multiple global variable definitions

subramanian100in

Suppose I declare a global variable

int g;

in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c

When I compile them to build an executable under gcc in Redhat Linux
with the command

gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra a.c b.c

there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions for
the same global variable.

Where am I going wrong ?

Mar 19 '07 #1

Fred Kleinschmidt

<su**************@yahoo.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@e65g2000hsc.googlegr oups.com...

Suppose I declare a global variable

int g;

in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c

When I compile them to build an executable under gcc in Redhat Linux
with the command

gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra a.c b.c

there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions for
the same global variable.

Where am I going wrong ?

Global variables declared in the .c file have file scope. You have two
different variables, the same as declaring the same "int i" as a local
variable in two different functions. They have the same name, but
do not overlap in scope.

There would be only one variable if one file declared the variable to
be"extern".

Mar 19 '07 #2

Richard Heathfield

su**************@yahoo.com, India said:

Suppose I declare a global variable

int g;

in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c

When I compile them to build an executable under gcc in Redhat Linux
with the command

gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra a.c b.c

there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions for
the same global variable.

Where am I going wrong ?

They are only "tentative" definitions, not actual definitions. There is,
however, no such thing as a "tentative initialisation", so change them
both to:

int g = 0;

and watch the compiler (or rather the linker) choke.

--
Richard Heathfield
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29/7/1999
http://www.cpax.org.uk
email: rjh at the above domain, - www.

Mar 19 '07 #3

Roberto Waltman

Richard Heathfield wrote:

>su**************@yahoo.com, India said:

>Suppose I declare a global variable
int g;
in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c
there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions for
the same global variable.

They are only "tentative" definitions, not actual definitions. There is,
however, no such thing as a "tentative initialisation", so change them
both to:

int g = 0;

and watch the compiler (or rather the linker) choke.

Trying to understand the standard, from N1124:

"6. Language
....
6.9 External Definitions
....
6.9.2 External object definitions
Semantics
....
2 A declaration of an identifier for an object
that has file scope without an initializer, and
without a storage-class specifier or with the
storage-class specifier static, constitutes a
tentative definition. If a translation unit
contains one or more tentative definitions for an
identifier, and the translation unit contains no
external definition for that identifier, then
the behavior is exactly as if the translation unit
contains a file scope declaration of that
identifier, with the composite type as of the end
of the translation unit, with an initializer equal
to 0."

Although I expect the behavior that the OP
described, the paragraph above seems to contradict
it:

int g; "is exactly as" int g = 0;

What I am missing?

Also, can somebody clarify the meaning of "with
the composite type as of the end of the
translation unit" (I am not sure if I am
struggling with an unclear text, of with the fact
that English is not my native language.)

Roberto Waltman

[ Please reply to the group,
return address is invalid ]

Mar 19 '07 #4

Flash Gordon

Fred Kleinschmidt wrote, On 19/03/07 14:36:

<su**************@yahoo.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@e65g2000hsc.googlegr oups.com...

>Suppose I declare a global variable

int g;

in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c

When I compile them to build an executable under gcc in Redhat Linux
with the command

gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra a.c b.c

there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions for
the same global variable.

Where am I going wrong ?

Your mistake is assuming that the linker is required to catch your
error. It isn't.

Global variables declared in the .c file have file scope. You have two
different variables, the same as declaring the same "int i" as a local
variable in two different functions. They have the same name, but
do not overlap in scope.

There would be only one variable if one file declared the variable to
be"extern".

With neither being declared as extern it invokes undefined behaviour, so
anything is allowed to happen and the implementation (compiler/linker)
is not required to generate an error for it. The most common things to
happen are for the two "int i" definitions to be merged or for an error
to be generated.
--
Flash Gordon

Mar 19 '07 #5

Flash Gordon

Richard Heathfield wrote, On 19/03/07 15:52:

su**************@yahoo.com, India said:

>Suppose I declare a global variable

int g;

in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c

When I compile them to build an executable under gcc in Redhat Linux
with the command

gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra a.c b.c

there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions for
the same global variable.

Where am I going wrong ?

They are only "tentative" definitions, not actual definitions.

Irrelevant as far as the standard is concerned. As soon as it reaches
the end of the translation unit it is as if there was a definition with
an initialiser equal to 2. Section 6.9.2 paragraph 2 of N1124.

There is,
however, no such thing as a "tentative initialisation", so change them
both to:

int g = 0;

and watch the compiler (or rather the linker) choke.

It may not since it is undefined behaviour either way. See above and
section 6.9 paragraph 5.

To the OP, it does not generate an error because it is not required to.
It also is not required to "work", it could do anything.

<OT>
If using gcc you might want to investigate the -fno-common option.
</OT>
--
Flash Gordon

Mar 19 '07 #6

Richard Heathfield

Flash Gordon said:

Richard Heathfield wrote, On 19/03/07 15:52:

>su**************@yahoo.com, India said:

>>Suppose I declare a global variable

int g;

in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c

When I compile them to build an executable under gcc in Redhat Linux
with the command

gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra a.c b.c

there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions
for the same global variable.

