Why am I getting this error: expected ')' before '&' token?

Question

I assume it has something to do with the #includes, but this is my first time trying to use them so I'm a little lost. I just wondered if anyone could tell immediately if there was an obvious mistake.

 /** @file Translator.cpp */

#include <fstream>
#include "Translator.h"
#include <vector>

Translator(std::ifstream& fin)  //error appears on this line
{
    T1(fin);
    T1.createTable(fin);
    T2(fin);
    T2.createTable(fin));
    string temp;
    while(!fin.eof())
    {
    fin >> temp;
    message.push_back(temp);
    }
}

Thanks for your time.

Also your loop should be `while (fin >> temp) message.push_back(temp);`, not `while (!fin.eof())`. — Seth Carnegie, Feb 11 '13 at 00:18
Thanks Seth. Don't those two loops do the same thing? What is the difference? — woodenToaster, Feb 11 '13 at 00:26
Nope, they're not equivalent. See this question/answer for the difference: http://stackoverflow.com/q/14330789/726361 — Seth Carnegie, Feb 11 '13 at 00:27

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 11 '13 at 00:12

8

It is hard to answer this question exactly without seeing the header, but if this is a function, you need to add a return type of void to the definition of your function:

void Translator(std::ifstream& fin) {
    ...
}

If this is a constructor, you need to provide its qualified name:

Translator::Translator(std::ifstream& fin) {
    ...
}

answered Feb 11 '13 at 00:12

Sergey Kalinichenko

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1

It's supposed to be a parameterized constructor though. I thought they didn't have a return type. – woodenToaster Feb 11 '13 at 00:14
I guess the problem goes a lot deeper than I thought, because when I try Translator::Translator(..etc., I get 20 errors instead of just the one. – woodenToaster Feb 11 '13 at 00:20
1

@ChrisHogan see my comments on the question. – Seth Carnegie Feb 11 '13 at 00:21

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 11 '13 at 00:16

Without the declaration of Translator it's a bit hard to say, but if it's meant to be a constructor, then it should be Translator::Translator(std::ifstream& fin). If it's meant to be a method, then it should have a return type specified, so something like void Translator(std::ifstream& fin).

Why am I getting this error: expected ')' before '&' token?

2 Answers2