GCC errors

Problem:

While trying to compile your C/C++ program, you see an error message like

../src/main.c:48:9: error: implicit declaration of function 'StartBenchmark' [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
         StartBenchmark();

Solution:

implicit declaration of function means that you are trying to use a function that has not been declared. In our example above, StartBenchmark is the function that is implicitly declared.

This is how you call a function:

StartBenchmark();

This is how you declare a function:

void StartBenchmark();

The following bullet points list the most common reasons and how to fix them:

1. Missing #include: Check if the header file that contains the declaration of the function is #included in each file where you call the function (especially the file that is listed in the error message), before the first call of the function (typically at the top of the file). Header files can be included via other headers,
2. Function name typo: Often the function name of the declaration does not exactly match the function name that is being called. For example, startBenchmark() is declared while StartBenchmark() is being called. I recommend to fix this by copy-&-pasting the function name from the declaration to wherever you call it.
3. Bad include guard: The include guard that is auto-generated by IDEs often looks like this:

   #ifndef _EXAMPLE_FILE_NAME_H
   #define _EXAMPLE_FILE_NAME_H
   // ...
   #endif

   Note that the include guard definition _EXAMPLE_FILE_NAME_H is not specific to the header filename that we are using (for example Benchmark.h). Just the first of all header file names wil

4. Change the order of the #include statements: While this might seem like a bad hack, it often works just fine. Just move the #include statements of the header file containing the declaration to the top. For example, before the move:

   #include "Benchmark.h"
   #include "other_header.h"

   after the move:

   #include "Benchmark.h"
   #include "other_header.h"

Problem:

When trying to compile your C++ application, you see lots of undefined reference to messages like

AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x6a): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::basic_string(std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x81): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::basic_string(std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x8a): undefined reference to `std::chrono::_V2::system_clock::now()'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0xcd): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::~basic_string()'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0xe6): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::~basic_string()'
/usr/bin/ld: /tmp/cc356AdP.o: in function `AutoBenchmark::~AutoBenchmark()':
AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x17e): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::~basic_string()'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x18e): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::~basic_string()'
/usr/bin/ld: /tmp/cc356AdP.o: in function `AutoBenchmark::Record(std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)':
AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x1db): undefined reference to `std::chrono::_V2::system_clock::now()'
/usr/bin/ld: /tmp/cc356AdP.o: in function `AutoBenchmark::Record(char const*)':
AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x252): undefined reference to `std::allocator<char>::allocator()'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x288): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::~basic_string()'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x294): undefined reference to `std::allocator<char>::~allocator()'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x2b9): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::~basic_string()'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x2ce): undefined reference to `std::allocator<char>::~allocator()'
/usr/bin/ld: /tmp/cc356AdP.o: in function `AutoBenchmark::Print()':
AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x316): undefined reference to `std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >::length() const'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x332): undefined reference to `std::cout'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x337): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x344): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x572): undefined reference to `std::cout'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x577): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x59c): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x5ab): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char const*)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x5c2): undefined reference to `std::ostream::operator<<(double)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x5d1): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char const*)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x607): undefined reference to `std::cout'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x60c): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x631): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x640): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char const*)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x657): undefined reference to `std::ostream::operator<<(double)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x666): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char const*)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x69c): undefined reference to `std::cout'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x6a1): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x6c6): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x6d5): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char const*)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x6ec): undefined reference to `std::ostream::operator<<(double)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x6fb): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char const*)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x731): undefined reference to `std::cout'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x736): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x75b): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x76a): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char const*)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x781): undefined reference to `std::ostream::operator<<(double)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x790): undefined reference to `std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >& std::operator<< <std::char_traits<char> >(std::basic_ostream<char, std::char_traits<char> >&, char const*)'
/usr/bin/ld: AutoBenchmark.cpp:(.text+0x7c6): undefined reference to `std::cout'

Solution:

You need to link the stdc++ library by adding -lstdc++ to your compiler/linker flags.

For example, instead of

gcc -o myprogram *.c

use

gcc -o myprogram *.c -lstdc++

Problem:

When trying to compile an application on Linux, you see a compiler error message like

myheader.h:23:12: error: expected constructor, destructor, or type conversion before ‘(’ token
   23 |  __declspec(dllexport) int myfunc(

Solution:

__declspec(dllexport) is a Windows-specific feature and not available on Linux. In order to fix it in a compatible way, add this code either in a header that is included in every file containing __declspec(dllexport) or add it in each file where the error occurs:

#ifdef __linux__
#define __declspec(v)
#endif

This will basically ignore any __declspec() call on the preprocessor level.

