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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))
Returning extra results from a function in C

There are three ways of returning a result from a function in C. You can use return to pass a result back, you can use a variable declared outside all of your function (so it's global and accessible everywhere), and you can pass in a pointer to act at the target for where a result is to be saved.

If you've only one result to pass back, use the return. It's much the easiest, and it's what users will expect.

You should use variables declared outside your functions very sparingly - they're liable to leave code maintainers coming to look after the programs later on scratching their heads, and they make the name you use a universal one withing your whole program, which can be a bit of a problem if you want to use a library that someone's provided to you as a binary that happens to use the same name. I'm not saying "never", but please be careful.

So what's this pointer business?

• Set up a variable - in my example I'll call it doggie.

• Pass in the ADDRESS of doggie to your function.

• Store the (secondary) result in your function at the ADDRESS that's been passed in.

Although the address held in the function is a copy of the address in the main code, both the variables point to the same underlying variable / memory location, so changing *dd in the function also changes doggie in the main code.

Complete example [here]

A fourth alternative - outside the scope of my example which was written on last week's C course before I covered structures, is to pass back a structure or - better - a pointer to a structure.

(written 2012-05-03, updated 2012-05-05)

 
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
C204 - C and C based languages - Functions, Macros and programs in multiple files
  [775] Do not duplicate your code - (2006-06-23)
  [1163] A better alternative to cutting and pasting code - (2007-04-26)
  [1478] Some new C programming examples - files, structs, unions etc - (2007-12-19)
  [2570] Function Prototypes in C - (2010-01-11)
  [2575] Sharing variables between files of code in C - extern - (2010-01-14)
  [2841] C Course exercise and sample answer - source in 2 files - (2010-06-30)
  [3237] Using functions to keep look and feel apart from calculations - simple C example - (2011-04-09)
  [3721] Naming blocks of code, structures and Object Orientation - efficient coding in manageable chunks - (2012-05-06)
  [4338] Passing arrays into functions in C - (2014-12-02)
  [4554] Passing information into functions in C - by name, by value - (2015-10-26)
  [4555] Preprocessor directives in C and C++ - what they mean - (2015-10-27)
  [4557] Function prototype - what they are and why you should use them - C and C++ - (2015-10-27)


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Learning C++ - a design pattern for your first class
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