Make a version file of macros which run at compile time - c++

I want to ask if I can make a file of macros that basically defined at compile time and use these macros in my c++ code which compiles specific code if the condition is true. SO what is basically the extension for that file is it a .txt file or a .h file. and how to put this file in CmakeList.txt to make it executable at compile time. for example like this in a specific file?
#define melodic 1
#define noetic 2

A C++ macro is a shortcut for writing code, what happens when you compile your project is that this code:
#define SOMETHING 32
int i = SOMETHING
Is changed to before it is compiled:
int i = 32
So a macro just substitutes text wherever you place it. There is also another use of macros that maybe is what you are looking for. You can use the preprocessing directive #ifdef MACRO to compile some code conditionally. For example, let's say that you have a function that is only there for debugging, but you don't want that code to make it to release. You could define it like:
void hello() {
#ifdef DEBUG
print("debug");
#endif
}
Then, if that file has a #define DEBUG before the #ifdef macro, the code will be included. Otherwise, the code will be discarded. Note that to use #ifdef the macro body may be empty or not, it just checks if the defined directive was used.
What you might want to accomplish is to have a series of preprocessor macros that you either set or don't in a separate configuration file to change the code produced. They are a very powerful tool, but they must be use with caution since having too many can make code not very readable.
To accomplish that, you need to include the #define MACRO in the same file that you are checking if it is defined, and before you check it. If you are only using that macro in that file, it would be good to place it at the top of it, but if you use it on multiple files you can create a header file (.h) and use #include "name.h", since include copies the contents of the header file there, therefore adding the macro definitions to your file.
The preprocessor directives are dependent on the compiler, so the version and type of compiler you use (gcc, clang...) will have different support for them. However, defined and ifdef are very widely spread and most if not all compilers have them. I recommend reading more about directives, for example here.
Finally, in case you go the route of the .h file, you would add it like any other header file you have in your project to the CmakeList.txt.

Related

Preventing multiple #define when including headers

coming from python and am a bit tripped up on what the proper approach to this is.
I am trying to include this library in my project:
https://github.com/nothings/stb/blob/master/stb_image.h
to do so, i have to #define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION exactly once before importing the file (as per that file's doc)
This makes sense, where I am confused is, I have CLASS.h/cpp and in .h I define functions that use typedefs from that file, so I have
#define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION
#include <stb_image.h>
in that header file, and can't move these lines to .cpp as headers needs the defs for function def, but as soon as another file includes this header, (#ifndef wont help, i believe), that will be defined twice
I have a structure where TOP creates the CLASS above, but parent also creates OTHER, and OTHER needs to include PARENT, which includes CLASS, which triggers the issue (and prevents me from just moving the #define to PARENT) Note the actual class structure is more complex then this, but this idea seems to be a core issue, and I'm looking for the general best practice.
So, is there some way to ensure these #defines are defined before anything else, and done only once? This seems like a fundamental thing but I can't figure it out - What's the best approach?
This code is a library, and doesn't have a defined entry if that matters
Create a cpp file (or whatever extension you are using for your source files) whose sole purpose is to have
#define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION
#include <stb_image.h>
and don't forget to include this cpp file into your project so that it is compiled and the result is linked into your program. In all other places where you need something from this library, just include the stb_image.h header as usual.
These "implementation" macros are a "trick" used by some library authors to make "installing" their library easy. The idea is that when a specific macro (chosen by the library authors) is defined before the header of that library is included, some code with the actual implementation will be added. That is why this must be in a source file instead of a header and only in one source file (otherwise you get multiple definitions for the same functions).
You should have the #define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION macro definition in exactly one source file that includes <stb_image.h> (a .cpp file, not in a header).
Since you can also only have one source file that defines main(), it is simple to put the #define in the same file as main() (as long as it also includes <stb_image.h>), but it can be used in any other source file if you prefer. You could even create a source file stb_image_imp.cpp that contains just the two lines shown, and link that into your program (or library) too.
All other source files in the project should only include <stb_image.h> without also defining the macro.
#define is a preprocessor directive and doesn't actually get run everytime the header is accessed so you should
't have any problems
if you are using visual studio you can also do #pragma once to only parse the file once stopping anything from happening twice

