C - X Macro Self Iteration / Expansion - c

I am curious if any of you can think of a way upon macro expansion to repeat the macro itself. Here is an incredibly small scale version of an overall bigger problem:
#include<stdio.h>
#define LETTERS\
X(A)\
X(B)\
X(C)\
X(D)
#define X(L) #L
int main(int nargs,char** args)
{
printf("%s\n",LETTERS);
return 0;
}
Output: ABCD
Desired output: AABCD BABCD CABCD DABCD
The desired output is clearly similar to a nested (N^2) loop over whatever input data.
The stringification doesn't matter, it's only there for compilation.
There are some obvious and some not so obvious solutions to the desired output.
One is to make a complete copy of the macro, then between each X element, you simply refer to the copy. This would be wasteful and I don't want to do it. Obviously you can't refer to the macro itself due to recursion. I have made many attempts to find a decent solution, and won't list all of them as it would take up way too much time. I am open to solutions that use other macros to repeat or expand the original, or solutions that use janky forms of recursion.
#include<stdio.h>
#define LETTERS_COPY\
X(A)\
X(B)\
X(C)\
X(D)
#define LETTERS\
X(A)\
LETTERS_COPY\
X(B)\
LETTERS_COPY\
X(C)\
LETTERS_COPY\
X(D)\
LETTERS_COPY
#define X(L) #L
int main(int nargs,char** args)
{
printf("%s\n",LETTERS);
return 0;
}
Again, this builds just fine and works, but requires a complete duplicate of the original data, interjecting itself between each X element.

If you use an iterating macro, like how one is defined in the P99 macro utility collection, then it becomes much easier to solve.
Since we intend to define an iterating macro, we don't need X-macros on the letters anymore.
#define LETTERS \
A \
,B \
,C \
,D
Below is a simplified iterating macro that supports up to 5 arguments. Hopefully you see how to extend the implementation if you need more.
#define XX(X, ...) \
XX_X(__VA_ARGS__, XX_5, XX_4, XX_3, XX_2, XX_1) \
(X, __VA_ARGS__)
#define XX_X(_1,_2,_3,_4,_5,X,...) X
#define XX_1(X, _) X(_)
#define XX_2(X, _, ...) X(_) XX_1(X, __VA_ARGS__)
#define XX_3(X, _, ...) X(_) XX_2(X, __VA_ARGS__)
#define XX_4(X, _, ...) X(_) XX_3(X, __VA_ARGS__)
#define XX_5(X, _, ...) X(_) XX_4(X, __VA_ARGS__)
So, if you invoke XX(X, LETTERS), it will expand into the X-macro version of LETTERS you had before.
The magic of the XX() macro is the meta nature of the XX_X() macro, which selects the right numeric macro to use. The numeric macro is passed in reverse order to the XX_X() macro when it is invoked by XX(). This makes it so that XX_X() selects a lower numeric macro if __VA_ARGS__ contains fewer arguments.
Now, we create a macro to turn the argument into a string:
#define STR(X) STR_(X)
#define STR_(X) #X
This allows you to easily create the string with all your letters.
And printing your iterative output just needs another macro.
int main () {
const char *letters = XX(STR, LETTERS);
#define LETTERS_PRINT(X) printf("%s%s\n", #X, letters);
XX(LETTERS_PRINT, LETTERS)
}
We see that the solution applies XX() twice. Once to create the string of all your letters. Once to create the output, which is prepending each letter to the combined letters.
Try it online!

For anyone wondering, the best I could do was make a second X macro that takes 2 args, and the outer list becomes a function macro that takes a single arg. This lets you pass data to the list, and to the second x macro, while still being able to unpack either X macro however you like.
#include<stdio.h>
#define _CAT(A,B) A##B
#define CAT(A,B) _CAT(A,B)
#define _STR(S) #S
#define STR(S) _STR(S)
#define LETTERS(L)\
XX(L,X(A))\
XX(L,X(B))\
XX(L,X(C))\
XX(L,X(D))
int main(int nargs,char** args)
{
#define X(L) L
#define XX(L1,L2) STR(CAT(L1,L2))
printf("%s\n",LETTERS(A));
printf("%s\n",LETTERS(B));
printf("%s\n",LETTERS(C));
printf("%s\n",LETTERS(D));
#undef XX
#undef X
return 0;
}

Related

Detect presence or absence of arguments in a C macro

How can one define a C macro IFARGS(YES, NO, ...) such that invoking IFARGS with no additional arguments produces NO, and invoking IFARGS with one or more arguments produces YES?
I have an answer using GCC (see below), but I'd prefer one for C99 if possible (or a proof of its impossibility).
In C99 it is possible to detect if a macro argument is empty, but making that robust against all odds that may appear in that argument (arguments that are themselves expanding, contain () and stuff like that) is difficult. My macro package P99 implements such a thing, so you wouldn't have to worry too much. With that your macro can be implemented as
#define IFARGS(YES, NO, ...) P99_IF_EMPTY(__VA_ARGS__)(YES(__VA__ARGS__))(NO())
As its name indicates, P99 is only building on C99 features for that.
#define GET(_0, _1) _0 // Return the first of two arguments
#define GET_(_0, _1) _1 // Return the second of two arguments
#define JOIN(_0, _1) _0 ## _1 // Concatenate two arguments
#define EJOIN(_0, _1) JOIN(_0, _1) // Expand macros and concatenate
#define FIRST(_, ...) _ // Truncate everything after first comma
#define EFIRST(_) FIRST(_) // Expand argument and pass to FIRST
#define REST(_0, ...) __VA_ARGS__ // Remove everything before first comma
#define GET_GET(...) \
EJOIN(GET, EFIRST(REST(,,##__VA_ARGS__ _))) // Branch between GET and GET_
#define IFARGS(YES, NO, ...) GET_GET(__VA_ARGS__)(YES, NO)
Note that if this were possible in C99, then it would be possible to simulate ##__VA_ARGS__, like so:
#define PREPEND_COMMA(...) , __VA_ARGS__
#define NO_COMMA()
#define PREPEND_COMMA_IF_NONEMPTY(...) IFARGS(PREPEND_COMMA, NO_COMMA, __VA_ARGS__)(__VA_ARGS__)
Then any instance of , ##__VA_ARGS__ could be replaced by PREPEND_COMMA_IF_NONEMPTY(__VA_ARGS__).

