How to use "else if" with the preprocessor #ifdef? - c++

In my project the program can do one thing of two, but never both, so I decided that the best i can do for one class is to define it depending of a #define preprocessor variable. The next code can show you my idea, but you can guess that it does not work:
#ifdef CALC_MODE
typedef MyCalcClass ChosenClass;
#elifdef USER_MODE
typedef MyUserClass ChosenClass;
#else
static_assert(false, "Define CALC_MODE or USER_MODE");
#endif
So i can do
#define CALC_MODE
right before this.
I can resign the use of static_assert if needed. How to do this?

Here's a suggestion, based largely on comments posted to your question:
#if defined(CALC_MODE)
typedef MyCalcClass ChosenClass;
#elif defined(USER_MODE)
typedef MyUserClass ChosenClass;
#else
#error "Define CALC_MODE or USER_MODE"
#endif

Related

How to check 2 defines are the same?

In MFC application, there is a define for diagnosing the memory leak and so on.
#ifdef _DEBUG
#define new DEBUG_NEW
#endif
In afx.h, there exists DEBUG_NEW definition
void* AFX_CDECL operator new(size_t nSize, LPCSTR lpszFileName, int nLine);
#define DEBUG_NEW new(THIS_FILE, __LINE__)
How to check new is defined as DEBUG_NEW?
I tried to use
#if defined(new) && new == DEBUG_NEW
It does not work.
If you have access to the MFC application code in question, I would change the #ifdef contruct to:
#ifdef _DEBUG
#define new DEBUG_NEW
#define NEW_REDEFINED
#endif
Then you can do your check using #ifdef NEW_REDEFINED
The idea of redefining a keyword in a macro is a somewhat crazy one and I certainly hope nobody else follows this MFC idea. In that case, a simple
#ifdef new
would suffice. If the default new is used, the keyword won't be defined as a macro.
Depending on what specifically you're after, another option might be to simply use
#ifdef _DEBUG
trusting that new is defined in the form you expect if and only if _DEBUG is defined.
But C++ does not have any check that can be performed in an #if expression that will tell you if a macro is defined in a particular form.
If you only need to know if the two definitions are the same at runtime you could use something like:
#include "string.h"
#define STR(s) #s
#define compare(a, b) (strcmp(STR(a), STR(b)) == 0)
This would compare the exact string used to define each macro, so it may only be useful in certain cases, consider:
#define MY_INT1 int
#define MY_INT2 int
#define MY_INT3 (int)
#define MY_FLOAT float
compare(MY_INT1, MY_INT2) // Evaluates to true
compare(MY_INT1, MY_INT3) // Evaluates to false
compare(MY_INT1, MY_FLOAT) // Evaluates to false

Mutiline macro statement that includes pre-processor directives

I am trying to define a macro which includes a pre-processor if-statement that checks the DEBUG state in its body. Essentially, here is what I would like to achieve:
Option 1
#define MY_MACRO { \
#ifdef _DEBUG \
MyFunction(); \
#endif \
}
I know that an alternative implementation is the following:
Option 2
#ifdef _DEBUG
#define MY_MACRO MyFunction();
#else
#define MY_MACRO
#endif
So, I have two questions:
Is Option 1 above, correctly implemented? If not, what is the right way
to do it?
Is Option 2 always the preferred way to do this?
Yes, option two is the way to do this. As you probably discovered, option 1 just doesn't work. You should probably remove the trailing ; in the substitution though:
#define MY_MACRO MyFunction()
Otherwise, if someone writes:
if (condition)
MY_MACRO;
else
do_something_else();
The substitution yields:
if (condition)
MyFunction();;
else
do_something_else();
...and the two semicolons tell the compiler that an if statement terminated and was followed by an empty statement, then there's an unexpected and illegal else.
Depending on the exact situation, it may be better to have:
#define MY_MACRO() MyFunction()
So the calling code looks like:
MY_MACRO();
That's more consistent with a function call.
There is no way to have a macro expand to any kind of preprocessor directive, so option 1 just won't work. The closest you can come is to define macro that has multiple definitions depending on ifdefs, as you've done in option 2. One thing you can do is define a macro that just expands to its arguments or to nothing, depending on ifdefs:
#ifdef _DEBUG
#define IF_DEBUG(...) __VA_ARGS__
#else
#define IF_DEBUG(...)
#endif
Now you can use this macro in other macros:
#define MY_MACRO IF_DEBUG( MyFunction() )

How to write the below piece of code using macro function?

