(First C Program / Hello World) Keep getting Syntax Error

Question

This is my C code:

#include <stdio.h>

void print_hello() {
    printf("Hello n10321234, welcome to BSB211");
}

int main() {
    print_hello();
    return 0;
}

However, I keep getting the following errors when I compile and run the executable.

./print_hello: line 3: syntax error near unexpected token ('

./print_hello: line 3: `void print_hello(){'

For compiling, I use gcc print_hello.c -o print_hello and to run I use ./print_hello.

Welcome to askubuntu. There seems to be no obvious error in your code above. But please note that your question is much more suitable for https://stackoverflow.com/ . You should also include some information on how you compile your code ... — dragosht, Mar 01 '20 at 06:36
You haven't said what OS/release you are using, but on Ubuntu c programs get compiled to *executable* binaries and not .exe files. Your question is off-topic as written https://askubuntu.com/help/on-topic Usually too the compile and execution/run steps are separated, compile errors occurring at compile time, link step follows then a later step actually executes the code; your wording implies both *compile* and *execute* are done together so you didn't mention what tool as it doesn't sound like `gcc` or `clang` so you should be specific. — guiverc, Mar 01 '20 at 06:39
Reviewers: This isn't really off-topic. It's not about how to write C++ code. It's a tooling question and it's OS-specific (at least the form it takes is OS-specific, and in practice the confusion here isn't one people face in some popular OSes, e.g., Windows). We have some questions that cover this. I think we should reopen this and close it as a duplicate of one of them, perhaps [Why do I get syntax error when I try to run my C++ program after compiling it?](https://askubuntu.com/q/1024721/22949) (Per the [help/on-topic], "Development on Ubuntu" is on-topic. That has to include *something*.) — Eliah Kagan, Mar 02 '20 at 15:03
Does this answer your question? [Why do I get syntax error when I try to run my C++ program after compiling it?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1024721/why-do-i-get-syntax-error-when-i-try-to-run-my-c-program-after-compiling-it) — Melebius, Mar 03 '20 at 08:51

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Mar 03 '20 at 08:50

1

You are probably trying to "execute" the source code instead of the binary file produced by the C compiler & linker.

Please:

Go to the directory containing your C program.
Remove file print_hello using command: rm -f print_hello.
Correct the permissions of print_hello.c file using command: chmod 640 print_hello.c
Run the command: gcc print_hello.c -o print_hello and ensure that it does not output any error message.
Ensure that a new executable is created in the current directory by checking the output of the command: file print_hello.
Run the new executable using the command: ./print_hello.

Note: After you edit (change) your source code, just re-run steps 4 and 6.

edited Mar 03 '20 at 08:50

Melebius

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answered Mar 01 '20 at 09:21

FedKad

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How should this help on the syntax-error ? – Soren A Mar 01 '20 at 12:57
2

The OP is trying the "execute" the source code instead of the binary file produced by the C compiler & linker. I assume that these precise steps will help the OP avoid such pitfalls. – FedKad Mar 01 '20 at 13:28

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 03 '20 at 09:38

Most probably your source code was written or edited in a non-Unix environment and you try to compile it in Ubuntu.

The error message syntax error near unexpected token `(‘ occurs in a Unix-type environment, Cygwin, and in the command-line interface in Windows. This error will most probably be triggered when you try to run a shell script which was edited or created in older DOS/Windows or Mac systems.

In such case you can use dos2unix tool to convert it.

 dos2unix yoursourcecode.c

For more info : https://appuals.com/fix-syntax-error-near-unexpected-token/

(First C Program / Hello World) Keep getting Syntax Error

2 Answers2