Traditionally, a C program announces its variables at the start of a function block. The variables are presented by type and name, and they can be initialized at that time as well. This tradition isn’t a rule, and many C programmers break it.
\n
\nI’m not one of those programmers. Being a traditionalist, and also desiring some consistency, I keep variable declarations at the start of my code. My reasons are the same as my motivation for keeping my car keys in the same spot in my house; I can always find them — providing that I habitually keep them at that location. (That process occasionally has flaws, but you get my point.)<\/p>\n
One place I’ve seen variables declared in a non-traditional manner is in a for<\/em> loop. The counting variable, which is usually a throw-away integer, is declared right in the for<\/em> statement. Inhale the following code:<\/p>\n Variable In fact, even if you used the identical technique in another for<\/em> loop elsewhere in the code, the compiler won’t balk. That’s a credit to habit, but I’m still more comfortable declaring all the code’s variables in one batch.<\/p>\n Yes, my insistence upon tradition means that you must be flexible with your text editor. Many times I’ve been deep in the bowels of some 500-line monster code and suddenly needed a new variable. So I fly up to the top of the block and write the variable’s definition, then fly back. I’m okay with that process.<\/p>\n And remember that you can’t use a variable before it’s declared. C programs read top-down, so the variable must be declared “above” wherever it appears in the code.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Where to declare variables in your code. Continue reading \r\n#include <stdio.h>\r\n\r\nint main()\r\n{\r\n for(int x = 0;x<10;x++)\r\n printf(\"Counting: %d\\n\",x+1);\r\n\r\n return(0);\r\n}<\/pre>\nx<\/code> is declared right at the start of the for<\/em> statement: int x = 0<\/code>. I see this technique used often, and it’s okay: The code compiles and runs just as if you declared x<\/code> on a line by itself.<\/p>\n