WiFiGeneric: add fallback Network‑event typedefs (ESP32‑C6 fix)

[OneNeutrino]

Description

ESP32-C6 builds using Arduino Core v3.x can fail when WiFiGeneric.h is included before NetworkEvents.h (e.g., if WiFi.h is included directly without Network.h or ETH.h first). This leaves network event types like NetworkEventCb and arduino_event_id_t undefined. Projects like ESPresense can encounter this scenario.

This patch adds minimal, compatible fallback typedefs directly within <WiFiGeneric.h>, guarded by #if ESP_ARDUINO_VERSION_MAJOR >= 3. These fallbacks ensure the types have some definition known to the preprocessor when the #define aliases (like #define WiFiEventCb NetworkEventCb) are encountered, regardless of whether <NetworkEvents.h> was included first.

This prevents the "not declared" errors and ensures wider compatibility for projects compiling against Core v3.x, especially on newer targets like the C6, with no effect on other chips/cores where <NetworkEvents.h> is included normally.

Additional Context (PlatformIO Users)

Based on feedback from @me-no-dev, it's important to note that the Arduino-ESP32 core team no longer officially supports the standard PlatformIO espressif32 platform package.

Users encountering general build failures (like "Error: This board doesn't support arduino framework!") when trying to use Arduino Core v3.x with PlatformIO, especially for newer chips (C6, S3, C3, etc.), are advised to switch to the community-maintained pioarduino platform package: https://github.com/pioarduino/platform-espressif32

This specific PR addresses the typedef issue within the Arduino core files themselves, which is relevant regardless of the PlatformIO platform used, but the pioarduino package is the recommended way to use the latest Arduino cores within the PlatformIO ecosystem.

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[lucasssvaz]

@OneNeutrino Why not just change the include order ?

Can you give an example where this might be an issue ?

[OneNeutrino]

Thanks for the review, @lucasssvaz !

While ensuring Network.h is included before the WiFiEventCb defines within WiFiGeneric.h might seem sufficient, the core issue arises when other compilation units (like application .cpp files or other libraries) include <WiFi.h> or <WiFiGeneric.h> without having previously included "Network.h".

In those cases, the preprocessor hits the #define WiFiEventCb NetworkEventCb line inside WiFiGeneric.h before NetworkEventCb has been defined (because the definition lives in Network.h/NetworkEvents.h, which haven't been included yet in that specific compilation unit). This leads to the " 'NetworkEventCb' has not been declared" errors.

The shim approach guarantees that minimal, compatible fallback definitions for these event types are always present before WiFiGeneric.h defines its aliases, regardless of the include order in the specific .cpp file being compiled. This makes the fix robust for downstream projects like ESPresense 1, which includes <WiFi.h> in many places (often indirectly via src/main.h) and triggers these errors when built for the C6 target using Arduino Core v3.x.

This ensures compatibility without requiring users to audit and modify include orders throughout their entire codebase.

[me-no-dev]

Please provide minimal example sketch to demonstrate the issue you are trying to fix

[OneNeutrino]

@me-no-dev

Here's a minimal example sketch and platformio.ini to demonstrate the issue this PR addresses:

Minimal_C6_Event_Test.ino:

#include <Arduino.h>
#include <WiFi.h> // Include WiFi first

WiFiClass WiFi; // Use WiFi object

// Dummy handler to potentially use event types
void WiFiEventHandler(arduino_event_id_t event) {
Serial.printf("[WiFi-event] event: %d\n", event);
}

void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
Serial.println("Minimal ESP32-C6 Network Event Type Test");
// WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
}

void loop() {
delay(1000);
}

platformio.ini:

[env:esp32c6_minimal_test]
platform = espressif32@>=6.0.0 ; Use official platform V6+ (Arduino Core v3+)
board = esp32-c6-devkitc-1 ; Or any other ESP32-C6 board
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200

The Problem:
When compiling this sketch for an ESP32-C6 target using espressif32@>=6.0.0 (which uses Arduino Core v3.x), compilation fails with errors like:

• error: 'NetworkEventCb' has not been declared
• error: 'arduino_event_id_t' has not been declared
• ... and other related event type errors originating from within WiFiGeneric.h.

This occurs because:

1. The sketch includes <WiFi.h> directly, without having included <Network.h> or <ETH.h> first.
2. <WiFi.h> includes <WiFiGeneric.h>.
3. Inside <WiFiGeneric.h>, preprocessor directives like #define WiFiEventCb NetworkEventCb are encountered before the definition of NetworkEventCb (which resides in <NetworkEvents.h>, typically included via <Network.h>) is visible in this specific compilation unit.

While ensuring <Network.h> is included first in user code is a solution, libraries or other .cpp files might include <WiFi.h> directly, triggering this failure. Projects like ESPresense hit this when building for the C6 target.

The Fix:
This PR adds minimal, compatible fallback typedefs for these event types directly within <WiFiGeneric.h>, guarded by #if ESP_ARDUINO_VERSION_MAJOR >= 3. These fallbacks ensure that the types have some definition known to the preprocessor when the #define aliases are encountered, regardless of whether <Network.h> was included first, thus preventing the "not declared" errors and ensuring wider compatibility for projects compiling against Core v3.x, especially on newer targets like the C6.

