external variable in c

External Variables

All variables we have seen so far (auto, register) have had limited scope (the block in which they are declared) and limited lifetimes (as for automatic variables). However, in some applications it may be useful to have data which is accessible from within any block and/or which remains in existence for the entire execution of the program. Such variables are called global variables, and the C language provides storage classes which can meet these requirements; namely, the external and static classes.

External variables may be declared outside any function block in a source code file the same way any other variable is declared; by specifying its type and name. No storage class specifier is used - the position of the declaration within the file indicates external storage class. Memory for such variables is allocated when the program begins execution, and remains allocated until the program terminates. For most C implementations, every byte of memory allocated for an external variable is initialized to zero.

Example Code

The scope of external variables is global, i.e. the entire source code in the file following the declarations. All functions following the declaration may access the external variable by using its name. However, if a local variable having the same name is declared within a function, references to the name access the local variable cell. Example above presents an example of external variables and their scope. The comments in the code indicate which variable is accessed in each reference to the name. The situation is shown graphically in Figure below:

External variables may be initialized in declarations just as automatic variables; however, the initializers must be constant expressions. The initialization is done only once at compile time, i.e. when memory is allocated for the variables variables.

In general, it is a good programming practice to avoid use of external variables as they destroy the concept of a function as a ``black box''. The black box concept is essential to the development of a modular program with modules. With an external variable, any function in the program can access and alter the variable, thus making debugging more difficult as well. This is not to say that external variables should never be used. There may be occasions when the use of an external variable significantly simplifies the implementation of an algorithm. Suffice it to say that external variables should be used rarely and with caution.

See Also:

C language Tricky Concepts and Sample Codes