Hi, I need some hellp with my code structure.

The way you’re doing it, every time a file includes that .h file, it tries to create a new instance of the lamps[] array.

That’s fine if you only include it once from one file, but as soon as other files need to know about the array or the struct, you either don’t get the definition or you redefine the array.

It gets even more tricky to keep track of it all when files include header files that include other header files.

I’m guessing some compilers just don’t allow that in header files due to those reasons. You might be able to get away with it by adding some compiler flags, but why not just follow the best practices and have code that plays nice everywhere.

phoenixcomm said:

and again in lamps.c

#include "include/landingGear.h"
#include "include/lamps.h"

phoenixcomm said:

and I include it in (lamps.h)

#include "include/landingGear.h"

Because you included landingGear.h in lamps.h you are essentially doing the following in lamps.c:

#include "include/landingGear.h“
#include "include/landingGear.h"
// + other stuff from lamps.h

 ntewinkel then you end up with a mess of unreadable code (toilet roll).  

Hi Cris,

The C++ guru comments equally apply to C. According to this website, the Motor Industry Software Reliability manual also states exactly what is being suggested, and this applies specifically to C programming: 

If you define a variable (which is an object) without static and outside of a function, in a header file, then to adhere to that rule, you'd also need an extern declaration in a header file too, i.e. you'd need to #include another header file in the header file! Currently your code does not do that either, but it wouldn't be a good way anyway.

In contrast, the more normal approach which meets that rule, is to define in a C file and then to #include a file containing extern where needed.

Just as an idea, if you don't mind uploading your files (it doesn't have to be all of them if you don't wish to, it can be just the relevant ones) I can make the changes to meet the suggestions, and then you'll be able to see it in a familiar setting, since you'll recognize your code and the changes.

If you're unhappy with the changes, you could always just use your original code, so there's no damage done, since you'll always have your original local copy.

An easy way to share the code:

(1) At the replit.com website, create a free account, and then select Create a Repl (it may be somewhere in the center of the webpage). Give it a name:

(2) Click on the three dots icon, and then select Upload folder, and select your code. It will automatically upload it all.

(3) This is what it looks like with the code uploaded. It is possible for you (or anyone else) to inspect each file, and make any changes.

(4) To allow others to edit your code, click on Invite on the right side, and then you can click as shown.

Anyway, this is just an idea, not essential, but could help change things maybe.

 shabazjust a side note. I meet him years ago while I was in NJ. at his about  C with Classes, sort of a preprocessor at Princeton, We all thought it was a joke. If you want to write with classes use Java as that is what it was designed to do. While  Don Knuth did in fact win the ACM Turning Award (74) and his series "The Art of Computer Programming" ( must-reads! alas, BS did not, nor did the ass from Apple. In my humble opinion, Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie(83)  {AMC Turring Award} did more by developing  C and Unix than anybody in the history of computing. While working at Inderdata I installed 8/32 #1 at Bell labs where I meet them both. 

also, I noted that in one example of typedef a struct  stack exchange: 

typedef struct {
  unsigned char current;
  unsigned char start;
  unsigned char target;
  unsigned long startTime;
  unsigned int duration;
} led;
This i beleave is an ilegale contruction as 'struct' is a key or reserved word

I just hung it on my server: http://nexgen-simulations.com/E14/NexGen:%20Hacking/landingGear/

~~ CAH

phoenixcomm said:

This i beleave is an ilegale contruction as 'struct' is a key or reserved word

It is a legal construct. You assign a type to that particular struct definition.

C++ pre-dates Java.

"C++ ..... created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup. First released in 1985 as an extension of the C programming language"

"Java was originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems. It was released in May 1995 as a "

Both quotes form Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/.../Java_(programming_language)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C++

SO if you wanted to write with classes in the  before 1995 then Java wasn't an option.

There were other options:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming

but C++ was a brave (and in many ways successful) attempt to bring Oop and C together.

C itself was not entirely original work:

BCPL -> B -> C

Wikipedia has good articles on the history of all of them.

MK

What's a "q type" Jan?

Smalltalk ruled!!