C struct and malloc problem (C)

Question

It's amazing how even the littlest program can cause so much trouble in C.

#include <stdio.h> 
#include <stdlib.h> 

typedef struct node {
    int value;
    struct node *leftChild;
    struct node *rightChild;
} node;

typedef struct tree {
    int numNodes;
    struct node** nodes;
} tree;

tree *initTree() {
    tree* tree = (tree*) malloc(sizeof(tree));
    node *node = (node*) malloc(sizeof(node));
    tree->nodes[0] = node;
    return tree;
}

int main() {
    return 0;
}

The compiler says:

main.c: In function 'initTree':
main.c:17: error: expected expression before ')' token 
main.c:18: error: expected expression before ')' token

Can you please help?

Answer 1

I second that Mehrdad's explanation is to the point.

It's not uncommon that in C code you define a variable with the same name as the struct name for instance "node node;". Maybe it is not a good style; it is common in, e.g. linux kernel, code.

The real problem in the original code is that the compiler doesn't know how to interpret "tree" in "(tree*) malloc". According to the compiling error, it is obviously interpreted as a variable.

Answer 2

Change (tree*) and (node*) to (struct tree*) and (struct node*). You can't just say tree because that's also a variable.