C Macro building with defines

I am having trouble getting this macro expanison right
#define foo Hello
#ifdef foo
#define wrapper(x) foo ## x
#else
#define wrapper(x) boo ## x
#endif
calling:
wrapper(_world)
I would like the result of
Hello_world
however, the macro is treating the "foo" define as a literal, and thus giving
foo_world
Can someone point out my mistake?
Thanks
I would recommend gnu-cpp-manual which clearly explains how macros are expanded.
Macro arguments are completely macro-expanded before they are substituted into a macro body, unless they(macro arguments) are stringified or pasted with other tokens (by the macro function that is directly applied to).
For example:
If an argument is stringified or concatenated, the prescan does not occur.
#define AFTERX(x) X_ ## x
#define XAFTERX(x) AFTERX(x)
#define TABLESIZE 1024
#define BUFSIZE TABLESIZE
AFTERX(BUFSIZE) => X_BUFSIZE: since AFTERX is to concatenate argument with prefix, its argument is not expanded, remaining BUFSIZE.
XAFTERX(BUFSIZE) => X_1024: XAFTERX does not do concatenation directly, so BUFSIZE will be expanded first.
Generally, arguments are scanned twice to expand macro called in them.
--- edit ---
So the better practice is: (code from QEMU source)
#ifndef glue
#define xglue(x, y) x ## y
#define glue(x, y) xglue(x, y)
#define stringify(s) tostring(s)
#define tostring(s) #s
#endif
glue(x,y) will concatenate x and y with both already expanded.

Use an optional argument in a macro in C [duplicate]

