undefined reference to `main' error in gcc 4.7 - c

Question

I created a program in C and I tried to compile it. When I use my gcc 4.8.1 compiler in Widows everything worked and my program too.
I compiled with the following arguments:
gcc -std=c99 -O2 -DCONTEST -s -static -lm children.c
But in linux I getting the following error:
/usr/lib/gcc/i486-linux-gnu/4.7/../../../i386-linux-gnu/crt1.o: In function `_start':
(.text+0x18): undefined reference to `main'
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
Why is that? My programm is working and I can't understand why I getting compiling errors in linux.
My code is:
/*---------------------*/
/* included files */
/*---------------------*/
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
/*---------------------*/
/* defined constants */
/* for restriction */
/*---------------------*/
#define MIN 1
#define MAX 1000000
#define IOERROR 5 // 'Input/Output Error'
/*---------------------*/
/* function prototypes */
/*---------------------*/
int main();
FILE *read_input(const char *filename_r);
int count_children(FILE *input);
int pass_heights(FILE *input, int *children, int size);
int check_tall(const int *children, int size);
void write_output(const int total,const char *filename_w);
/*---------------------*/
/* start of program */
/*---------------------*/
int main() {
const char *filename_r = "xxx.in";
const char *filename_w = "xxx.out";
FILE *input = read_input(filename_r);
int size = count_children(input);
int *children = malloc(size * sizeof *children);
if (children==NULL)
exit(1); //General application error
pass_heights(input, children, size);
fclose(input);
int total = check_tall(children, size);
free(children);
write_output(total,filename_w);
return 0;
}
FILE *read_input(const char *filename_r) {
FILE *input = fopen(filename_r, "r");
if(input == NULL)
exit(IOERROR);
return input;
}
int count_children(FILE *input) {
int count = 0;
fscanf(input, "%d",&count);
if(count > MAX || count < MIN)
exit(1); //General application error
return count;
}
int pass_heights(FILE *input, int *children, int size) {
for(int i = 0; i < size; i++)
fscanf(input, "%d",&children[i]);
return *children;
}
int check_tall(const int *children, int size) {
int total = 0;
int tmp_max = 0;
for(int i = size - 1; i >= 0; i--)
{
if(children[i] > tmp_max) {
tmp_max = children[i];
total++;
}
}
return total;
}
void write_output(const int total,const char *filename_w) {
FILE *output = fopen(filename_w, "w");
if(output == NULL)
exit(IOERROR);
fprintf(output, "%d\n", total);
fclose(output);
}

Answer 1

You used -static option, which modifies the way executable is linked.
I was unable to reproduce your exact error message, but on my Linux it says that it is unable to link with -lc in static mode, and under my OSX it says that it is unable to locate -lcrt0.o. For me in both case, this means that the system is unable to locate the static stub.
If you remove -static it should work. If not, your problem is very strange.

Answer 2

The error you show indicates the linker is not finding the main() function in your code. As it is evident that you have included it in the source file, it is also evident you are not compiling with that command line (or you are compiling in other directory where you have a non-main() source called children.c, perhaps the build system makes a touch children.c if it doesn't find the source, and then compiles it --on that case it will not have a main() routine). Check that the files are properly created and where, as I think you aren't compiling that file anyway.
Try to use simple options before you go to more complicated ones. Try something like:
gcc -std=c99 -o children children.c
before trying to experiment with optimization or static linking anyway. Also, dynamic linking is normally better than static, so you'll get smaller executables (8Kb vs. 800Kb, and multiple copies of libc loaded per executable). Also, you don't need to include -lm as you aren't using any of the <math.h> functions (having it doesn't hurt anyway).
I have compiled your source with the following command line without any problem, but I do have support for statically linked executables and perhaps you don't (the command line I have put above would work in any linux, I suppose)
$ make CC='gcc' CFLAGS='-std=c99 -O2 -DCONTEST' LDFLAGS='-s -static -lm' children
gcc -std=c99 -O2 -DCONTEST -s -static -lm children.c -o children
children.c: In function ‘pass_heights’:
children.c:81:11: warning: ignoring return value of ‘fscanf’, declared with attribute warn_unused_result [-Wunused-result]
children.c: In function ‘count_children’:
children.c:69:11: warning: ignoring return value of ‘fscanf’, declared with attribute warn_unused_result [-Wunused-result]