Conditionally Include File in C++ Header

I have a program that references an "nvml.h" file in order to execute some portion of the code. On my Linux machine, this is accomplished by including the following line in the header file:
#include "/usr/local/cuda/include/nvml.h"
However, I want the user to be able to run the program even if this file does not exist on their system. I have rendered the program modular so this can be accomplished, but I still need some method by which I can check if the file exists at all and, if not, abstain from including it in my header file.
I have tried an IF/DEF statement in order to get it working on both Windows and Linux:
#if defined(Q_OS_UNIX)
#include "usr/local/cuda/include/nvml.h"
#else
#include "C:/Users/thisUser/nvml.h"
But I cannot think of a method by which I can use the IF/DEF structure to check for file existence. Is there any way to do this with preprocessor directives in C++?
You should just do
#include "nvml.h"
set the include path while compiling depending on platform:
g++ -I/usr/local/cuda/include ...
But I cannot think of a method by which I can use the IF/DEF structure to check for file existence. Is there any way to do this with preprocessor directives in C++?
Since C++17, there is the macro __has_include which does exactly this.
Prior to C++17, there was no such directive in the standard, although may have been supported as an extension. A compiler may support command line argument to provide macro definitions, which can be utilised to forward the result of a check for existence prior to compilation.
That said, for your particular case, it might be better to simply include <nvml.h> and add the parent directory to include path. See the manual of your compiler for details - or use a build system to take care of it.
C++17 simplifies this a bit with __has_include which provides the ability to conditionally #include a file only if the file is found in the system.
#if __has_include( <optional> )
# include <optional>
#elif __has_include( <experimental/optional> )
# include <experimental/optional>
#else
//
#endif

C++ preprocessor executing both #ifdef and #ifndef

So I'm currently working on something that uses OpenCL. The OpenCL spec provides the users with a directive which must be included before the inclusion of the header (cl.h)
#define CL_TARGET_OPENCL_VERSION 110
Which basically defines the version they want to use. Suppose I'm making a library and I want my users to define this instead of me defining this inside my files. What I did was.
-----main.cpp---
#define CL_TARGET_OPENCL_VERSION 110
#include "library.h"
-------x---------
----library.h-----
#ifdef CL_TARGET_OPENCL_VERSION
#pragma message("def")
#endif
#ifndef CL_TARGET_OPENCL_VERSION
#pragma message("ndef")
#endif
.... include other headers.
--------x---------
And the compiler prints both def and ndef messages. And the OpenCL library also throws a warning that it's undefined. I thought that the library header would get substituted into main and it'd only print the def message. Is there anything I understood wrong?
I'm particularly confused as to where does the preprocessor start? If it starts from main.cpp and goes from top to down, then it surely has defined the macro. After that it sees the library inclusion, then it should only print the def message but it prints both.
This leds me to believe the preprocessor does scan the header file before including it in main? Dunno the reason why. Also I have assured that the library header isn't included elsewhere.
One interesting thing I noticed was, if i did this
-----helper.h---
#define CL_TARGET_OPENCL_VERSION 110
-------x---------
----library.h-----
#include helper.h
#ifdef CL_TARGET_OPENCL_VERSION
#pragma message("def")
#endif
#ifndef CL_TARGET_OPENCL_VERSION
#pragma message("ndef")
#endif
.... include other headers.
--------x---------
It prints the def message "twice". If anybody can explain all this I'd be grateful.
EDIT:- The files I'm compiling are main.cpp library.h and library.cpp
Library.cpp includes library.h from the start as usual. Maybe this other cpp is causing the problem?
In C/C++ programs, the compiler handles each .c and .cpp file separately.
The compilers build each source file (NOT the header files, only .c and .cpp files) independently from each other (this source files are called compilation unit).
Thus, when your main.cpp is built, the compiler finds the #define CL_TARGET_OPENCL_VERSION 110 you have added on top of the main.cpp file, emiting the defmessage.
But when the compiler builds the library.cpp file, it does not find the version define, so it emits the ndef message.
So, following this explanation, it is completely normal that in your last case, when you add the define to the .h file, the compiler emits the def message twice, once for the main.cpp file and once for the library.cpp file.
Now, the problem is where should you add the define, in order to have the program built consistently, with the same version for all the .cpp files.
Usually, all the IDEs have some configuration page where you can add global defines, for all the project, which are "inserted" into all the compilation units before everything else. So when the IDE calls the compiler, it passes the same defines to all the compilation units. You should add this kind of defines in this page.
In your IDE (I am using Code::Blocks, v 17.12), you can find this page in the menu: Project / Build Options
For each type (Debug or Release), you have to go to the tab Compiler Settings, and there to the sub tab #defines. There you can add global defines, which can be different if you are building in Debug or in Release mode (of course, if you set the same in both modes, they would be the same).
Once you have added your define here, please, remove it from the main.cpp, library.h and any other place where you may have added it, in order to avoid duplicities.
From the comments about portability:
You have several options:
Always use Code::Blocks: this would be the easiest way, since you can pass the Code::Blocks project along with the source files, and everything would be already setup.
Use cmake, which is a script build system, where you can set defines and so in the same way as using an IDE. cmake is much widely used than Code::Blocks, so maybe it is a better option.
Add a new options.h header file, where you set all the defines, and include it to all your .c/.cpp. This setup has the additional benefit that for different systems, changing only the options.h file the build can be completely different. This is a manually setup of what the IDE is doing. It has the advantage that does not rely on external tools, but the disadvantage that you have to remember to add it in all the new .cpp files added to the project.
My recommendation is go with cmake, just as the others have said.
Prefer using #ifndef XXXX_h #define XXXX_h #endif over #pragma once
If your #include search path is sufficiently complicated, the compiler may be unable to tell the difference between two headers with the same basename (e.g. a/foo.h and b/foo.h), so a #pragma once in one of them will suppress both. It may also be unable to tell that two different relative includes (e.g. #include "foo.h" and #include "../a/foo.h" refer to the same file, so #pragma once will fail to suppress a redundant include when it should have.
This also affects the compiler's ability to avoid rereading files with #ifndef guards, but that is just an optimization. With #ifndef guards, the compiler can safely read any file it isn't sure it has seen already; if it's wrong, it just has to do some extra work. As long as no two headers define the same guard macro, the code will compile as expected. And if two headers do define the same guard macro, the programmer can go in and change one of them.
#pragma once has no such safety net -- if the compiler is wrong about the identity of a header file, either way, the program will fail to compile. If you hit this bug, your only options are to stop using #pragma once, or to rename one of the headers. The names of headers are part of your API contract, so renaming is probably not an option.
(The short version of why this is problematic to use #pragma is that neither the Unix nor the Windows filesystem API offer any mechanism that guarantees to tell you whether two absolute pathnames refer to the same file.)

