extern and function prototypes

[quarkLore]

As this link points it out one can use extern instead of a function
prototype. Are they one and the same in terms of standard,
maintainability?

Has some one seen an advantage of one over the other?

When should one use simple prototype and when should one use an
extern?

http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cclass/notes/sx5b.html

 

[jacob navia]

As this link points it out one can use extern instead of a function
prototype. Are they one and the same in terms of standard,
maintainability?

Has some one seen an advantage of one over the other?

When should one use simple prototype and when should one use an
extern?

http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cclass/notes/sx5b.html

Re read. The link does not say that one can use extern
INSTEAD of a function prototype.

 

[quarkLore]

Re read. The link does not say that one can use extern
INSTEAD of a function prototype.

Quoted verbatim from the link:
"You may want to stay in the habit of using extern
in all external declarations,
including function declarations, since ``extern
= external declaration'' is an easier rule to remember."

forget that and discuss the issue in hand

 

[Ben Pfaff]

When should one use simple prototype and when should one use an
extern?

A function prototype without any storage class specifier has the
same meaning as the otherwise similar function prototype with
storage class specifier "extern". Thus, you can choose to
include "extern" in the prototype, or not, at your whim. Most C
programmers do not use the "extern" keyword in their prototypes.

 

[Nick Keighley]

Quoted verbatim from the link:
"You may want to stay in the habit of using extern
in all external declarations,
including function declarations, since ``extern
= external declaration'' is an easier rule to remember."

forget that and discuss the issue in hand

forget what? What is the issue in hand?
extern cannot be used instead of a prototype.

 

[pete]

Quoted verbatim from the link:
"You may want to stay in the habit of using extern
in all external declarations, including function declarations,
since ``extern = external declaration''
is an easier rule to remember."

That's not what "external declaration" means.

An external declaration is a declaration
made outside of a function definition.

There's nothing else in a C program besides:
1 external declarations
2 preprocessor directives
3 comments
4 whitespace