Default arguments to C macros - c
Suppose I have function bshow() with signature
void bshow(int arg0, int arg1, int arg2);
but for arbitrary reasons I want to implement it as a macro.
Furthermore, I want the function have default arguments
int arg0=0x10;
int arg1=0x11;
int arg2=0x12;
I've already done this for the case that bshow() is a function, using the standard tricks.
But how can I do it as a macro?
Eg. suppose I have a macro nargs() that uses the C Preprocessor to count the number of arguments. Eg.
nargs() // get replaced by 0 by the preprocessor
nargs(a) // get replaced by 1 by the preprocessor
nargs(a,b) // get replaced by 2 by the preprocessor
I'd like to do something like (which doesn't work):
#define arg0_get(a0,...) a0
#define arg1_get(a0,a1,...) a1
#define arg2_get(a0,a1,a2,...) a2
#define bshow(...) do{ \
int arg0=0x10; if(0<nargs(__VA_ARGS__)) arg0 = arg0_get(__VA_ARGS__); \
int arg1=0x11; if(1<nargs(__VA_ARGS__)) arg1 = arg1_get(__VA_ARGS__); \
int arg2=0x12; if(2<nargs(__VA_ARGS__)) arg2 = arg2_get(__VA_ARGS__); \
/* do stuff here */ \
}while(0)
Actually I've already implemented the bshow() function as a macro, as follows (here it has the actual number of arguments):
#define __bshow(bdim,data, nbits,ncols,base)({ \
bdim,data, nbits,ncols,base; \
putchar(0x0a); \
printf("nbits %d\n",nbits); \
printf("ncols %d\n",ncols); \
printf("base %d\n",base); \
})
#define _bshow(bdim,data, nbits,ncols,base, ...) __bshow(bdim,data, nbits,ncols,base)
#define bshow(...) \
if( 2==nargs(__VA_ARGS__)) _bshow(__VA_ARGS__, 32,24,16,0,__VA_ARGS__); \
else if(3==nargs(__VA_ARGS__)) _bshow(__VA_ARGS__, 24,16,0,__VA_ARGS__); \
else if(4==nargs(__VA_ARGS__)) _bshow(__VA_ARGS__, 16,0,__VA_ARGS__); \
else if(5==nargs(__VA_ARGS__)) _bshow(__VA_ARGS__, 0,__VA_ARGS__); \
// test
bshow(0,1);
bshow(0,1, 10);
bshow(0,1, 10,11);
bshow(0,1, 10,11,12);
EDIT:
The proposed solution doesn't have the intended effect because it seems to "instantiate" all instances of the macro, which in general has unintended consequences.
But I wonder if there's a more elegant way to do it.
It'd also be nice to abstract away the entire construction inside its own macro, so that one can apply it to other functions easily, as opposed to having to write the boilerplate manually for each function/macro.
Also this wasn't too helpful.
I found a nice answer.
What you do is you call the vfn() macro, which is (I think) a higher-order macro that returns a macro that returns the token concatenated with the number of args (in hex base, no 0-padding) and then evaluates it at the args. Or something.
Eg. supposed you want to overload a macro called bshow(). You #define the macro bshow() as #define bshow() vfn(bshow,__VA_ARGS__), and you define 1 instance of bshow for each argument count (eg. #define bshow0(...), for 0 arguments, #define bshow1(...) for 1 argument, #define bshow2(...) for 2 arguments, etc.). So now, eg., bshow(0,1) returns bshow2() (because you called it with 2 arguments) evaluated at (0,1), which is _bshow(0,1, 16,32,16), and then _bshow(0,1, 16,32,16) gets evaluated too. You can check the final preprocessor output by running gcc with the -E option, but the intermediate steps are hard to understand (for me).
You also need to decide on the mandatory args and the optional args.
That's almost all I (sort of) understand about what's going on, although I did upload a YT tutorial a while ago on how the argument-counting works.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------
// library
#define __nargs100__(a00,a01,a02,a03,a04,a05,a06,a07,a08,a09,a0a,a0b,a0c,a0d,a0e,a0f,a10,a11,a12,a13,a14,a15,a16,a17,a18,a19,a1a,a1b,a1c,a1d,a1e,a1f,a20,a21,a22,a23,a24,a25,a26,a27,a28,a29,a2a,a2b,a2c,a2d,a2e,a2f,a30,a31,a32,a33,a34,a35,a36,a37,a38,a39,a3a,a3b,a3c,a3d,a3e,a3f,a40,a41,a42,a43,a44,a45,a46,a47,a48,a49,a4a,a4b,a4c,a4d,a4e,a4f,a50,a51,a52,a53,a54,a55,a56,a57,a58,a59,a5a,a5b,a5c,a5d,a5e,a5f,a60,a61,a62,a63,a64,a65,a66,a67,a68,a69,a6a,a6b,a6c,a6d,a6e,a6f,a70,a71,a72,a73,a74,a75,a76,a77,a78,a79,a7a,a7b,a7c,a7d,a7e,a7f,a80,a81,a82,a83,a84,a85,a86,a87,a88,a89,a8a,a8b,a8c,a8d,a8e,a8f,a90,a91,a92,a93,a94,a95,a96,a97,a98,a99,a9a,a9b,a9c,a9d,a9e,a9f,aa0,aa1,aa2,aa3,aa4,aa5,aa6,aa7,aa8,aa9,aaa,aab,aac,aad,aae,aaf,ab0,ab1,ab2,ab3,ab4,ab5,ab6,ab7,ab8,ab9,aba,abb,abc,abd,abe,abf,ac0,ac1,ac2,ac3,ac4,ac5,ac6,ac7,ac8,ac9,aca,acb,acc,acd,ace,acf,ad0,ad1,ad2,ad3,ad4,ad5,ad6,ad7,ad8,ad9,ada,adb,adc,add,ade,adf,ae0,ae1,ae2,ae3,ae4,ae5,ae6,ae7,ae8,ae9,aea,aeb,aec,aed,aee,aef,af0,af1,af2,af3,af4,af5,af6,af7,af8,af9,afa,afb,afc,afd,afe,aff,a100,...) a100
