comp.lang.c FAQ list · Question 2.1

Q: What's the difference between these two declarations?

	struct x1 { ... };
	typedef struct { ... } x2;

A: The first form declares a structure tag; the second declares a typedef. The main difference is that the second declaration is of a slightly more abstract type--its users don't necessarily know that it is a structure, and the keyword struct is not used when declaring instances of it:

	x2 b;

Structures declared with tags, on the other hand, must be defined with the

	struct x1 a;

(It's also possible to play it both ways:

	typedef struct x3 { ... } x3;

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