How should I write the below piece of code using macro function?
#ifdef LOG_ENABLED
m_logger->Log(szType,szMessage);
#endif
I have done something like mentioned below and it resulted in error:-
#define _LOG_MSG_CND_BEGIN_ #ifdef LOG_ENABLED
#define _LOG_MSG_CND_END_ #endif
#define WriteLogMessage(szType,szMessage) \
{\
_LOG_MSG_CND_BEGIN_\
m_logger->Log(szType,szMessage);\
_LOG_MSG_CND_END_\
}
Please let me know how to write macro function for the above three piece of code without any errors.
I have used inline function for the same piece of code but while debugging i saw that the inline function was not getting treated as inline function and so i want to use macro function in this case.
Inline function which i used was as mentioned below:-
inline void WriteLogMessage(LOG_LEVEL szType, LPCTSTR szMessage){
#ifdef LOG_ENABLED
m_logger->Log(szType,szMessage);
#endif
}
The standard C preprocessor is a bit of an idiot and doesn't understand much at all. You want something like this:
#if defined LOG_ENABLED
#define WriteLogMessage(szType,szMessage) m_logger->Log(szType,szMessage)
#else
#define WriteLogMessage(szType,szMessage)
#endif
Preprocessor directives need to be the first thing in a line:
#define _LOG_MSG_CND_BEGIN_
#ifdef LOG_ENABLED
#define _LOG_MSG_CND_END_
#endif
#define WriteLogMessage(szType,szMessage) \
{\
_LOG_MSG_CND_BEGIN_\
m_logger->Log(szType,szMessage);\
_LOG_MSG_CND_END_\
}
EDIT: If you want macros to be expanded to other macros, that's not possible.

What use cases necessitate #define without a token-string?

