CODEWITHSUNDEEP
cfunction
user3826752
user3826752

Reputation: 53

What does getint (int *) mean?

getint (int *);

I am not really sure what does getint (int *) mean? Can someone explain this?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2778

Answers (3)

alk
alk

Reputation: 70931

This is a function prototype declaring the function getint(). The function takes as pointer to an int as a parameter.

When prototyping a function it is not necessary to specify the parameters' names.

The prototype is missing a return type, which for C then defaults to int. Omiting a return type however is violating the recent C standard, so code doing so could be considered invalid.

An equivalent to 

getint(int *);

though would be

int getint(int * pi);

Upvotes: 3

Lundin
Lundin

Reputation: 213799

The code is not valid C. If it compiles, consider upgrading to a compiler which is not older than 15 years.

History lesson:

In older, obsolete versions of the C standard you were allowed to omit the return type when writing a function declaration, in which case getint(int *); would mean the same thing as int getint(int *);, because if you specified no return type it would default to int. It was however bad practice to do so even back in 1990.

Upvotes: 1

Sourav Ghosh
Sourav Ghosh

Reputation: 134326

TL;DR getint (int *); is a forward declaration for a function, in a very bad programming style. Without any explicit return type, it will default to int.

The recommended way to write is is to specify the return type explicitly, like

  • if int, like

    int getint(int *);  //yes, omitting the identifier name is correct, see note below

    or, 

    int getint(int * outVar);    //we can have the name, if we want.

  • if void, like

    void getint(int *);

    or, 

    void getint(int * outVar);

or any return type you want.

NOTE:

Just for further reference, from C11, chapter §6.7.6.3, Function declarators, (emphasis mine)

If, in the declaration 'T D1', D1 has the form

D( parameter-type-list )

...

A parameter type list specifies the types of, and may declare identifiers for, the parameters of the function.

So, the identifier name is optional.

Upvotes: 2

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