C Language Typedef Typedef for Function Pointers
Example
We can use typedef to simplify the usage of function pointers. Imagine we have some functions, all having the same signature, that use their argument to print out something in different ways:
#include<stdio.h>
void print_to_n(int n)
{
for (int i = 1; i <= n; ++i)
printf("%d\n", i);
}
void print_n(int n)
{
printf("%d\n, n);
}
Now we can use a typedef to create a named function pointer type called printer:
typedef void (*printer_t)(int);
This creates a type, named printer_t for a pointer to a function that takes a single int argument and returns nothing, which matches the signature of the functions we have above. To use it we create a variable of the created type and assign it a pointer to one of the functions in question:
printer_t p = &print_to_n;
void (*p)(int) = &print_to_n; // This would be required without the type
Then to call the function pointed to by the function pointer variable:
p(5); // Prints 1 2 3 4 5 on separate lines
(*p)(5); // So does this
Thus the typedef allows a simpler syntax when dealing with function pointers. This becomes more apparent when function pointers are used in more complex situations, such as arguments to functions.
If you are using a function that takes a function pointer as a parameter without a function pointer type defined the function definition would be,
void foo (void (*printer)(int), int y){
//code
printer(y);
//code
}
However, with the typedef it is:
void foo (printer_t printer, int y){
//code
printer(y);
//code
}
Likewise functions can return function pointers and again, the use of a typedef can make the syntax simpler when doing so.
A classic example is the signal function from <signal.h>. The declaration for it (from the C standard) is:
void (*signal(int sig, void (*func)(int)))(int);
That's a function that takes two arguments — an int and a pointer to a function which takes an int as an argument and returns nothing — and which returns a pointer to function like its second argument.
If we defined a type SigCatcher as an alias for the pointer to function type:
typedef void (*SigCatcher)(int);
then we could declare signal() using:
SigCatcher signal(int sig, SigCatcher func);
On the whole, this is easier to understand (even though the C standard did not elect to define a type to do the job). The signal function takes two arguments, an int and a SigCatcher, and it returns a SigCatcher — where a SigCatcher is a pointer to a function that takes an int argument and returns nothing.
Although using typedef names for pointer to function types makes life easier, it can also lead to confusion for others who will maintain your code later on, so use with caution and proper documentation. See also Function Pointers.
