Why can't my IF statement see a global?

Question

I'm rather new to Arduino programming. I have a problem compiling the following bit of code:

const int relay1 = 10;  //Power Relay 1
const int relay2 = 11;  //Power Relay 2
const int relay3 = 12;  //Toggle Relay
const int button1 = 3;  
const int button2 = 4;
const int button3 = 5;

//---Button States---\\
int button1State;   //Current state of Button 1
int button2State;   //Current state of Button 2
int button3State;   //Current state of Button 3
int button1State_prev = LOW;  //Previous state of Button 1
int button2State_prev = LOW;  //Previous state of Button 2
int button3State_prev = LOW;  //Previous state of Button 3

//---General Variables---\\
int userSelection = 0;
int interlockState = 0;
int platformState = 0;

//---Interval-Tracking Variables---\\
unsigned long lastTime_Debounce1 = 0;   //Button 1 debounce time
unsigned long lastTime_Debounce2 = 0;   //Button 2 debounce time

//---Activity Delays---\\
const unsigned int relayDelay = 10;           //Delay between relay actions (ms)
const unsigned int debounceDelay = 60;        //Delay for button de-bouncing (ms)

void setup() {
  //Configure Pins
  pinMode(relay1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(relay2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(relay3, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(button1, INPUT);
  pinMode(button2, INPUT);
  pinMode(button3, INPUT);

  digitalWrite(relay1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(relay2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(relay3, LOW);
}

void loop() {
  //Read value of each input pin
  int button1Reading = digitalRead(button1);  //Current reading of Button 1
  int button2Reading = digitalRead(button2);  //Current reading of Button 2
  int button3Reading = digitalRead(button3);  //Current reading of Button 3

  //Debounce Button1
  if (button1Reading != button1State_prev) {
    lastTime_Debounce1 = millis();
  }
  button1State_prev = button1Reading;
  if ((millis() - lastTime_Debounce1) > debounceDelay) {
    if (button1Reading != button1State) {
      button1State = button1Reading;
    }
  }

  //Debounce Button2
  if (button2Reading != button2State_prev) {
    lastTime_Debounce2 = millis();
  }
  button2State_prev = button2Reading;
  if ((millis() - lastTime_Debounce2) > debounceDelay) {
    if (button2Reading != button2State) {
      button2State = button2Reading;
    }
  }

For some reason, the compiler is convinced that the variable lastTime_Debounce1 in the second IF-statement, on Line 54, has not been declared in-scope. I don't understand how this is possible, since the variable in question is a defined and initialized global.

If I comment-out the first trio of IF-statements (handling Button 1), the second trio (handling button 2) has no problem compiling, even though it does exactly the same thing in exactly the same way.

I checked all the usual suspects: spelling, braces, semicolons, even commented-out blocks of code one at a time, but I can't find the source of the problem. I'm using the Arduino 1.8.2 IDE.

Can someone please point out the mistake I'm missing?

Answer 1

The backslash in your comments are the problem. As per C++ language definitions, a \ at the end of the line is interpreted as a "line continuation". Thus, your comment gets continued in the next line and your variable declaration and initialization is commented out.

This is apparent when opening your code with a good syntax highlighting program, like Notepad++.

Removing all \\ from the end of the comment line solves your problem.

Side note: For more info, look at https://stackoverflow.com/a/30290133/5296568. Backslashes at the end of a line are actually useful when used in multi-line macro definitions.