Is there some way of getting optional parameters with C++ Macros? Some sort of overloading would be nice too.
Here's one way to do it. It uses the list of arguments twice, first to form the name of the helper macro, and then to pass the arguments to that helper macro. It uses a standard trick to count the number of arguments to a macro.
enum
{
plain = 0,
bold = 1,
italic = 2
};
void PrintString(const char* message, int size, int style)
{
}
#define PRINT_STRING_1_ARGS(message) PrintString(message, 0, 0)
#define PRINT_STRING_2_ARGS(message, size) PrintString(message, size, 0)
#define PRINT_STRING_3_ARGS(message, size, style) PrintString(message, size, style)
#define GET_4TH_ARG(arg1, arg2, arg3, arg4, ...) arg4
#define PRINT_STRING_MACRO_CHOOSER(...) \
GET_4TH_ARG(__VA_ARGS__, PRINT_STRING_3_ARGS, \
PRINT_STRING_2_ARGS, PRINT_STRING_1_ARGS, )
#define PRINT_STRING(...) PRINT_STRING_MACRO_CHOOSER(__VA_ARGS__)(__VA_ARGS__)
int main(int argc, char * const argv[])
{
PRINT_STRING("Hello, World!");
PRINT_STRING("Hello, World!", 18);
PRINT_STRING("Hello, World!", 18, bold);
return 0;
}
This makes it easier for the caller of the macro, but not the writer.
With great respect to Derek Ledbetter for his answer — and with apologies for reviving an old question.
Getting an understanding of what it was doing and picking up elsewhere on the ability to preceed the __VA_ARGS__ with ## allowed me to come up with a variation...
// The multiple macros that you would need anyway [as per: Crazy Eddie]
#define XXX_0() <code for no arguments>
#define XXX_1(A) <code for one argument>
#define XXX_2(A,B) <code for two arguments>
#define XXX_3(A,B,C) <code for three arguments>
#define XXX_4(A,B,C,D) <code for four arguments>
// The interim macro that simply strips the excess and ends up with the required macro
#define XXX_X(x,A,B,C,D,FUNC, ...) FUNC
// The macro that the programmer uses
#define XXX(...) XXX_X(,##__VA_ARGS__,\
XXX_4(__VA_ARGS__),\
XXX_3(__VA_ARGS__),\
XXX_2(__VA_ARGS__),\
XXX_1(__VA_ARGS__),\
XXX_0(__VA_ARGS__)\
)
For non-experts like me who stumble upon the answer, but can't quite see how it works, I'll step through the actual processing, starting with the following code...
XXX();
XXX(1);
XXX(1,2);
XXX(1,2,3);
XXX(1,2,3,4);
XXX(1,2,3,4,5); // Not actually valid, but included to show the process
Becomes...
XXX_X(, XXX_4(), XXX_3(), XXX_2(), XXX_1(), XXX_0() );
XXX_X(, 1, XXX_4(1), XXX_3(1), XXX_2(1), XXX_1(1), XXX_0(1) );
XXX_X(, 1, 2, XXX_4(1,2), XXX_3(1,2), XXX_2(1,2), XXX_1(1,2), XXX_0(1,2) );
XXX_X(, 1, 2, 3, XXX_4(1,2,3), XXX_3(1,2,3), XXX_2(1,2,3), XXX_1(1,2,3), XXX_0(1,2,3) );
XXX_X(, 1, 2, 3, 4, XXX_4(1,2,3,4), XXX_3(1,2,3,4), XXX_2(1,2,3,4), XXX_1(1,2,3,4), XXX_0(1,2,3,4) );
XXX_X(, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, XXX_4(1,2,3,4,5), XXX_3(1,2,3,4,5), XXX_2(1,2,3,4,5), XXX_1(1,2,3,4,5), XXX_0(1,2,3,4,5) );
Which becomes just the sixth argument...
XXX_0();
XXX_1(1);
XXX_2(1,2);
XXX_3(1,2,3);
XXX_4(1,2,3,4);
5;
PS: Remove the #define for XXX_0 to get a compile error [ie: if a no-argument option is not allowed].
PPS: Would be nice to have the invalid situations (eg: 5) be something that gives a clearer compilation error to the programmer!
PPPS: I'm not an expert, so I'm very happy to hear comments (good, bad or other)!
With greatest respect to Derek Ledbetter, David Sorkovsky, Syphorlate for their answers, together with the ingenious method to detect empty macro arguments by Jens Gustedt at
https://gustedt.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/detect-empty-macro-arguments/
finally I come out with something that incorporates all the tricks, so that the solution
Uses only standard C99 macros to achieve function overloading, no GCC/CLANG/MSVC extension involved (i.e., comma swallowing by the specific expression , ##__VA_ARGS__ for GCC/CLANG, and implicit swallowing by ##__VA_ARGS__ for MSVC). So feel free to pass the missing --std=c99 to your compiler if you wish =)
Works for zero argument, as well as unlimited number of arguments, if you expand it further to suit your needs
Works reasonably cross-platform, at least tested for
GNU/Linux + GCC (GCC 4.9.2 on CentOS 7.0 x86_64)
GNU/Linux + CLANG/LLVM, (CLANG/LLVM 3.5.0 on CentOS 7.0 x86_64)
OS X + Xcode, (XCode 6.1.1 on OS X Yosemite 10.10.1)
Windows + Visual Studio, (Visual Studio 2013 Update 4 on Windows 7 SP1 64 bits)
For the lazies, just skip to the very last of this post to copy the source. Below is the detailed explanation, which hopefully helps and inspires all people looking for the general __VA_ARGS__ solutions like me. =)
Here's how it goes. First define the user-visible overloaded "function", I named it create, and the related actual function definition realCreate, and the macro definitions with different number of arguments CREATE_2, CREATE_1, CREATE_0, as shown below:
#define create(...) MACRO_CHOOSER(__VA_ARGS__)(__VA_ARGS__)
void realCreate(int x, int y)
{
printf("(%d, %d)\n", x, y);
}
#define CREATE_2(x, y) realCreate(x, y)
#define CREATE_1(x) CREATE_2(x, 0)
#define CREATE_0() CREATE_1(0)
The MACRO_CHOOSER(__VA_ARGS__) part ultimately resolves to the macro definition names, and the second (__VA_ARGS__) part comprises their parameter lists. So a user's call to create(10) resolves to CREATE_1(10), the CREATE_1 part comes from MACRO_CHOOSER(__VA_ARGS__), and the (10) part comes from the second (__VA_ARGS__).
