I typed a C program from the Internet that calculates Compound Interest.
One of the lines in the program reads CIFuture = PAmount*(pow((1+ROI/100), Time_Period));

When I run the program it gives the error: undefined reference to pow.

My gcc version is 7.31 20180712 (RED HAT 7.31-6.

I also included <stdio.h> and <math.h> in the program.

Why is pow undefined?

Posting a) your full actual code and b) a link to where you found it on "The Internet" would be good first steps.

Also, it's interesting that you said you get that error when you run the program. How are you running it and how are you compiling it?

I assume by program the OP is referring to gcc.

You need to specify the math library on the command line ie.

gcc -o my_program my_program.c -lm

4 members found this post helpful.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <Programming> and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

Well, there was a change in the linking, earlier this worked:
now it is:

/* C Program to Calculate Compound Interest */

#include<stdio.h>
#include <math.h>

int main()
{
float PAmount, ROI, Time_Period, CIFuture, CI;

printf("\nPlease enter the Principal Amount : \n");
scanf("%f", &PAmount);

printf("Please Enter Rate Of Interest : \n");
scanf("%f", &ROI);

printf("Please Enter the Time Period in Years : \n");
scanf("%f", &Time_Period);

CIFuture = PAmount * (pow(( 1 + ROI/100), Time_Period));
CI = CIFuture - PAmount;

printf("\nFuture Compound Interest for Principal Amount %.2f is = %.2f", PAmount, CIFuture);
printf("\nCompound Interest for Principal Amount %.2f is = %.2f", PAmount, CI);

return 0;
} This is the program I run and get an error message: undefined reference to pow. Shouldn't pow be included in the math library which I include in my program?

Welcome to the Programming forum!

Please wrap your code and data snippets inside [CODE]...[/CODE] tags. Doing so will preserve indentation and provide other visual clues which make it easier for others to comprehend. You may write those yourself as shown, or use the # button available with Advanced edit options. (A complete list of BBCode tags is always available via a link near the bottom of every thread view).

As others have already pointed out, you need to link to the math shared libraries. I'll try to elaborate what has already been said...

When you say that you "run" the program what you are actually talking about is running the C language compiler, gcc. C programs must first be compiled and linked, then you run the resultant executable program, often called a "binary".

As others have asked, it would be helpful if you would show the actual command that you are running, but it is probably something like this (using myprog.c as your source code filename):

The compiler will build object files which must then be linked in order to make use of the shared library files on your system, the math library in this case, and it is the linker which is producing the error message you see because it is not being told which library to link. You can do that in your command to gcc with the -l option (lower case L):

That will produce a file named myprog which is your executable program.

You may then run that program like this:

... where myprog is used as the example filename.

Try this out and let us know if you have any further problems! If so, please show us the exact commands you are using and the error messages they produce.

Good luck!

2 members found this post helpful.

I already have the gcc compiler installed on my Linux machine. To compile the the program I type cc file name .c If it compiles with no errors I type ./a.out to run the program. In my code I have #include <stdio.h> and #include <math.h> The pow function that deals with powers should be in the math library already. When I compile the program I get the error undefined reference to pow. Why is that?

The 8th line in the pow(3) manual page:

Even though you have #include <math.h> included in your program the actual code that executes that function is in a separate binary file called a library. The pow function is unknown without that library and one way to include it is to explicitly add it as a command line option. The -lm tells the compiler to include the math module when linking your program. The gcc compiler actually does several things that eventually result in an executable program that are not really explained well if at all in basic howtos.

There have been at least 4 posts that have told you to use -lm ...

Please read and try to understand the information already posted.

The compiler is indeed using the math.h header when it compiles the object file.

The linker, which is invoked by the compiler and which must connect, or link the object files to the system's precompiled shared library files does not use the math.h header and must be told where to find those functions provided by the math library. You do that with the -lm option.

Please at least try to compile with the -lm option on your cc command line...

Does that work? Do you see why?

1 members found this post helpful.

pow undefined reference problem solved. A big thanks to all who have helped.
Linux Question is Awesome

Good to know!

If your question has been answered please use the Thread Tools dialog at top of your thread to mark it as SOLVED. Thanks!

FYI, there are two ways that your program can be "linked" with the other bits of executable code that it needs: static linking (as has been done here) and dynamic linking. Here is a link to a thorough article which explains this topic.

simply, your code is calling function pow() and you did not include function pow(). if you had written function pow() in your code, that would have included it. but you probably intended to call the math library function of the same name. others have already described how to do that.