I have encountered the #define pre-processor directive before while learning C, and then also encountered it in some code I read. But apart from using it to definite substitutions for constants and to define macros, I've not really understook the special case where it is used without a "body" or token-string.
Take for example this line:
#define OCSTR(X)
Just like that! What could be the use of this or better, when is this use of #define necessary?
This is used in two cases. The first and most frequent involves
conditional compilation:
#ifndef XYZ
#define XYZ
// ...
#endif
You've surely used this yourself for include guards, but it can also be
used for things like system dependencies:
#ifdef WIN32
// Windows specific code here...
#endif
(In this case, WIN32 is more likely defined on the command line, but it
could also be defined in a "config.hpp" file.) This would normally
only involve object-like macros (without an argument list or
parentheses).
The second would be a result of conditional compilation. Something
like:
#ifdef DEBUG
#define TEST(X) text(X)
#else
#define TEST(X)
#endif
That allows writing things like:
TEST(X);
which will call the function if DEBUG is defined, and do nothing if it
isn't.
Such macro usually appears in pair and inside conditional #ifdef as:
#ifdef _DEBUG
#define OCSTR(X)
#else
#define OCSTR(X) SOME_TOKENS_HERE
#endif
Another example,
#ifdef __cplusplus
#define NAMESPACE_BEGIN(X) namespace X {
#define NAMESPACE_END }
#else
#define NAMESPACE_BEGIN(X)
#define NAMESPACE_END
#endif
One odd case that I recently dug up to answer a question turned out to be simply commentary in nature. The code in question looked like:
void CLASS functionName(){
//
//
//
}
I discovered it was just an empty #define, which the author had chosen to document that the function accessed global variables in the project:
C++ syntax: void CLASS functionName()?
So not really that different from if it said /* CLASS */, except not allowing typos like /* CLAAS */...some other small benefits perhaps (?)
I agree with every answer, but I'd like to point out a small trivial thing.
Being a C purist I've grown up with the assertion that EACH AND EVERY #define should be an expression, so, even if it's common practice using:
#define WHATEVER
and test it with
#ifdef WHATEVER
I think it's always better writing:
#define WHATEVER (1)
also #debug macros shall be expressions:
#define DEBUG (xxx) (whatever you want for debugging, value)
In this way, you are completely safe from misuse of #macros and prevents nasty problems (especially in a 10 million line C project)
This can be used when you may want to silent some function. For example in debug mode you want to print some debug statements and in production code you want to omit them:
#ifdef DEBUG
#define PRINT(X) printf("%s", X)
#else
#define PRINT(X) // <----- silently removed
#endif
Usage:
void foo ()
{
PRINT("foo() starts\n");
...
}
#define macros are simply replaced, literally, by their replacement text during preprocessing. If there is no replacement text, then ... they're replaced by nothing! So this source code:
#define FOO(x)
print(FOO(hello world));
will be preprocessed into just this:
print();
This can be useful to get rid of things you don't want, like, say, assert(). It's mainly useful in conditional situations, where under some conditions there's a non-empty body, though.
As you can see in the above responses, it can be useful when debugging your code.
#ifdef DEBUG
#define debug(msg) fputs(__FILE__ ":" (__LINE__) " - " msg, stderr)
#else
#define debug(msg)
#endif
So, when you are debugging, the function will print the line number and file name so you know if there is an error. And if you are not debugging, it will just produce no output
There are many uses for such a thing.
For example, one is for the macro to have different behavior in different builds. For example, if you want debug messages, you could have something like this:
#ifdef _DEBUG
#define DEBUG_LOG(X, ...) however_you_want_to_print_it
#else
#define DEBUG_LOG(X, ...) // nothing
#endif
Another use could be to customize your header file based on your system. This is from my mesa-implemented OpenGL header in linux:
#if !defined(OPENSTEP) && (defined(__WIN32__) && !defined(__CYGWIN__))
# if defined(__MINGW32__) && defined(GL_NO_STDCALL) || defined(UNDER_CE) /* The generated DLLs by MingW with STDCALL are not compatible with the ones done by Microsoft's compilers */
# define GLAPIENTRY
# else
# define GLAPIENTRY __stdcall
# endif
#elif defined(__CYGWIN__) && defined(USE_OPENGL32) /* use native windows opengl32 */
# define GLAPIENTRY __stdcall
#elif defined(__GNUC__) && (__GNUC__ * 100 + __GNUC_MINOR__) >= 303
# define GLAPIENTRY
#endif /* WIN32 && !CYGWIN */
#ifndef GLAPIENTRY
#define GLAPIENTRY
#endif
And used in header declarations like:
GLAPI void GLAPIENTRY glClearIndex( GLfloat c );
GLAPI void GLAPIENTRY glClearColor( GLclampf red, GLclampf green, GLclampf blue, GLclampf alpha );
GLAPI void GLAPIENTRY glClear( GLbitfield mask );
...
(I removed the part for GLAPI)
So you get the picture, a macro that is used in some cases and not used in other cases could be defined to something on those cases and nothing to those other cases.
Other cases could be as follows:
If the macro doesn't take parameters, it could be just to declare some case. A famous example is to guard header files. Another example would be something like this
#define USING_SOME_LIB
and later could be used like this:
#ifdef USING_SOME_LIB
...
#else
...
#endif
Could be that the macro was used at some stage to do something (for example log), but then on release the owner decided the log is not useful anymore and simply removed the contents of the macro so it becomes empty. This is not recommended though, use the method I mentioned in the very beginning of the answer.
Finally, it could be there just for more explanation, for example you can say
#define DONT_CALL_IF_LIB_NOT_INITIALIZED
and you write functions like:
void init(void);
void do_something(int x) DONT_CALL_IF_LIB_NOT_INITIALIZED;
Although this last case is a bit absurd, but it would make sense in such a case:
#define IN
#define OUT
void function(IN char *a, OUT char *b);

C++ Preprocessor Decisions

Sorry I know this is basic, but perhaps it doesn't exist or I'm not googling the right words.
Is there and an if not (is that ifndef?) an AND and an OR so I could do something like:
if not DEBUG and MACOS
I think something like #if !defined(DEBUG) && defined(MACOS) should do it.
#ifndef and #if do different things so it depends on what you want. #ifndef is true when there is no defined preprocessor symbol that matches the name following. #if is true when the following preprocessor expression evaluates to non-zero.
You can use the standard && and || operators.
#if !defined(DEBUG) && defined(MACOS)
#error "Ouch!"
#endif
tests, if those macros/values are defined (even set to 0 means defined). Leave out the "defined()" and test again a value, depending on your macros, like
#if DEBUG==0 && MACOS==1
#error "Spam!"
#endif
#if !DEBUG && MACROS
or
#if !DEBUG & !MACROS
depending on what you are looking for. defined() can also help
#if !defined(DEBUG) && defined(MACROS)
#if !(defined(DEBUG) && defined(MACOS))
or
#if !defined(DEBUG) && !defined(MACOS)
depending on what you're trying to evaluate.
#if, #else and #endif are general.
Use #define to declare and #undef to undeclare.
Use #ifdef to check if is declared and #ifndef to check, if is not declared.
Example:
#ifndef LABEL
#define LABEL some_value // declares LABEL as some_value
#else
#undef LABEL // undeclare previously declared LABEL...
#define LABEL new_value // to declare a new_value
#endif
Check out the Boost preprocessing library. It can accomplish a large number of tasks using the preprocessor.