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Thinking in C++
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Variable declaration syntax

The meaning attributed to the phrase “variable declaration” has historically been confusing and contradictory, and it’s important that you understand the correct definition so you can read code properly. A variable declaration tells the compiler what a variable looks like. It says, “I know you haven’t seen this name before, but I promise it exists someplace, and it’s a variable of X type.”

In a function declaration, you give a type (the return value), the function name, the argument list, and a semicolon. That’s enough for the compiler to figure out that it’s a declaration and what the function should look like. By inference, a variable declaration might be a type followed by a name. For example:

int a;

could declare the variable a as an integer, using the logic above. Here’s the conflict: there is enough information in the code above for the compiler to create space for an integer called a, and that’s what happens. To resolve this dilemma, a keyword was necessary for C and C++ to say “This is only a declaration; it’s defined elsewhere.” The keyword is extern. It can mean the definition is external to the file, or that the definition occurs later in the file.

Declaring a variable without defining it means using the extern keyword before a description of the variable, like this:

extern int a;

extern can also apply to function declarations. For func1( ), it looks like this:

extern int func1(int length, int width);

This statement is equivalent to the previous func1( ) declarations. Since there is no function body, the compiler must treat it as a function declaration rather than a function definition. The extern keyword is thus superfluous and optional for function declarations. It is probably unfortunate that the designers of C did not require the use of extern for function declarations; it would have been more consistent and less confusing (but would have required more typing, which probably explains the decision).

Here are some more examples of declarations:

//: C02:Declare.cpp
// Declaration & definition examples
extern int i; // Declaration without definition
extern float f(float); // Function declaration

float b;  // Declaration & definition
float f(float a) {  // Definition
  return a + 1.0;
}

int i; // Definition
int h(int x) { // Declaration & definition
  return x + 1;
}

int main() {
  b = 1.0;
  i = 2;
  f(b);
  h(i);
} ///:~

In the function declarations, the argument identifiers are optional. In the definitions, they are required (the identifiers are required only in C, not C++).

Thinking in C++
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   Reproduced courtesy of Bruce Eckel, MindView, Inc. Design by Interspire