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ctypedeffunction-calls

Should I use my own typedefs in library calls?

I'm doing some network programming in Linux at the moment and for this I made myself some typdefs for portability

typedef char int8;
typedef unsigned char uint8;

typedef short int16;
typedef unsigned short uint16;

typedef int int32;
typedef unsigned int uint32;

Now I'm at a point where I want to write some wrapper functions for often used socket functions. A short example would be:

int32 rawSocketCreate(int* sockfd, int protocol) {

    *sockfd = socket(AF_PACKET, SOCK_RAW, htons(protocol));

    if (*sockfd == -1) {
        printf("Error creating raw socket\n");
        return -1;
    }

    return 0;
}

My question now is: For parameters I pass on to library functions, should I keep using the standard data types or also use my own? 

rawSocketCreate(int* sockfd, int protocol)
/* OR */
rawSocketCreate(int32* sockfd, int32 protocol)
Solution

  • C pet peeve... what is wrong with <stdint.h> and the standard typedefs it provides? Everybody seems to use typedef's of his own invention, but virtually no-one seems to use the standard include (which comes with proper macros for printf() and scanf() handling etc.)...

    If an API call expects an int, you should pass it an int, without making assumptions about the native width of said int (because assumptions tend to break in the most unfortunate moments).

    Use defined-width typedefs if the exact width matters, only. (For example cross-platform binary compatibility of struct layouts, hardware drivers, ...)