The MACRO_CHOOSER uses the trick that, if __VA_ARGS__ is empty, the following expression is concatenated into a valid macro call by the preprocessor:
NO_ARG_EXPANDER __VA_ARGS__ () // simply shrinks to NO_ARG_EXPANDER()
Ingeniusly, we can define this resulting macro call as
#define NO_ARG_EXPANDER() ,,CREATE_0
Note the two commas, they are explained soon. The next useful macro is
#define MACRO_CHOOSER(...) CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(NO_ARG_EXPANDER __VA_ARGS__ ())
so the calls of
create();
create(10);
create(20, 20);
are actually expanded to
CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(,,CREATE_0)();
CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(NO_ARG_EXPANDER 10 ())(10);
CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(NO_ARG_EXPANDER 20, 20 ())(20, 20);
As the macro name suggests, we are to count number of arguments later. Here comes another trick: the preprocessor only does simple text replacement. It infers the number of arguments of a macro call merely from the number of commas it sees inside the parentheses. The actual "arguments" separated by commas need not to be of valid syntax. They can be any text. That's to say, in the above example, NO_ARG_EXPANDER 10 () is counted as 1 argument for the middle call. NO_ARG_EXPANDER 20 and 20 () are counted as 2 arguments for the bottom call respectively.
If we use the following helper macros to further expand them
##define CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(...) \
FUNC_RECOMPOSER((__VA_ARGS__, CREATE_2, CREATE_1, ))
#define FUNC_RECOMPOSER(argsWithParentheses) \
FUNC_CHOOSER argsWithParentheses
The trailing , after CREATE_1 is a work-around for GCC/CLANG, suppressing a (false positive) error saying that ISO C99 requires rest arguments to be used when passing -pedantic to your compiler. The FUNC_RECOMPOSER is a work-around for MSVC, or it can not count number of arguments (i.e., commas) inside the parentheses of macro calls correctly. The results are further resolved to
FUNC_CHOOSER (,,CREATE_0, CREATE_2, CREATE_1, )();
FUNC_CHOOSER (NO_ARG_EXPANDER 10 (), CREATE_2, CREATE_1, )(10);
FUNC_CHOOSER (NO_ARG_EXPANDER 20, 20 (), CREATE_2, CREATE_1, )(20, 20);
As the eagle-eyed you may have seen, the last only step we need is to employ a standard argument counting trick to finally pick the wanted macro version names:
#define FUNC_CHOOSER(_f1, _f2, _f3, ...) _f3
which resolves the results to
CREATE_0();
CREATE_1(10);
CREATE_2(20, 20);
and certainly gives us the desired, actual function calls:
realCreate(0, 0);
realCreate(10, 10);
realCreate(20, 20);
Putting all together, with some rearrangement of statements for better readability, the whole source of the 2-argument example is here:
#include <stdio.h>
void realCreate(int x, int y)
{
printf("(%d, %d)\n", x, y);
}
#define CREATE_2(x, y) realCreate(x, y)
#define CREATE_1(x) CREATE_2(x, 0)
#define CREATE_0() CREATE_1(0)
#define FUNC_CHOOSER(_f1, _f2, _f3, ...) _f3
#define FUNC_RECOMPOSER(argsWithParentheses) FUNC_CHOOSER argsWithParentheses
#define CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(...) FUNC_RECOMPOSER((__VA_ARGS__, CREATE_2, CREATE_1, ))
#define NO_ARG_EXPANDER() ,,CREATE_0
#define MACRO_CHOOSER(...) CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(NO_ARG_EXPANDER __VA_ARGS__ ())
#define create(...) MACRO_CHOOSER(__VA_ARGS__)(__VA_ARGS__)
int main()
{
create();
create(10);
create(20, 20);
//create(30, 30, 30); // Compilation error
return 0;
}
Although complicated, ugly, burdening the API developer, there comes a solution for overloading and setting optional parameters of C/C++ functions to us crazy people. The usage of the out-coming overloaded APIs become very enjoyable and pleasant. =)
If there is any further possible simplification of this approach, please do let me know at
https://github.com/jason-deng/C99FunctionOverload
Again special thanks to all of the brilliant people that inspired and led me to achieve this piece of work! =)
C++ macros haven't changed from C. Since C didn't have overloading and default arguments for functions, it certainly didn't have them for macros. So to answer your question: no, those features don't exist for macros. Your only option is to define multiple macros with different names (or not use macros at all).
As a sidenote: In C++ it's generally considered good practice to move away from macros as much as possible. If you need features like this, there's a good chance you're overusing macros.
For anyone painfully searching some VA_NARGS solution that works with Visual C++. Following macro worked for me flawlessly(also with zero parameters!) in visual c++ express 2010:
#define VA_NUM_ARGS_IMPL(_1,_2,_3,_4,_5,_6,_7,_8,_9,_10,_11,_12,_13,_14,_15,_16,_17,_18,_19,_20,_21,_22,_23,_24,N,...) N
#define VA_NUM_ARGS_IMPL_(tuple) VA_NUM_ARGS_IMPL tuple
#define VA_NARGS(...) bool(#__VA_ARGS__) ? (VA_NUM_ARGS_IMPL_((__VA_ARGS__, 24,23,22,21,20,19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1))) : 0
If you want a macro with optional parameters you can do:
//macro selection(vc++)
#define SELMACRO_IMPL(_1,_2,_3, N,...) N
#define SELMACRO_IMPL_(tuple) SELMACRO_IMPL tuple
#define mymacro1(var1) var1
