Syntax error: missing ';' before '*'

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#1

i cannot seem to get this one working.
whenever i move the #include “Tank.h” to the Tankplayercontroller.cpp, it gives me this error in unreal (no intellisense issue though):
CompilerResultsLog: Error: C:\Unreal Projects\UnrealTankGame\BattleTank\Source\BattleTank\TankPlayerController.h(23) : error C2143: syntax error: missing ‘;’ before ‘*’
CompilerResultsLog: Error: C:\Unreal Projects\UnrealTankGame\BattleTank\Source\BattleTank\TankPlayerController.h(23) : error C4430: missing type specifier - int assumed. Note: C++ does not support default-int
CompilerResultsLog: Error: C:\Unreal Projects\UnrealTankGame\BattleTank\Source\BattleTank\TankPlayerController.h(23) : error C2238: unexpected token(s) preceding ‘;’

there is no such syntax error because everything works fine when the include in the .h file.

same issue if i move the #include “TankPlayerController.h” from tank.h to tank.cpp.
CompilerResultsLog: Error: C:\Unreal Projects\UnrealTankGame\BattleTank\Source\BattleTank\Tank.h(24) : error C2143: syntax error: missing ‘;’ before ‘*’
CompilerResultsLog: Error: C:\Unreal Projects\UnrealTankGame\BattleTank\Source\BattleTank\Tank.h(24) : error C4430: missing type specifier - int assumed. Note: C++ does not support default-int
CompilerResultsLog: Error: C:\Unreal Projects\UnrealTankGame\BattleTank\Source\BattleTank\Tank.h(24) : error C2238: unexpected token(s) preceding ‘;’

the lines in question are:
ATank * GetControlledTank() const; // in tankplayercontroller.h
UTankAimingComponent * TankAimingComponent = nullptr; // in tank.h

i honestly dont understand how it Should work, as in - how can the compiler know what ATank/UTankAimingComponent is if its not declared anywhere in the file.h, but instead declared in the cpp file that includes this one? is this somehow gets rearranged in the .obj file?

#2

So, I had this exact same issue. And I was losing my mind trying to figure out why. After doing some research and going over the unreal API coding standards I finally figured out the problem.

In the “Tank.h” file (under “protected”) where we declare…
UTankAimingComponent* TankAimingComponent = nullptr;

You’ll want to tell unreal that this is a class.
class UTankAimingComponent* TankAimingComponent = nullptr;

This applies to every other instance where you want to declare a new method based on your custom class, like in TankPlayerController.h

private:
class ATank* GetControlledTank() const;

I hope this helps. It definitely fixed a lot of problems for me.

6 Likes
#3

Thanks @iShred3d for the class hint! (works for me on UE4.25 with IDE Rider 4UE)

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