Problem:

When trying to compile your application using gcc, you see an error message like

/usr/bin/ld: /tmp/ccxPIowU.o: in function `run_mymath':
mathstuff.c:(.text+0x15d): undefined reference to `sqrt'

Solution:

You need to link the math library using the -lm flag (-lxxx means: “link the xxx library”, i.e. -lm means “link the m” library)

For example, instead of

gcc -o myprogram *.c

use

gcc -o myprogram *.c -lm

Problem:

If you’re trying to compile Windows code on Linux, you will often see messages like

lmmin.c:261:10: warning: implicit declaration of function ‘_finite’; did you mean ‘finite’? [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
  116 |     if(!_finite(myvalue)){

or

/usr/bin/ld: mymath.c:(.text+0x1057): undefined reference to `_finite'

and your code won’t compile.

Solution:

_finite is a function that is only available on Windows. In order to use it on Linux using GCC or G++, one option is to use isfinite() from math.h:

#include <math.h>

#define _finite(v) (isfinite((v)))

In case that function is not available (like on some Microcontroller platforms), you can use __builtin_isfinite(). Note that glibc defines isfinite() as an alias for __builtin_isfinite(). Use it like this:

#define _finite(v) (__builtin_isfinite(v))

In case you want to have code that is compatible with both platforms (Windows and Linux), use

#ifdef __linux__
#define _finite(v) (__builtin_isfinite(v))
#endif

or

#include <math.h>

#ifdef __linux__
#define _finite(v) (isfinite((v)))
#endif

Problem:

You are trying to compile a C/C++ program but you see an error message like

src\main.cpp:127:21: error: call of overloaded 'abs(uint32_t)' is ambiguous

that refers to a line like

long timedelta = abs(millis() - startTime);

Solution:

Cast the argument to abs() to int or another suitable type:

long timedelta = abs(((int)millis() - startTime));

That should fix the error.

The reason for the error message is that millis() and startTime are both unsigned integers (uint32_t), hence their difference (millis() - startTime) is also an uint32_t. However it makes no sense to compute the abs() of an unsigned integer since the absolute value of an absolute-value integer is  always the same as the input argument.

Then, the compiler tries to cast the uint32_t to any type that is compatible with abs(), like int, float, double, … but it doesn’t know which of those types is the correct one to cast it to.

By saying call of overloaded abs() the compiler is trying to tell you that there are multBiple argument types with which you can call abs(), including int, float, double, … – a function with the same name but different argument types is called overloaded.

By saying is ambiguous, the compiler is telling you that it doesn’t know which of those variants of abs() it should call.

Note that the compiler does not know that all overloaded variants of abs() fundamentally do the same thing, so it won’t just cast your uint32_t into any arbitrary type. Also, there are tiny details in how the abs() variants work – for example, float abs(float) will do a different calculation compared to double abs(double) since it computes with 32-bit floating point numbers (float) as opposed to 64-bit floating point numbers (double).

Hence, the compiler can’t just assume that they are all the same and it doesn’t matter which one it calls, even though they represent the same underlying mathematical operation

Problem:

You are trying to compile a C/C++ program but you see an error message like

src\main.cpp:357:21: error: invalid operands of types 'float' and 'int' to binary 'operator&'

that refers to a line like

long m = round(v) & 0x7FF;

Solution:

The result of round() is a floating point number. You are trying to use the & operator to perform bitwise AND of a float and an int (0x7FF in the example above). However, you can not perform bitwise operation on floats in C/C++.

In order to fix this, case the result of round() to int:

long m = ((int)round(v)) & 0x7FF;

That should fix the compiler error.

Problem:

Your C++ code contains a line like

#include <stringstream>

since you want to use std::stringstream, but your compiler gives you this error message:

main.cpp:2:10: fatal error: stringstream: No such file or directory
 #include <stringstream>
          ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~
compilation terminated.

Solution:

The header is called sstream, not stringstream! Use this #include directive instead:

#include <sstream>

Problem:

You are trying to compile C sourcecode that uses open(), but you see a compiler error message like this:

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:3:14: warning: implicit declaration of function ‘open’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
     int fd = open("my.txt", O_RDONLY);
              ^~~~
main.c:3:29: error: ‘O_RDONLY’ undeclared (first use in this function)
     int fd = open("my.txt", O_RDONLY);
                             ^~~~~~~~
main.c:3:29: note: each undeclared identifier is reported only once for each function it appears in

or

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:3:14: warning: implicit declaration of function ‘open’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
     int fd = open("my.txt", O_RDWR);
              ^~~~
main.c:3:29: error: ‘O_RDWR’ undeclared (first use in this function)
     int fd = open("my.txt", O_RDWR);
                             ^~~~~~
main.c:3:29: note: each undeclared identifier is reported only once for each function it appears in

or

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:3:14: warning: implicit declaration of function ‘open’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
     int fd = open("my.txt", O_WRONLY);
              ^~~~
main.c:3:29: error: ‘O_WRONLY’ undeclared (first use in this function)
     int fd = open("my.txt", O_WRONLY);
                             ^~~~~~~~
main.c:3:29: note: each undeclared identifier is reported only once for each function it appears in

Solution:

Add

#include <fcntl.h>

to the top of the source file where the error occured.