#define mymacro2(var1,var2) var2*var1
#define mymacro3(var1,var2,var3) var1*var2*var3
#define mymacro(...) SELMACRO_IMPL_((__VA_ARGS__, mymacro3(__VA_ARGS__), mymacro2(__VA_ARGS__), mymacro1(__VA_ARGS__)))
That worked for me aswell in vc. But it doesn't work for zero parameters.
int x=99;
x=mymacro(2);//2
x=mymacro(2,2);//4
x=mymacro(2,2,2);//8
gcc/g++ supports varargs macros but I don't think this is standard, so use it at your own risk.
More concise version of Derek Ledbetter's code:
enum
{
plain = 0,
bold = 1,
italic = 2
};
void PrintString(const char* message = NULL, int size = 0, int style = 0)
{
}
#define PRINT_STRING(...) PrintString(__VA_ARGS__)
int main(int argc, char * const argv[])
{
PRINT_STRING("Hello, World!");
PRINT_STRING("Hello, World!", 18);
PRINT_STRING("Hello, World!", 18, bold);
return 0;
}
#include <stdio.h>
#define PP_NARG(...) \
PP_NARG_(__VA_ARGS__,PP_RSEQ_N())
#define PP_NARG_(...) \
PP_ARG_N(__VA_ARGS__)
#define PP_ARG_N( \
_1, _2, _3, _4, _5, _6, _7, _8, _9,_10, \
_11,_12,_13,_14,_15,_16,_17,_18,_19,_20, \
_21,_22,_23,_24,_25,_26,_27,_28,_29,_30, \
_31,_32,_33,_34,_35,_36,_37,_38,_39,_40, \
_41,_42,_43,_44,_45,_46,_47,_48,_49,_50, \
_51,_52,_53,_54,_55,_56,_57,_58,_59,_60, \
_61,_62,_63,N,...) N
#define PP_RSEQ_N() \
63,62,61,60, \
59,58,57,56,55,54,53,52,51,50, \
49,48,47,46,45,44,43,42,41,40, \
39,38,37,36,35,34,33,32,31,30, \
29,28,27,26,25,24,23,22,21,20, \
19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10, \
9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,0
#define PP_CONCAT(a,b) PP_CONCAT_(a,b)
#define PP_CONCAT_(a,b) a ## b
#define THINK(...) PP_CONCAT(THINK_, PP_NARG(__VA_ARGS__))(__VA_ARGS__)
#define THINK_0() THINK_1("sector zz9 plural z alpha")
#define THINK_1(location) THINK_2(location, 42)
#define THINK_2(location,answer) THINK_3(location, answer, "deep thought")
#define THINK_3(location,answer,computer) \
printf ("The answer is %d. This was calculated by %s, and a computer to figure out what this"
" actually means will be build in %s\n", (answer), (computer), (location))
int
main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
THINK (); /* On compilers other than GCC you have to call with least one non-default argument */
}
DISCLAIMER: Mostly harmless.
As a big fan of horrible macro monsters, I wanted to expand on Jason Deng's answer and make it actually usable. (For better or worse.) The original is not very nice to use because you need to modify the big alphabet soup every time you want to make a new macro and it's even worse if you need different amount of arguments.
So I made a version with these features:
0 argument case works
1 to 16 arguments without any modifications to the messy part
Easy to write more macro functions
Tested in gcc 10, clang 9, Visual Studio 2017
Currently I just made 16 argument maximum, but if you need more (really now? you're just getting silly...) you can edit FUNC_CHOOSER and CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT, then add some commas to NO_ARG_EXPANDER.
Please see Jason Deng's excellent answer for more details on the implementation, but I'll just put the code here:
#include <stdio.h>
void realCreate(int x, int y)
{
printf("(%d, %d)\n", x, y);
}
// This part you put in some library header:
#define FUNC_CHOOSER(_f0, _f1, _f2, _f3, _f4, _f5, _f6, _f7, _f8, _f9, _f10, _f11, _f12, _f13, _f14, _f15, _f16, ...) _f16
#define FUNC_RECOMPOSER(argsWithParentheses) FUNC_CHOOSER argsWithParentheses
#define CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(F, ...) FUNC_RECOMPOSER((__VA_ARGS__, \
F##_16, F##_15, F##_14, F##_13, F##_12, F##_11, F##_10, F##_9, F##_8,\
F##_7, F##_6, F##_5, F##_4, F##_3, F##_2, F##_1, ))
#define NO_ARG_EXPANDER(FUNC) ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,FUNC ## _0
#define MACRO_CHOOSER(FUNC, ...) CHOOSE_FROM_ARG_COUNT(FUNC, NO_ARG_EXPANDER __VA_ARGS__ (FUNC))
#define MULTI_MACRO(FUNC, ...) MACRO_CHOOSER(FUNC, __VA_ARGS__)(__VA_ARGS__)
// When you need to make a macro with default arguments, use this:
#define create(...) MULTI_MACRO(CREATE, __VA_ARGS__)
#define CREATE_0() CREATE_1(0)
#define CREATE_1(x) CREATE_2(x, 0)
#define CREATE_2(x, y) \
do { \
/* put whatever code you want in the last macro */ \
realCreate(x, y); \
} while(0)
int main()
{
create();
create(10);
create(20, 20);
//create(30, 30, 30); // Compilation error
return 0;
}
That's not really what the preprocessor is designed for.
That said, if you want to enter into the area of seriously challenging macro programming with a modicum of readability, you should take a look at the Boost preprocessor library. After all, it wouldn't be C++ if there weren't three completely Turing compatible levels of programming (preprocessor, template metaprogramming, and base level C++)!
#define MY_MACRO_3(X,Y,Z) ...
#define MY_MACRO_2(X,Y) MY_MACRO(X,Y,5)
#define MY_MACRO_1(X) MY_MACRO(X,42,5)
You know at the point of call how many args you're going to pass in so there's really no need for overloading.
You can use BOOST_PP_OVERLOAD from a boost library.
Example from official boost doc:
#include <boost/preprocessor/facilities/overload.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/cat.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/facilities/empty.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/arithmetic/add.hpp>
