BUG: Causes of A2042 During Data Initialization (85228)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) 6.0
- Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) 6.0a
- Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) 6.0b
- Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) 6.1
- Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) 6.1a
- Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) 6.11
This article was previously published under Q85228 SYMPTOMS
Attempting to initialize a STRUCT or an array with a single data statement
may generate the following error when too many initialization values are
used:
error A2042: statement too complex
CAUSE
The error is produced because the token limit for that particular line has
been exceeded. This limit may also be exceeded by lines that are extended
using the backslash ("\") character or the comma, as shown in the sample
code below.
RESOLUTION
Do not attempt to initialize a struct on a single line that contains more
than 99 tokens, commas, numbers, and so forth.
The data statement can be broken into several statements as shown by the
array D2 in the sample below. Consecutive data items specified in this way
are allocated in memory exactly as they would be if they were in a single
data declaration.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft Macro
Assembler (MASM) versions 6.x. We are researching this problem and will
post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes
available.
MORE INFORMATIONSample Code
In the sample code below, there are 97 tokens in the line where
test_struct0 is declared on a single text line. This line assembles without
a problem. The initialization of test_struc1, however, causes error A2042
to be generated. test_struc1 has 99 tokens, which causes the error A2042 to
be produced. test_struct2 and test_struct3 are multiple-line demonstrations
of the same problem.
The array d1 illustrates the same problem for an array of WORD. Array d2
shows a workaround.
; assembly options needed: /c
.MODEL SMALL,C
.DATA
prob_struct STRUCT 2
element WORD 60 DUP(0)
prob_struct ENDS
; test_struct0 and test_struct1 should be single lines; they were
; broken for readability. Reassemble them to a single line.
test_struct0 prob_struct {{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,
2,3,4,5,6,7}} ; no error
test_struct1 prob_struct {{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,
2,3,4,5,6,7,8}} ; error produced
test_struct2 prob_struct {{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7}} ; no error
test_struct3 prob_struct {{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8}} ; error produced
d1 WORD 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,20,
21,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,30,31,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,
40,41,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
; error A2042: statement too complex
d2 WORD 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,20,
21,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,30,31,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,40,
41,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
WORD 9
; same data as d1 but assembles without error
END
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 10/22/2003 |
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| Keywords: | KB85228 |
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