Where am I going wrong ?

They are only "tentative" definitions, not actual definitions.

Irrelevant as far as the standard is concerned.

I'll take that hit...

As soon as it reaches
the end of the translation unit it is as if there was a definition
with an initialiser equal to 2.

....but this puzzles me. Did you mean 0?

--
Richard Heathfield
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29/7/1999
http://www.cpax.org.uk
email: rjh at the above domain, - www.

Mar 19 '07 #7

Wojtek Lerch

"Roberto Waltman" <us****@rwaltman.netwrote in message
news:mn********************************@4ax.com...

Richard Heathfield wrote:

>>su**************@yahoo.com, India said:

>>Suppose I declare a global variable
int g;
in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c
there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions for
the same global variable.

The C standard doesn't require a linker error if you have two definitions of
the same global variable. It's undefined behaviour (6.9#5). Whether you
get an error or not is up to the implementation.

>>They are only "tentative" definitions, not actual definitions. [...]

....

Although I expect the behavior that the OP
described, the paragraph above seems to contradict
it:

int g; "is exactly as" int g = 0;

What I am missing?

Nothing. If a translation unit contains a tentative definition, then either
it also contains a "real" definition, or the behaviour is as if it contained
a "real" definition. Either way, having two translation units that define
the same identifier with external linkage (tentatively or otherwise) is
undefined behaviour.

Also, can somebody clarify the meaning of "with
the composite type as of the end of the
translation unit" (I am not sure if I am
struggling with an unclear text, of with the fact
that English is not my native language.)

Consider this translation unit:

int arr[ 10 ];
int arr[];

It contains two tentative definitions that declare "arr" with two different
types: "int[10]" and "int[]". The composite type is "arr[10]", and
therefore the behaviour is as if "arr" were defined like this:

int arr[10] = { 0 };

rather than like this:

int arr[] = { 0 };

Mar 19 '07 #8

Mark McIntyre

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:26:50 +0000, in comp.lang.c , Richard
Heathfield <rj*@see.sig.invalidwrote:

>Flash Gordon said:

>As soon as it reaches
the end of the translation unit it is as if there was a definition
with an initialiser equal to 2.

...but this puzzles me. Did you mean 0?

2 would be more entertaining though, don't you think? Shame its not
allowed...

--
Mark McIntyre

"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place.
Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are,
by definition, not smart enough to debug it."
--Brian Kernighan

Mar 19 '07 #9

Flash Gordon

Richard Heathfield wrote, On 19/03/07 17:26:

Flash Gordon said:

>Richard Heathfield wrote, On 19/03/07 15:52:

>>su**************@yahoo.com, India said:

Suppose I declare a global variable

int g;

in two different files say a.c which has main() and b.c

When I compile them to build an executable under gcc in Redhat Linux
with the command

gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra a.c b.c

there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions
for the same global variable.

Where am I going wrong ?
They are only "tentative" definitions, not actual definitions.

Irrelevant as far as the standard is concerned.

I'll take that hit...

Just goes to show that those claiming you never accept a correction are
wrong. Something I already knew.

>As soon as it reaches
the end of the translation unit it is as if there was a definition
with an initialiser equal to 2.

...but this puzzles me. Did you mean 0?

Yes, so that's 1 all then :-)
--
Flash Gordon

Mar 19 '07 #10

David Thompson

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:36:43 GMT, "Fred Kleinschmidt"
<fr******************@boeing.comwrote:

>
<su**************@yahoo.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@e65g2000hsc.googlegr oups.com...

Suppose I declare a global variable

int g;

in two different files say a.c [...] and b.c [...]
there is no linker error.

I thought there should be linker error because of two definitions for
the same global variable.

Where am I going wrong ?

Global variables declared in the .c file have file scope. You have two
different variables, the same as declaring the same "int i" as a local
variable in two different functions. They have the same name, but
do not overlap in scope.

Not really. Each of these is a tentative definition, and assuming
there is no other definition of the same name (at file scope) with an
initializer, the tentative definition becomes/produces a (definitive?)
definition. So you have two t.u.s both defining the same object (name)
with external linkage, which is Undefined Behavior. The implementation
is allowed to diagnose this, and in some implementations (and some
options of some implementations) it does produce a linker error, but
this is not required, and some don't.

If you declared/defined it with storage class 'static' in each t.u.,
then you would (always) have two distinct objects.

There would be only one variable if one file declared the variable to
be"extern".

That is the right way to do it, yes. More precisely, one t.u. should
define it, which is accomplished if you give no storage class, ior if
you have an initializer (even if you also specify storage class
'extern'); and the other t.u. (or in general all other t.u.s) should
declare it with 'extern' and no initializer.

Apr 15 '07 #11