error: initializer element is not constant

samrat_rao · 12-03-2008, 10:59 AM

Hi,
I am trying to compile an old program (made sometime around 1993). After trial and error i reduced the warnings by including the correct headers (i have gcc 4.3.1). But i am stuck here:

Quote:

lexer.c:40: error: initializer element is not constant
lexer.c:40: error: (near initialization for ‘yyin’)
lexer.c:40: error: initializer element is not constant
lexer.c:40: error: (near initialization for ‘yyout’)
make: *** [lexer.o] Error 1

Line number 40 of lexer.c has:

Quote:

FILE *yyin ={stdin}, *yyout ={stdout};

Both stdin and stdout have no values assigned to them in any file. Could someone advise? There are no fortran files in the package.

I am not a programmer and have rudimentary knowledge of C.

Thanks.

dmail · 12-03-2008, 11:15 AM

I very much doubt this is the source of the problem even thought the output seems to point to this location. Is there any error before these as that seems perfectly valid to me.

samrat_rao · 12-03-2008, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmail

I very much doubt this is the source of the problem even thought the output seems to point to this location. Is there any error before these as that seems perfectly valid to me.

Initially there were warnings and not errors in some other files but after i included some headers in those files, this was the first error that i got. But i found a similar reference in the net and made the following change:

Code:

FILE *yyin,*yyout;
main()
{
   yyin = stdin;
   yyout = stdout;
}

So the compilation went on but now again i am stuck:

Quote:

lexer.o: In function `main':
lexer.c

.text+0x0): multiple definition of `main'
mpeg.o:mpeg.c

.text+0x5010): first defined here
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
make: *** [mpeg] Error 1

I thought that this change would be fine since lexer.c does not have any other main in the body.

dmail · 12-03-2008, 11:31 AM

It sounds like you are building libraries, have you tried contacting the author of the application? The hit and miss approach with only a little knowledge of C is going be a long and laborious process, one which you may not complete.
What is the application? does it have a website? Has the application been updated/had bug fixes applied?

samrat_rao · 12-03-2008, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmail

It sounds like you are building libraries, have you tried contacting the author of the application? The hit and miss approach with only a little knowledge of C is going be a long and laborious process, one which you may not complete.
What is the application? does it have a website? Has the application been updated/had bug fixes applied?

The application is so obscure that only an archived version is available on the net. It dates back to 1994. Its called MPEGv1.1.

I have a software that creates mgm files. To display it as a movie, the software recommends MPEGv1.1.

I tried making this change:

Code:

FILE *yyin, *yyout;

instead of the line:

Code:

FILE *yyin ={stdin}, *yyout ={stdout};

The errors have disappeared and the executable has been made. But could the executable be incorrectly compiled?

dmail · 12-03-2008, 12:32 PM

To me that C code is valid and what you have done is just changed to a different way of doing it which really should not matter. The application could be built correctly yet on the other hand it could make your computer catch fire and burn (well it could lol). Just try it and see if it does what it is supposed to do or if it crashes step through it with a debugger, although this would take more knowledge of C.

samrat_rao · 12-03-2008, 01:02 PM

Thanks for your assurance. I guess someday i'll need to learn to use a debugger. Right now i am having trouble compiling another code !!