<html lang="en"> <head> <title>Empty Structures - Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html"> <meta name="description" content="Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)"> <meta name="generator" content="makeinfo 4.13"> <link title="Top" rel="start" href="index.html#Top"> <link rel="up" href="C-Extensions.html#C-Extensions" title="C Extensions"> <link rel="prev" href="Zero-Length.html#Zero-Length" title="Zero Length"> <link rel="next" href="Variable-Length.html#Variable-Length" title="Variable Length"> <link href="http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/" rel="generator-home" title="Texinfo Homepage"> <!-- Copyright (C) 1988-2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being ``Funding Free Software'', the Front-Cover Texts being (a) (see below), and with the Back-Cover Texts being (b) (see below). A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''. (a) The FSF's Front-Cover Text is: A GNU Manual (b) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: You have freedom to copy and modify this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.--> <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <style type="text/css"><!-- pre.display { font-family:inherit } pre.format { font-family:inherit } pre.smalldisplay { font-family:inherit; font-size:smaller } pre.smallformat { font-family:inherit; font-size:smaller } pre.smallexample { font-size:smaller } pre.smalllisp { font-size:smaller } span.sc { font-variant:small-caps } span.roman { font-family:serif; font-weight:normal; } span.sansserif { font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:normal; } --></style> </head> <body> <div class="node"> <a name="Empty-Structures"></a> <p> Next: <a rel="next" accesskey="n" href="Variable-Length.html#Variable-Length">Variable Length</a>, Previous: <a rel="previous" accesskey="p" href="Zero-Length.html#Zero-Length">Zero Length</a>, Up: <a rel="up" accesskey="u" href="C-Extensions.html#C-Extensions">C Extensions</a> <hr> </div> <h3 class="section">6.18 Structures with No Members</h3> <p><a name="index-empty-structures-2987"></a><a name="index-zero_002dsize-structures-2988"></a> GCC permits a C structure to have no members: <pre class="smallexample"> struct empty { }; </pre> <p>The structure has size zero. In C++, empty structures are part of the language. G++ treats empty structures as if they had a single member of type <code>char</code>. </body></html>