The POSIX header fcntl.h includes the definitions for O_RDONLY, O_RDWR and O_WRONLY amongst other POSIX-related definitions.

Also, this will include the definition for open() itself, which is missing as well – this is indicated by this line in the error message:

main.c:3:14: warning: implicit declaration of function ‘open’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]

See the OpenGroup reference on fcntl.h for more details on what else is defined in fcntl.h and what the meaning of all the individual flags is.

Problem:

You have C code like

_exit(1);

but when you try to compile it you see a warning message like

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:3:5: warning: implicit declaration of function ‘_exit’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
     _exit(1);
     ^~~~~
main.c:3:5: warning: incompatible implicit declaration of built-in function ‘_exit’

Solution:

Add

#include <unistd.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured.

Note that in case you use _Exit(...) (capital E) instead of _exit(...), you need to add

#include <stdlib.h>

instead.

Read the manpage for _exit in case you need further information on _exit(...).

Problem:

You have C code like

dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, 'myfunc');

but when you try to compile it you see an error message like

main.c:3:11: error: ‘RTLD_NEXT’ undeclared (first use in this function)
     dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, 'myfunc');
           ^~~~~~~~~

Solution:

Add

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <dlfcn.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured.

In order for RTLD_NEXT to be declared, #define _GNU_SOURCE must occur before the first #include statement!

Problem:

You have C code like

dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, 'myfunc');

but when you try to compile it you see a warning message like

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:3:5: warning: implicit declaration of function ‘dlsym’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
     dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, 'myfunc');

Solution:

Add

#include <dlfcn.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured. This will include both dlopen, dlsym and related definitions like RTLD_NEXT.

Problem:

You have C code like

int v = 123;
intptr_t vptr = (intptr_t)&v;

but when you try to compile it you see an error message like

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:5:1: error: unknown type name ‘intptr_t’; did you mean ‘__int128_t’?
 intptr_t vptr = (intptr_t)&v;
 ^~~~~~~~
 __int128_t
main.c:5:18: error: ‘intptr_t’ undeclared (first use in this function)
 intptr_t vptr = (intptr_t)&v;
                  ^~~~~~~~
main.c:5:18: note: each undeclared identifier is reported only once for each function it appears in

Solution:

Add

#include <stdint.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured.

Problem:

You have C code like

va_list ap;
int mode = va_arg(ap, int);

but when you try to compile it you see an error message like

main.c:5:23: error: expected expression before ‘int’
  int mode= va_arg(ap, int);
                       ^~~

Solution:

This error occurs because va_arg is undeclared. Add

#include <stdarg.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured. This will include the definitions for va_list and the va_arg function.

Problem:

You have C code like

va_list ap;
int mode = va_arg(ap, int);

but when you try to compile it you see a warning message like

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:4:2: error: unknown type name ‘va_list’
  va_list ap;
  ^~~~~~~

Solution:

Add

#include <stdarg.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured. This will include the definitions for va_list and the va_arg function.

Problem:

You have C code like

va_list ap;
int mode = va_arg(ap, int);

but when you try to compile it you see a warning message like

main.c:5:12: warning: implicit declaration of function ‘va_arg’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
  int mode= va_arg(ap, int);

Solution:

Add

#include <stdarg.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured. This will include the definitions for both va_list and va_arg.

Problem:

You have C code like

mode_t mode;

but when you try to compile it you see an error message like

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:4:2: error: unknown type name ‘mode_t’
  mode_t mode;
  ^~~~~~

Solution:

Add

#include <sys/stat.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured. In case you want further information about what mode_t represents, I recommend reading this blogpost.

Problem:

You have C code like

errno = EFAULT;

but when you try to compile it you see an error message like

main.c:4:5: note: each undeclared identifier is reported only once for each function it appears in
main.c:4:13: error: ‘EFAULT’ undeclared (first use in this function)
     errno = EFAULT;

Solution:

Add

#include <errno.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured. This will include both error codes like EFAULT and the global errno variable itself.

Problem:

You have C code like

errno = EFAULT;

but when you try to compile it you see an error message like

main.c: In function ‘main’:
main.c:4:5: error: ‘errno’ undeclared (first use in this function)
     errno = EFAULT;
     ^~~~~
main.c:4:5: note: each undeclared identifier is reported only once for each function it appears in
main.c:4:13: error: ‘EFAULT’ undeclared (first use in this function)
     errno = EFAULT;

Solution:

Add

#include <errno.h>

at the top of the source file where the error occured. This will include both the errno variable and specific error codes like EFAULT.