primary-expression before ']' error meaning

Question

I am trying to fix a code with errors, and I have one more error left I cannot figure out. The error says: expected primary-expression before ']' token, what does this mean? I have checked for misplaced semicolons and variable names, but cannot find anything. Here is my code(I have commented the line with an error):

// countOnes.cpp
#include<iostream>
#include<cstdlib>
using namespace std;

void countOnes( int array[] ); // Count the number of 1s in a given int array.
const int arraySize = 10;
int array[ arraySize ];
int countOne = 0;

int main()
{
  for ( int i = 0; i <= arraySize; i++ )
  {
    array[ i ] = rand() % 3;  // Fill array with 0, 1 or 2 randomly
    cout << array[ i ] << " ";
  }
  countOnes( array[], arraySize ); //ERROR

  cout << "\n The number of 1s in the array: " << countOne;

  return 0;
}

void countOnes( int array[], int arraySize )
{
  for ( int i = 0; i <= arraySize; i++ )
    if ( array[ i ] == 1 )
      countOne = countOne + 1;
  return;
}

You should consider using `std::vector` in c++ – balki Apr 19 '13 at 17:44 — balki, Apr 19 '13 at 17:44
Its not an runtime-error, its a compiler-error – balki Apr 19 '13 at 17:45 — balki, Apr 19 '13 at 17:45

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 19 '13 at 17:42

4

No square brackets needed.

countOnes(array[], arraySize);

answered Apr 19 '13 at 17:42

John Kugelman

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score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 19 '13 at 17:43

2

countOnes( array[], arraySize ); //ERROR

You don't need [] here
Also declaration of

void countOnes( int array[] ); // Count the number of 1s in a given int array.

Doesn't correspond to its definition

void countOnes( int array[], int arraySize )

answered Apr 19 '13 at 17:43

alexrider

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@user2085224 I can ask the same way why would you do? When you declare function, you declare it in a way that it will accept array as 1st param. And when you call it compiler already knows that array is indeed of type array(not so good name for an variable btw). Thus no additional hints required. Or did you mean something else when putting []? – alexrider Apr 19 '13 at 18:01

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:18

1

'array' is treated as reserved word in Microsoft's extension of C. See Why is "array" marked as a reserved word in Visual-C++?. Replace 'array' by something else, e.g. 'arr'.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:18

Community

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answered Apr 19 '13 at 17:52

stobo

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That thread, despite its name, does not establish that Microsoft's **compiler** treats `array` as a reserved word in C or C++. It's about the syntax highlighter. Treating `array` as a reserved word would violate the language definition. – Pete Becker Apr 19 '13 at 19:14

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 19 '13 at 17:43

0

If you want to pass an array, you can pass a pointer to the first element to the array:

 void countOnes( int* array, int size );

answered Apr 19 '13 at 17:43

Tony The Lion

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primary-expression before ']' error meaning

4 Answers4