C error: variably modified at the file scope [duplicate]

Question

Yeah, so I’m new to C, and I came across an error when dealing with the following code:

typedef struct{ int head; int length; Customer customer[MAX_LENGTH]; } CustomerCi;

And the error that came out was:

error: variably modified 'customer' at the file scope

How can I fix this?

i tried those and some of them didnt work and others i didnt understand fully — user3050546
– user3050546, Commented Nov 29, 2013 at 20:08
They aren't good duplicate targets (and one of them is for Objective-C). The one for C is Variably modified array at file scope in C. — Peter Mortensen
– Peter Mortensen, Commented Jul 29, 2023 at 9:12

ceving · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-29 20:25:31Z

1

Replace MAX_LENGTH with a literal value:

#define MAX_LENGTH 32

for example.

answered Nov 29, 2013 at 20:25

ceving

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6 Comments

user3050546 Over a year ago

yeah it works then but later on i need the value of MAX_LENGTH to be able to change.

user3050546 Over a year ago

the line before the ones i gave already defines MAX_LENGTH as "static const int MAX_LENGTH = 100;"

ceving Over a year ago

You can not change the size of an array in C. Either use pointers with malloc/free or use a linked list.

user3050546 Over a year ago

oh ok because i was trying to use it to gauge the size of my queue

Jonathan Leffler Over a year ago

@user3050546: In C, static const int MAX_LENGTH = 100; is still regarded as a 'variable' and MAX_LENGTH cannot be used where a constant is required (for example, in case labels, or in array bounds at file scope). In C++, it would be usable like that. If you want C++, use it. But in C, you can't do what you tried.

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