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From: steve@taumet.COM (Stephen Clamage)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: extern const definition
Keywords: extern const
Message-ID: <240@taumet.COM>
Date: 4 Jun 90 17:31:17 GMT
References: <612@atcmpe.atcmp.nl>
Reply-To: steve@taumet.UUCP (Stephen Clamage)
Organization: Taumetric Corporation, San Diego
Lines: 26

In article <612@atcmpe.atcmp.nl> leo@atcmp.nl (Leo  Willems) writes:
>
>This C++ code compiles under 1.2, 2.0 (both Glockenspiel) and Zortech (2.06):
>		extern const int eof = -1;
>The C generating cfront compilers both emit multiple definitions for eof
>from which the c compiler gets a headache.

You should use
		extern const int eof = -1;
in exactly one place, and
		extern const int eof;
everywhere else.  This way you have exactly one defining instance.
Alternatively, use
		const int eof = -1;
everywhere.

>Must ANSI C compilers accept this:
>		int eof = -1;
>		int eof = -1;

Absolutely not.  An ANSI C conforming program will have exactly one
defining instance (that is, with an initializer), and the remainder
will be extern declarations.
-- 

Steve Clamage, TauMetric Corp, steve@taumet.com