#define MACRO_1(number) MACRO_2(number,10)
#define MACRO_2(number1,number2) BOOST_PP_ADD(number1,number2)
#if !BOOST_PP_VARIADICS_MSVC
#define MACRO_ADD_NUMBERS(...) BOOST_PP_OVERLOAD(MACRO_,__VA_ARGS__)(__VA_ARGS__)
#else
// or for Visual C++
#define MACRO_ADD_NUMBERS(...) \
BOOST_PP_CAT(BOOST_PP_OVERLOAD(MACRO_,__VA_ARGS__)(__VA_ARGS__),BOOST_PP_EMPTY())
#endif
MACRO_ADD_NUMBERS(5) // output is 15
MACRO_ADD_NUMBERS(3,6) // output is 9
Depending on what you need, you could do it with var args with macros. Now, optional parameters or macro overloading, there is no such thing.
Not directly answering the question, but using the same trick as David Sorkovsky answer and giving a clear example of how to build complex macros.
Just compile this with g++ -E test.cpp -o test && cat test:
// #define GET_FIRST_ARG_0_ARGS(default) (default)
// #define GET_FIRST_ARG_1_ARGS(default, a) (a)
// #define GET_FIRST_ARG_2_ARGS(default, a, b) (a)
// #define GET_FIRST_ARG_3_ARGS(default, a, b, c) (a)
// #define GET_FIRST_ARG_4_ARGS(default, a, b, c, d) (a)
#define GET_FIRST_ARG_MACROS(default, a, b, c, d, macro, ...) macro
#define GET_FIRST_ARG(default, ...) GET_FIRST_ARG_MACROS( \
,##__VA_ARGS__, \
GET_FIRST_ARG_4_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_FIRST_ARG_3_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_FIRST_ARG_2_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_FIRST_ARG_1_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_FIRST_ARG_0_ARGS(default, ##__VA_ARGS__), \
)
"0,"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0);
"0,1"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1);
"0,1,2"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2);
"0,1,2,3"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2,3);
"0,1,2,3,4"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2,3,4);
To see the output:
# 1 "test.cpp"
# 1 "<built-in>"
# 1 "<command-line>"
# 1 "/usr/x86_64-linux-gnu/include/stdc-predef.h" 1 3
# 1 "<command-line>" 2
# 1 "test.cpp"
# 16 "test.cpp"
"0,"; GET_FIRST_ARG_0_ARGS(0);
"0,1"; GET_FIRST_ARG_1_ARGS(0, 1);
"0,1,2"; GET_FIRST_ARG_2_ARGS(0, 1,2);
"0,1,2,3"; GET_FIRST_ARG_3_ARGS(0, 1,2,3);
"0,1,2,3,4"; GET_FIRST_ARG_4_ARGS(0, 1,2,3,4);
Now, a full working program would be:
#include <iostream>
#define GET_FIRST_ARG_0_ARGS(default) (default)
#define GET_FIRST_ARG_1_ARGS(default, a) (a)
#define GET_FIRST_ARG_2_ARGS(default, a, b) (a)
#define GET_FIRST_ARG_3_ARGS(default, a, b, c) (a)
#define GET_FIRST_ARG_4_ARGS(default, a, b, c, d) (a)
#define GET_FIRST_ARG_MACROS(default, a, b, c, d, macro, ...) macro
#define GET_FIRST_ARG(default, ...) GET_FIRST_ARG_MACROS( \
,##__VA_ARGS__, \
GET_FIRST_ARG_4_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_FIRST_ARG_3_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_FIRST_ARG_2_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_FIRST_ARG_1_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_FIRST_ARG_0_ARGS(default, ##__VA_ARGS__), \
)
int main(int argc, char const *argv[]) {
"0,"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0);
"0,1"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1);
"0,1,2"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2);
"0,1,2,3"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2,3);
"0,1,2,3,4"; GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2,3,4);
std::cerr << "0, == " << GET_FIRST_ARG(0) << std::endl;
std::cerr << "0,1 == " << GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1) << std::endl;
std::cerr << "0,1,2 == " << GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2) << std::endl;
std::cerr << "0,1,2,3 == " << GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2,3) << std::endl;
std::cerr << "0,1,2,3,4 == " << GET_FIRST_ARG(0,1,2,3,4) << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Which would output the following by being compiled with g++ test.cpp -o test && ./test:
0, == 0
0,1 == 1
0,1,2 == 1
0,1,2,3 == 1
0,1,2,3,4 == 1
Note: It is important to use () around the macro contents as #define GET_FIRST_ARG_1_ARGS(default, a) (a) to not break in ambiguous expressions when a is just not a integer.
Extra macro for second argument:
#define GET_SECOND_ARG_0_ARGS(default) (default)
#define GET_SECOND_ARG_1_ARGS(default, a) (default)
#define GET_SECOND_ARG_2_ARGS(default, a, b) (b)
#define GET_SECOND_ARG_3_ARGS(default, a, b, c) (b)
#define GET_SECOND_ARG_4_ARGS(default, a, b, c, d) (b)
#define GET_SECOND_ARG_MACROS(default, a, b, c, d, macro, ...) macro
#define GET_SECOND_ARG(default, ...) GET_SECOND_ARG_MACROS( \
,##__VA_ARGS__, \
GET_SECOND_ARG_4_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_SECOND_ARG_3_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_SECOND_ARG_2_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_SECOND_ARG_1_ARGS(default, __VA_ARGS__), \
GET_SECOND_ARG_0_ARGS(default, ##__VA_ARGS__), \
)
None of the above examples (from Derek Ledbetter, David Sorkovsky, and Joe D) to count arguments with macros worked for me using Microsoft VCC 10. The __VA_ARGS__ argument is always considered as a single argument (token-izing it with ## or not), so the argument shifting in which those examples rely doesn't work.
So, short answer, as stated by many others above: no, you can't overload macros or use optional arguments on them.

