University of Central Florida (UCF) EGN3211 Engineering Analysis and Computation Final Practice Exam

A function prototype in C serves as a declaration that informs the compiler about the function's name, return type, and parameters before its actual implementation. This declaration allows the compiler to understand how to correctly call the function later in the code, establishing a contract for how data flows into and out of the function.

In the case of a function prototype, it does not include the function's body or the actual implementation, but it does specify essential details such as the types of parameters that the function will accept and the type of value it will return. For example, a prototype might look like this: `int add(int a, int b);`, which tells the compiler that there is a function named `add` that takes two integers and returns an integer.

The significance of having a function prototype is that it helps prevent errors by ensuring that the function is called with the correct number and types of arguments, even before the actual function body is defined or executed.