Include header files optionally in C++

I have a C++ code which needs to include a certain library in some servers and not in other servers. I build my code using bjam.
Code example:
if server in server_list:
include <header-file.h>
int function();
else:
int function();
And during build using bjam:
if server in server_list:
-llibrary
else:
...
Header file inclusion is a compile time activity not run time. So you can't use if conditions for the same
use #ifdefs
#define SERVER_IN_LIST
#ifdef SERVER_IN_LIST
#include<...>
#endif
In C and C++ any line that begins with a # is a pre-processor directive. The pre-processor is a text parser that parses a source code file before it is compiled. It understands particular directives such as #include, #define and #ifdef but it treats normal C++ code as if it were text. For this reason, you can't use normal C++ code to alter the interpretation of the pre-processor directives.
Let's look at an example:
if (x == 4){
#include "x4.h"
}
The above is wrong because the if statement and its braces are part of the C++ code so will be ignored by the pre-processor. The pre-processor will go straight ahead and interpret the #include directive, which will cause the contents of x4.h to be pasted into that position in the file.
The correct way to write this is to use conditional pre-processor directives such as #if or #ifdef. For example...
#ifdef INCLUDE_X4
# include "x4.h"
#endif
Note that the indentation in this code is optional.
More information about pre-processor directives can be found here.

How to include part of file by C++ preprocessor #include

I want to refer some stable library code which is not maintained by me. Actually it is some MFC code snippet.
But, whenever I want to include the code snippet, I have to #include entire file, which consequently I have to include other stuff, then the whole MFC ... The consequence is not acceptable.
Currently, I copy/paste the code snippet into my project, but I feel disgraceful. Can I just refer part of a file by C++ preprocessor?
Even the code is hard-linked with specific MFC version, it is better than duplicate them in my project. With such hard-link, I will know it's from MFC and save my time to check them.
Is there some super #include usage?
Can we write something like
#include "foo.h" line [12, 55)
which means to include line 22 to 54 for foo.h
What some have done is write #ifdef-sections in their headers to allow including files to only get specific parts. I don't know if your MFC file has those but you can look through it and use any existing ones or write your own.
The header usually look something like this
#ifdef USE_FANCYPANTS
bool hasFancyPants();
#endif
#ifdef USE_COOLSTUFF
void doCoolStuff();
#endif
And your include files then use #define before including.
#define USE_FANCYPANTS
#include "header.hpp"
Then you only get hasFancyPants() and not doCoolStuff()
You can use conditional compilation to inlcude/exclude stuff you dont need. You have to change the source code slighty, and amend project settings.
Can use typedef keyword, which would define types differently for MFC and non-MFC, and/or specific to your project settings, and the legacy code.
You may put entire stuff in a DLL or a .LIB (having code, not just declaration), and put the linker pragma in header file itself.