C Programming: Preprocessor, macros as tokens

I'm trying to do something that is conceptually similar to this, but can't seem to get it to work (error shown at end) any ideas?
#include <stdio.h>
int main( int argc , char const *argv[] )
{
int abc_def_ghi = 42;
#define SUFFIX ghi
#define VAR(prefix) prefix##_def_##SUFFIX
printf( "%d\n" , VAR(abc) );
return 0;
}
// untitled:8: error: ‘abc_def_SUFFIX’ undeclared (first use in this function)
You just need additional indirection:
#include <stdio.h>
int main( int argc , char const *argv[] )
{
int abc_def_ghi = 42;
#define SUFFIX ghi
#define VAR3(prefix, suffix) prefix##_def_##suffix
#define VAR2(prefix, suffix) VAR3(prefix, suffix)
#define VAR(prefix) VAR2(prefix, SUFFIX)
printf( "%d\n" , VAR(abc) );
return 0;
}
Even though it looks redundant, it's not.
The usual idiom for correctly using the stringizing (#) or token pasting (##) pre-processing operators is to use a 2nd level of indirection. (What are the applications of the ## preprocessor operator and gotchas to consider?).
#define STRINGIFY2( x) #x
#define STRINGIFY(x) STRINGIFY2(x)
#define PASTE2( a, b) a##b
#define PASTE( a, b) PASTE2( a, b)
Then:
int main( int argc , char const *argv[] )
{
int abc_def_ghi = 42;
#define SUFFIX ghi
#define VAR(prefix) PASTE( prefix, PASTE( _def_, SUFFIX))
printf( "%d\n" , VAR(abc) );
return 0;
}
Should give you the results you're looking for.
Basically, what happens is that processing of the # and ## operators takes place before macro replacement. Then another round of macro replacement occurs. So if you want macros to be used along with those operations you have to use a 1st level that simply does the replacement - otherwise the stringizing or pasting happens first, and the macros aren't macros anymore- they're whatever the 1st round of stringizing/pasting produces.
To put it more directly - the first level of macro allows the macro parameters to be replaced, then the 2nd level of macro replacement does the stringify/token-pasting operation.
This works with sufficient levels of indirection. While another answer is plenty adequate, I want offer this chunk of code as a demo:
#define SUFFIX ghi
#define VAR1(prefix) prefix##_def_##SUFFIX
VAR1(abc)
#define VAR2_(prefix, sfx) prefix##_def_##sfx
#define VAR2(prefix) VAR2_(prefix,SUFFIX)
VAR2(abc)
#define VAR3_(prefix, sfx) prefix##_def_##sfx
#define VAR3x(prefix,sfx) VAR3_(prefix,sfx)
#define VAR3(prefix) VAR3x(prefix,SUFFIX)
VAR3(abc)
Save this is a text file, x.c, and only preprocess it.
gcc -E x.c
Observe and ponder. I don't quite understand it entirely myself. Just spend two hours trying to get a macro using stringify to work. It is interesting to see that double indirection is sometimes needed.

