforced by the programmer, instructor, or senior developer, not the language.
Eventually, the structure definition(s) and corresponding functions end up in their own file & header, linked in later, further encapsulating the design.
But those days are gone and replaced with 'Class' and 'Constructor' OOP terminology.
"It's all the same, only the names have changed" - Bon Jovi.

Why can't we initialize members inside a structure?

Why can't we initialize members inside a structure ?
example:
struct s {
int i = 10;
};
If you want to initialize non-static members in struct declaration:
In C++ (not C), structs are almost synonymous to classes and can have members initialized in the constructor.
struct s {
int i;
s(): i(10)
{
}
};
If you want to initialize an instance:
In C or C++:
struct s {
int i;
};
...
struct s s_instance = { 10 };
C99 also has a feature called designated initializers:
struct s {
int i;
};
...
struct s s_instance = {
.i = 10,
};
There is also a GNU C extension which is very similar to C99 designated initializers, but it's better to use something more portable:
struct s s_instance = {
i: 10,
};
The direct answer is because the structure definition declares a type and not a variable that can be initialized. Your example is:
struct s { int i=10; };
This does not declare any variable - it defines a type. To declare a variable, you would add a name between the } and the ;, and then you would initialize it afterwards:
struct s { int i; } t = { 10 };
As Checkers noted, in C99, you can also use designated initializers (which is a wonderful improvement -- one day, C will catch up with the other features that Fortran 66 had for data initialization, primarily repeating initializers a specifiable number of times). With this simple structure, there is no benefit. If you have a structure with, say, 20 members and only needed to initialize one of them (say because you have a flag that indicates that the rest of the structure is, or is not, initialized), it is more useful:
struct s { int i; } t = { .i = 10 };
This notation can also be used to initialize unions, to choose which element of the union is initialized.
Note that in C++ 11, the following declaration is now allowed:
struct s {
int i = 10;
};
This is an old question, but it ranks high in Google and might as well be clarified.
Edit2: This answer was written in 2008 and relates to C++98. The rules for member initialization have changed in subsequent versions of the language.
Edit: The question was originally tagged c++ but the poster said it's regarding c so I re-tagged the question, I'm leaving the answer though...
In C++ a struct is just a class which defaults for public rather than private for members and inheritance.
C++ only allows static const integral members to be initialized inline, other members must be initialized in the constructor, or if the struct is a POD in an initialization list (when declaring the variable).
struct bad {
static int answer = 42; // Error! not const
const char* question = "what is life?"; // Error! not const or integral
};
struct good {
static const int answer = 42; // OK
const char* question;
good()
: question("what is life?") // initialization list
{ }
};
struct pod { // plain old data
int answer;
const char* question;
};
pod p = { 42, "what is life?" };
We can't initialize because when we declared any structure than actually what we do, just inform compiler about their presence i.e no memory allocated for that and if we initialize member with no memory for that. Normally what happens when we initialize any variable that depends on the place where we declared variable compiler allocate memory for that variable.
int a = 10;
if it's auto than in stack memory going to allocate
if it's global than in data sections memory going to allocate
So what memory is required to hold that data but in case of structure no memory is there so not possible to initialize it.
As you said it's just a member not a variable. When you declare a variable the compiler will also provide memory space for those variables where you can put values. In the case a of a struct member the compiler is not giving memory space for it, so you cannot assign values to struct members unless you create a variable of that struct type.

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