Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!unhd!rg
From: rg@uunet!unhd (Roger Gonzalez )
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: structure typedefs
Message-ID: <1990Mar28.150755.6803@uunet!unhd>
Date: 28 Mar 90 15:07:55 GMT
Reply-To: rg@unhd.unh.edu.UUCP (Roger Gonzalez )
Distribution: comp
Organization: Marine Systems Engineering Lab
Lines: 41

Could someone kindly explain to me the difference between

typedef struct  foo {				typedef struct  {
    ..						    ..
};				and		}   foo;

struct foo  bar;				foo bar;


In some situations, it doesn't make any difference at all.  In others, most
notably when you have a pointer to the same type (i.e. linked list stuff)

typedef struct	foo {
    ..
    struct foo *next;
};

struct foo  bar;

I seem to recall even seeing this:

typedef struct  foo {
    ..
    struct foo *next;
} foo;

foo bar;

Which looks to me like it should cause an error.  Please enlighten me as to
the subtleties of this.  I'm not a novice C programmer, and I've been using
structures for years, and I know how to make them work, but I've never really
understood exactly what was going on internally.  Email if possible; I don't
read this group often.

-Roger

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