In article
<Pine.LNX.4.44.0310270007370.6912-100000@garfield.cs.mun.ca>,
Neil Zanella <nzanella@cs.mun.ca> wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hello,
>
> Unlike in pre-C99 versions of C where variables can only be defined at the
> beginning of blocks, C99 allows variables to be defined in arbitrary
> places inside blocks. However, gcc 3.2.2 seems to reveal that there
> are still places where this is illegal. For instance, consider the
> following code snippet.
>
> int main(void) {
> int i = 0;
> switch (i) {
> case 0:
> char ch;
> break;
> }
> }
>
> Here the compiler complains with the error:
>
> hello.c: In function `main':
> hello.c:6: parse error before "char"
>
> It seems like declaring a variable inside a switch statement is illegal.
> Anyone know why this is the case. After all, the following compiles fine
> with gcc 3.2.2:[/color]
No, declaring a variable inside a switch statement is not illegal.
However, the syntax is slightly different then you think it is: When you
write
switch (i) {
<body of switch statement>
}
the body of the switch statement can contain the following in any order:
Unlabeled statements
Labeled statements
Declarations
case 0: char ch;
would be a labeled declaration, and they are not allowed. Write
case 0: ;
char ch;
break;
instead.
