Effects of the extern keyword on C functions

We have two files, foo.c and bar.c.

Here is foo.c

#include <stdio.h>volatile unsigned int stop_now = 0;extern void bar_function(void);int main(void){  while (1) {     bar_function();     stop_now = 1;  }  return 0;}

Now, here is bar.c

#include <stdio.h>extern volatile unsigned int stop_now;void bar_function(void){   if (! stop_now) {      printf("Hello, world!\n");      sleep(30);   }}

As you can see, we have no shared header between foo.c and bar.c , however bar.c needs something declared in foo.c when it's linked, and foo.c needs a function from bar.c when it's linked.

By using 'extern', you are telling the compiler that whatever follows it will be found (non-static) at link time; don't reserve anything for it in the current pass since it will be encountered later. Functions and variables are treated equally in this regard.

It's very useful if you need to share some global between modules and don't want to put / initialize it in a header.

Technically, every function in a library public header is 'extern', however labeling them as such has very little to no benefit, depending on the compiler. Most compilers can figure that out on their own. As you see, those functions are actually defined somewhere else.

In the above example, main() would print hello world only once, but continue to enter bar_function(). Also note, bar_function() is not going to return in this example (since it's just a simple example). Just imagine stop_now being modified when a signal is serviced (hence, volatile) if this doesn't seem practical enough.

Externs are very useful for things like signal handlers, a mutex that you don't want to put in a header or structure, etc. Most compilers will optimize to ensure that they don't reserve any memory for external objects, since they know they'll be reserving it in the module where the object is defined. However, again, there's little point in specifying it with modern compilers when prototyping public functions.

Hope that helps :)

As far as I remember the standard, all function declarations are considered as "extern" by default, so there is no need to specify it explicitly.

That doesn't make this keyword useless since it can also be used with variables (and it that case - it's the only solution to solve linkage problems). But with the functions - yes, it's optional.

You need to distinguish between two separate concepts: function definition and symbol declaration. "extern" is a linkage modifier, a hint to the compiler about where the symbol referred to afterwards is defined (the hint is, "not here").

If I write

extern int i;

in file scope (outside a function block) in a C file, then you're saying "the variable may be defined elsewhere".

extern int f() {return 0;}

is both a declaration of the function f and a definition of the function f. The definition in this case over-rides the extern.

extern int f();int f() {return 0;}

is first a declaration, followed by the definition.

Use of extern is wrong if you want to declare and simultaneously define a file scope variable. For example,

extern int i = 4;

will give an error or warning, depending on the compiler.

Usage of extern is useful if you explicitly want to avoid definition of a variable.

Let me explain:

Let's say the file a.c contains:

#include "a.h"int i = 2;int f() { i++; return i;}

The file a.h includes:

extern int i;int f(void);

and the file b.c contains:

#include <stdio.h>#include "a.h"int main(void){    printf("%d\n", f());    return 0;}

The extern in the header is useful, because it tells the compiler during the link phase, "this is a declaration, and not a definition". If I remove the line in a.c which defines i, allocates space for it and assigns a value to it, the program should fail to compile with an undefined reference. This tells the developer that he has referred to a variable, but hasn't yet defined it. If on the other hand, I omit the "extern" keyword, and remove the int i = 2 line, the program still compiles - i will be defined with a default value of 0.

File scope variables are implicitly defined with a default value of 0 or NULL if you do not explicitly assign a value to them - unlike block-scope variables that you declare at the top of a function. The extern keyword avoids this implicit definition, and thus helps avoid mistakes.

For functions, in function declarations, the keyword is indeed redundant. Function declarations do not have an implicit definition.