Error: expected declaration specifiers or '...' before '{' token

Question

I've been trying to learn C from a book called C Programming Absolute Beginner's Guide and I have come across a problem and the one bad thing is you can't ask a book a question! Typed the error into Google and it brought me to this site. The error I'm getting is in the question title and this is my code.

#include <stdio.h>

 main(

{

 //Set up the variables, as well as define a few

    char firstInitial, middleInitial;
    int number_of_pencils;
    int number_of_notebooks;
    float pencils = 0.23;
    float notebooks = 2.89;
    float lunchbox = 4.99;


    //The information for the first child
    firstInitial = 'J';
    middleInitial = 'R';

    number_of_pencils = 7;
    number_of_notebooks = 4;

    printf("%c%c needs %d pencils, %d notebooks, and 1 lunchbox\n",
        firstInitial, middleInitial,number_of_pencils,
        number_of_notebooks);
    printf("The total cost is £%.2f\n\n", number_of_pencils*pencils + number_of_notebooks*notebooks + lunchbox);

    //The information for the second child
    firstInitial ='A';
    middleInitial = 'J';

    number_of_pencils = 10;
    number_of_notebooks = 3;

    printf("%c%c needs %d pencils, %d notebooks, and 1 lunchbox\n",
        firstInitial, middleInitial,number_of_pencils,
        number_of_notebooks);
    printf("The total cost is £%.2f\n\n", number_of_pencils*pencills
        + number_of_notebooks*notebooks + lunchbox);

    //The information for the third child
    firstInitial = 'M';
    middleInitial = 'T';

    number_of_pencils = 9;
    number_of_notebooks = 2;

    printf("%c%c needs %d pencils, %d notebooks, and 1 lunchbox\n",
        firstInitial, middleInitial,number_of_pencils,
        number_of_notebooks);
    printf("The total cost is £%.2f\n",
        number_of_pencils8pencils + number_of_notebooks*notebooks + lunchbox);

        return0;
}

)

What's wrong with this code?

Answer 1

Your main() function starts:

main(
{

and ends:

}
)

This is wrong. It should be:

int main(void)
{
    …body of function…
}

The void is optional. The return type is not optional in modern C (the C89/C90 standard allowed it to be optional; C99 and later requires it; you should program as if it is required even if your compiler doesn't insist on it). The correct return type is int (but see What should main return in C and C++? for the full details).

Also, as Rizier123 pointed out, have return0; at the end of main(); that should be return 0;.

I've not compiled the code to see what other errors there are, but the mishandling of parentheses and braces was the cause of the initial error.

Answer 2

Your main function is not good.The compiler says it.

It should look like

main()
{
....
}

Instead of

main(
{
...
}
)