[me-no-dev]

1. Commenting out WiFiClass WiFi; // Use WiFi object makes the sketch compile (it should be commented, because WiFi is already defined in WiFi.h)
2. PlatformIO is no longer supported (because they do not support us anymore). Please switch to pioarduino if you want to be able to compile with the latest core versions

[OneNeutrino]

@me-no-dev,
Regarding the WiFiClass WiFi; in the minimal example sketch - you're right, that was an oversight in the example and isn't needed as WiFi.h typically provides the instance. I'll remove it from the PR description for clarity.
The information about PlatformIO support is crucial, thank you very much for clarifying the situation. This explains the difficulties encountered when trying to build for C6 targets with Arduino core v3 using the standard platform = espressif32.
Based on your recommendation, I'm now switching to use the pioarduino platform package 1 as the way forward for compiling with the latest cores in PlatformIO.
Appreciate the guidance!

[me-no-dev]

@OneNeutrino given that you now use pioarduino and latest cores, can you still encounter an error? If so, can you provide a new example so we can also reproduce it?

[OneNeutrino]

@me-no-dev
Thanks for the follow-up and the suggestion to try pioarduino.

I switched the platform in my platformio.ini:

[env:esp32c6]
# platform = [email protected]
# platform_packages =
#   framework-arduinoespressif32 @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32.git#2.0.17
platform = pioarduino
board = esp32-c6-devkitc-1
board_build.flash_mode = dio
upload_speed = 921600
monitor_speed = 115200
monitor_filters = esp32_exception_decoder
build_flags =
    -DARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=1
    -D MQTT_MAX_PACKET_SIZE=1024
    -D MQTT_MAX_TRANSFER_SIZE=1024
    -DASYNC_TCP_SSL_ENABLED=0
    -D LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
    -D MQTT_DISABLE_ENCRYPTION
    -D ESP32
lib_deps =
    https://github.com/ESPresense/ESPAsyncWebServer.git
    https://github.com/ESPresense/qrcode.git
    ESP Async WebServer
    PubSubClient
    ArduinoJson
    Preferences
    Update
build_type = debug

Unfortunately, the build still fails with the same type of compilation errors as when using the standard espressif32 platform with its default Arduino Core v3:

In file included from C:/Users/Stark/.platformio/packages/framework-arduinoespressif32@src-6738aaddd9fb901216d5f60e093380b6/libraries/WiFi/src/WiFiGeneric.h:33,
                 from C:/Users/Stark/.platformio/packages/framework-arduinoespressif32@src-6738aaddd9fb901216d5f60e093380b6/libraries/WiFi/src/WiFiSTA.h:28,
                 from C:/Users/Stark/.platformio/packages/framework-arduinoespressif32@src-6738aaddd9fb901216d5f60e093380b6/libraries/WiFi/src/WiFi.h:32,
                 from lib/ESPAsyncWebServer/src/ESPAsyncWebServer.h:40,
                 from lib/ESPAsyncWebServer/src/AsyncWebSocket.h:32,
                 from lib/ESPAsyncWebServer/src/AsyncWebSocket.cpp:30:
C:/Users/Stark/.platformio/packages/framework-arduinoespressif32@src-6738aaddd9fb901216d5f60e093380b6/libraries/Ethernet/src/ETH.h:154:42: error: expected class-name before '{' token
  154 | class EthernetNetworkInterface : public NetworkInterface {
      |                                          ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
C:/Users/Stark/.platformio/packages/framework-arduinoespressif32@src-6738aaddd9fb901216d5f60e093380b6/libraries/Ethernet/src/ETH.h:254:3: error: 'network_event_handle_t' does not name a type; did you mean 'network_prov_event_handler_t'?
  254 |   network_event_handle_t _network_event_handle;
      |   ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      |   network_prov_event_handler_t

... and many similar errors related to networking classes and types in WiFiGeneric.h, ETH.h, etc.

This confirms what others have found (e.g., in ESPresense Issue #1270: Support for ESP32-C6):

1. The ESP32-C6 requires Arduino Core v3.x (based on ESP-IDF v5.1+).
2. The ESPresense codebase (and its dependencies like the pinned version of ESPAsyncWebServer) relies heavily on networking APIs (like NetworkInterface, network_event_handle_t, etc.) from Arduino Core v2.x.
3. These APIs were significantly changed or removed in Core v3.x, causing these compilation errors.
4. While the pioarduino platform successfully provides the Core v3 build environment within PlatformIO (thank you for that!), it cannot fix the underlying code incompatibility within ESPresense itself.

The project needs code-level updates to adapt to the Arduino Core v3 API changes before it can compile successfully for the ESP32-C6.

For completeness, I also confirmed that forcing the standard espressif32 platform to use Core v2.0.17 with the C6 board definition fails during PlatformIO's setup phase with KeyError: 'toolchain-riscv32-esp', which seems to be another known symptom related to the standard platform's handling of C6/Core v2 combinations.

It looks like the path forward requires code modifications within ESPresense to achieve Core v3 compatibility. Issue #1270 seems to be the main place tracking C6 support.