How to write a while loop with the C preprocessor?

I am asking this question from an educational/hacking point of view, (I wouldn't really want to code like this).
Is it possible to implement a while loop only using C preprocessor directives. I understand that macros cannot be expanded recursively, so how would this be accomplished?
If you want to implement a while loop, you will need to use recursion in the preprocessor. The easiest way to do recursion is to use a deferred expression. A deferred expression is an expression that requires more scans to fully expand:
#define EMPTY()
#define DEFER(id) id EMPTY()
#define OBSTRUCT(id) id DEFER(EMPTY)()
#define EXPAND(...) __VA_ARGS__
#define A() 123
A() // Expands to 123
DEFER(A)() // Expands to A () because it requires one more scan to fully expand
EXPAND(DEFER(A)()) // Expands to 123, because the EXPAND macro forces another scan
Why is this important? Well when a macro is scanned and expanding, it creates a disabling context. This disabling context will cause a token, that refers to the currently expanding macro, to be painted blue. Thus, once its painted blue, the macro will no longer expand. This is why macros don't expand recursively. However, a disabling context only exists during one scan, so by deferring an expansion we can prevent our macros from becoming painted blue. We will just need to apply more scans to the expression. We can do that using this EVAL macro:
#define EVAL(...) EVAL1(EVAL1(EVAL1(__VA_ARGS__)))
#define EVAL1(...) EVAL2(EVAL2(EVAL2(__VA_ARGS__)))
#define EVAL2(...) EVAL3(EVAL3(EVAL3(__VA_ARGS__)))
#define EVAL3(...) EVAL4(EVAL4(EVAL4(__VA_ARGS__)))
#define EVAL4(...) EVAL5(EVAL5(EVAL5(__VA_ARGS__)))
#define EVAL5(...) __VA_ARGS__
Next, we define some operators for doing some logic(such as if, etc):
#define CAT(a, ...) PRIMITIVE_CAT(a, __VA_ARGS__)
#define PRIMITIVE_CAT(a, ...) a ## __VA_ARGS__
#define CHECK_N(x, n, ...) n
#define CHECK(...) CHECK_N(__VA_ARGS__, 0,)
#define NOT(x) CHECK(PRIMITIVE_CAT(NOT_, x))
#define NOT_0 ~, 1,
#define COMPL(b) PRIMITIVE_CAT(COMPL_, b)
#define COMPL_0 1
#define COMPL_1 0
#define BOOL(x) COMPL(NOT(x))
#define IIF(c) PRIMITIVE_CAT(IIF_, c)
#define IIF_0(t, ...) __VA_ARGS__
#define IIF_1(t, ...) t
#define IF(c) IIF(BOOL(c))
Now with all these macros we can write a recursive WHILE macro. We use a WHILE_INDIRECT macro to refer back to itself recursively. This prevents the macro from being painted blue, since it will expand on a different scan(and using a different disabling context). The WHILE macro takes a predicate macro, an operator macro, and a state(which is the variadic arguments). It keeps applying this operator macro to the state until the predicate macro returns false(which is 0).
#define WHILE(pred, op, ...) \
IF(pred(__VA_ARGS__)) \
( \
OBSTRUCT(WHILE_INDIRECT) () \
( \
pred, op, op(__VA_ARGS__) \
), \
__VA_ARGS__ \
)
#define WHILE_INDIRECT() WHILE
For demonstration purposes, we are just going to create a predicate that checks when number of arguments are 1:
#define NARGS_SEQ(_1,_2,_3,_4,_5,_6,_7,_8,N,...) N
#define NARGS(...) NARGS_SEQ(__VA_ARGS__, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1)
#define IS_1(x) CHECK(PRIMITIVE_CAT(IS_1_, x))
#define IS_1_1 ~, 1,
#define PRED(x, ...) COMPL(IS_1(NARGS(__VA_ARGS__)))
Next we create an operator, which we will just concat two tokens. We also create a final operator(called M) that will process the final output:
#define OP(x, y, ...) CAT(x, y), __VA_ARGS__
#define M(...) CAT(__VA_ARGS__)
Then using the WHILE macro:
M(EVAL(WHILE(PRED, OP, x, y, z))) //Expands to xyz
Of course, any kind of predicate or operator can be passed to it.
Take a look at the Boost preprocessor library, which allows you to write loops in the preprocessor, and much more.
You use recursive include files. Unfortunately, you can't iterate the loop more than the maximum depth that the preprocessor allows.
It turns out that C++ templates are Turing Complete and can be used in similar ways. Check out Generative Programming
I use meta-template programming for this purpose, its fun once you get a hang of it. And very useful at times when used with discretion. Because as mentioned its turing complete, to the point where you can even cause the compiler to get into an infinite loop, or stack-overflow! There is nothing like going to get some coffee just to find your compilation is using up 30+ gigabytes of memory and all the CPU to compile your infinite loop code!
well, not that it's a while loop, but a counter loop, nonetheless the loop is possible in clean CPP (no templates and no C++)
#ifdef pad_always
#define pad(p,f) p##0
#else
#define pad0(p,not_used) p
#define pad1(p,not_used) p##0
#define pad(p,f) pad##f(p,)
#endif
// f - padding flag
// p - prefix so far
// a,b,c - digits
// x - action to invoke
#define n0(p,x)
#define n1(p,x) x(p##1)
#define n2(p,x) n1(p,x) x(p##2)
#define n3(p,x) n2(p,x) x(p##3)
#define n4(p,x) n3(p,x) x(p##4)
#define n5(p,x) n4(p,x) x(p##5)
#define n6(p,x) n5(p,x) x(p##6)
#define n7(p,x) n6(p,x) x(p##7)
#define n8(p,x) n7(p,x) x(p##8)
#define n9(p,x) n8(p,x) x(p##9)
#define n00(f,p,a,x) n##a(pad(p,f),x)
#define n10(f,p,a,x) n00(f,p,9,x) x(p##10) n##a(p##1,x)
#define n20(f,p,a,x) n10(f,p,9,x) x(p##20) n##a(p##2,x)
#define n30(f,p,a,x) n20(f,p,9,x) x(p##30) n##a(p##3,x)
#define n40(f,p,a,x) n30(f,p,9,x) x(p##40) n##a(p##4,x)
#define n50(f,p,a,x) n40(f,p,9,x) x(p##50) n##a(p##5,x)
#define n60(f,p,a,x) n50(f,p,9,x) x(p##60) n##a(p##6,x)
#define n70(f,p,a,x) n60(f,p,9,x) x(p##70) n##a(p##7,x)
#define n80(f,p,a,x) n70(f,p,9,x) x(p##80) n##a(p##8,x)
#define n90(f,p,a,x) n80(f,p,9,x) x(p##90) n##a(p##9,x)
#define n000(f,p,a,b,x) n##a##0(f,pad(p,f),b,x)
#define n100(f,p,a,b,x) n000(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##100) n##a##0(1,p##1,b,x)
#define n200(f,p,a,b,x) n100(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##200) n##a##0(1,p##2,b,x)
#define n300(f,p,a,b,x) n200(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##300) n##a##0(1,p##3,b,x)
#define n400(f,p,a,b,x) n300(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##400) n##a##0(1,p##4,b,x)
#define n500(f,p,a,b,x) n400(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##500) n##a##0(1,p##5,b,x)
#define n600(f,p,a,b,x) n500(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##600) n##a##0(1,p##6,b,x)
#define n700(f,p,a,b,x) n600(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##700) n##a##0(1,p##7,b,x)
#define n800(f,p,a,b,x) n700(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##800) n##a##0(1,p##8,b,x)
#define n900(f,p,a,b,x) n800(f,p,9,9,x) x(p##900) n##a##0(1,p##9,b,x)
#define n0000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n##a##00(f,pad(p,f),b,c,x)
#define n1000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n0000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##1000) n##a##00(1,p##1,b,c,x)
#define n2000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n1000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##2000) n##a##00(1,p##2,b,c,x)
#define n3000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n2000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##3000) n##a##00(1,p##3,b,c,x)
#define n4000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n3000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##4000) n##a##00(1,p##4,b,c,x)
#define n5000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n4000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##5000) n##a##00(1,p##5,b,c,x)
#define n6000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n5000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##6000) n##a##00(1,p##6,b,c,x)
#define n7000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n6000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##7000) n##a##00(1,p##7,b,c,x)
#define n8000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n7000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##8000) n##a##00(1,p##8,b,c,x)
#define n9000(f,p,a,b,c,x) n8000(f,p,9,9,9,x) x(p##9000) n##a##00(1,p##9,b,c,x)
#define n00000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n##a##000(f,pad(p,f),b,c,d,x)
#define n10000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n00000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##10000) n##a##000(1,p##1,b,c,d,x)
#define n20000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n10000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##20000) n##a##000(1,p##2,b,c,d,x)
#define n30000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n20000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##30000) n##a##000(1,p##3,b,c,d,x)
#define n40000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n30000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##40000) n##a##000(1,p##4,b,c,d,x)
#define n50000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n40000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##50000) n##a##000(1,p##5,b,c,d,x)
#define n60000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n50000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##60000) n##a##000(1,p##6,b,c,d,x)
#define n70000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n60000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##70000) n##a##000(1,p##7,b,c,d,x)
#define n80000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n70000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##80000) n##a##000(1,p##8,b,c,d,x)
#define n90000(f,p,a,b,c,d,x) n80000(f,p,9,9,9,9,x) x(p##90000) n##a##000(1,p##9,b,c,d,x)
#define cycle5(c1,c2,c3,c4,c5,x) n##c1##0000(0,,c2,c3,c4,c5,x)
#define cycle4(c1,c2,c3,c4,x) n##c1##000(0,,c2,c3,c4,x)
#define cycle3(c1,c2,c3,x) n##c1##00(0,,c2,c3,x)
#define cycle2(c1,c2,x) n##c1##0(0,,c2,x)
#define cycle1(c1,x) n##c1(,x)
#define concat(a,b,c) a##b##c
#define ck(arg) a[concat(,arg,-1)]++;
#define SIZEOF(x) (sizeof(x) / sizeof((x)[0]))
void check5(void)
{
int i, a[32769];
for (i = 0; i < SIZEOF(a); i++) a[i]=0;
cycle5(3,2,7,6,9,ck);
for (i = 0; i < SIZEOF(a); i++) if (a[i] != 1) printf("5: [%d] = %d\n", i+1, a[i]);
}
Here's an abuse of the rules that would get it done legally. Write your own C preprocessor. Make it interpret some #pragma directives the way you want.
I found this scheme useful when the compiler got cranky and wouldn't unroll certain loops for me
#define REPEAT20(x) { x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;}
REPEAT20( val = pleaseconverge(val) );
But IMHO, if you need something much more complicated than that, then you should write your own pre-preprocessor. Your pre-preprocessor could for instance generate an appropriate header file for you, and it is easy enough to include this step in a Makefile to have everything compile smoothly by a single command. I've done it.

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