Scope hiding in C

Question

Does C have scope hiding?

For example, if I have a global variable:

int x = 3;

can I 'declare' inside a function or main 'another' int x?

Adiel Mittmann · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-19T15:45:26.503

5

Yes, that's how C works. For example:

int x;

void my_function(int x){ // this is another x, not the same one
}

void my_function2(){
  int x; //this is also another x
  {
    int x; // this is yet another x
  }
}
int main(){
  char x[5]; // another x, with a different type
}

edited Jan 19 '12 at 15:45

answered Jan 19 '12 at 15:24

Adiel Mittmann

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What if in the main it was not int as well (different type), for example char array[5] x ? – Belgi Jan 19 '12 at 15:32
in such cases, the type doesn't matter. if you declare `x` as an `int` and then you shadow that declaration by saying that you have a new `x` of type `char[5]`, you will only see the latter `char x[5]`. – Adiel Mittmann Jan 19 '12 at 15:37

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 19 '12 at 15:20

3

Yes but some compilers complain or can be told to complain. For gcc, use -Wshadow.

answered Jan 19 '12 at 15:20

lhf

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 19 '12 at 15:20

1

Yes Scope Hiding exists in C.
A variable in local scope will hide the same named variable in global scope.

answered Jan 19 '12 at 15:20

Alok Save

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score 0 · Answer 4 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:16

0

Yes. This is very much possible. Please go through this post for a detailed explanation on various scope in C

edited May 23 '17 at 12:16

Community

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answered Jan 19 '12 at 16:00

Sangeeth Saravanaraj

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Scope hiding in C

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