#define __nargs__(...) __nargs100__(,##__VA_ARGS__, ff,fe,fd,fc,fb,fa,f9,f8,f7,f6,f5,f4,f3,f2,f1,f0,ef,ee,ed,ec,eb,ea,e9,e8,e7,e6,e5,e4,e3,e2,e1,e0,df,de,dd,dc,db,da,d9,d8,d7,d6,d5,d4,d3,d2,d1,d0,cf,ce,cd,cc,cb,ca,c9,c8,c7,c6,c5,c4,c3,c2,c1,c0,bf,be,bd,bc,bb,ba,b9,b8,b7,b6,b5,b4,b3,b2,b1,b0,af,ae,ad,ac,ab,aa,a9,a8,a7,a6,a5,a4,a3,a2,a1,a0,9f,9e,9d,9c,9b,9a,99,98,97,96,95,94,93,92,91,90,8f,8e,8d,8c,8b,8a,89,88,87,86,85,84,83,82,81,80,7f,7e,7d,7c,7b,7a,79,78,77,76,75,74,73,72,71,70,6f,6e,6d,6c,6b,6a,69,68,67,66,65,64,63,62,61,60,5f,5e,5d,5c,5b,5a,59,58,57,56,55,54,53,52,51,50,4f,4e,4d,4c,4b,4a,49,48,47,46,45,44,43,42,41,40,3f,3e,3d,3c,3b,3a,39,38,37,36,35,34,33,32,31,30,2f,2e,2d,2c,2b,2a,29,28,27,26,25,24,23,22,21,20,1f,1e,1d,1c,1b,1a,19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,f,e,d,c,b,a,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,0)
#define __vfn(name, n) name##n
#define _vfn( name, n) __vfn(name, n)
#define vfn( fn, ...) _vfn(fn, __nargs__(__VA_ARGS__))(__VA_ARGS__)
// ----------------------------------------------------------------
// example
// backend: actual implementation, 2 mandatory args, 3 optional args
#define _bshow(bdim,data, ncols,nbits,base)({ \
/* do stuff here */ \
})
// "frontend", default arguments get implemented here. the suffix is the number of arguments, in hexadecimal base
#define bshow2(...) _bshow(__VA_ARGS__, 16,32,16)
#define bshow3(...) _bshow(__VA_ARGS__, 32,16)
#define bshow4(...) _bshow(__VA_ARGS__, 16)
#define bshow5(...) _bshow(__VA_ARGS__)
#define bshow(...) vfn(bshow,__VA_ARGS__)
// test
bshow(0x100,data0);
bshow(0x100,data0, 14);
bshow(0x100,data0, 12,16);
bshow(0x100,data0, 10, 8,2);
Related
Use specific entry of an X macro
I am using X macros to generate functions setting GPIOs to 0 or 1 (I generate around 60 functions to set around 30 GPIOs). Here is an example (I have just written this example, so the syntax may be wrong): /* X(pin_name, pin_nb) */ #define CPLD_GPIOs \ X(Pin0, 0) \ X(Pin1, 1) \ X(Pin2, 2) \ X(Pin3, 3) I generate the functions to access to these GPIOs: #define X(pin_name, pin_nb) \ static void SetOn_GPIO##pin_name (void) { \ SetOn_GPIOpins(pin_nb);\ } CPLD_GPIOs #undef X The same process exists for SetOff_GPIOXXX functions. Is there a way I can access the function generated above by the compiler as SetOn_GPIOPin2 in an other part of the program without directly writing the function name? (In order to keep the code as global as possible) At the end of preprocessing, we should only have SetOn_GPIOPin2(); (and not every X-macro entries) generated from X-Macro. Before pre-processing: void foo () { /* some code */ /* * Macro to generate the desired function. * For e.g: SetOn_GPIOPin2(); */ /* some code */ } After pre-processing: void foo () { /* some code */ /* Function resulting of the pre-processing */ SetOn_GPIOPin2(); /* some code */ }
From comments on the question, your objective appears to be to protect against the case in which your X macro is modified to produce differently-named functions. If that's so, then I think you're making unnecessary work for yourself: whether those names are changed is under your (and any other project developers') control, and a name change such as you are concerned about will not go unnoticed very long. So don't change them. But if you're determined to go this route then no, there is no way to make the preprocessor extract the function names generated by your macros from their larger replacement text. Instead, you would need to inject them, via the same macro, into both the X macros and your other code. Like this, perhaps: /* X(pin_name, pin_nb) */ #define CPLD_GPIOs(gen) \ X(Pin0, 0, gen) \ X(Pin1, 1, gen) \ X(Pin2, 2, gen) \ X(Pin3, 3, gen) // Generates the wanted function names: #define GPIO_ON(pin_name, pin_nb) SetOn_GPIO##pin_name #define X(pin_name, pin_nb, gen) \ static void gen(pin_name, pin_nb) (void) { \ SetOn_GPIOpins(pin_nb);\ } CPLD_GPIOs #undef X // ... void some_function(void) { GPIO_ON(pin_name, pin_nb)(); } But note well that although this technique might have other applications, such as to generating multiple sets of functions with the same set of X macros, it just kicks the can down the road with respect to the specific objective you described. You can rely on the name-generator macro to produce the same names for function declarations and function calls, but you still have the problem that the X macro can be modified to generate function declarations with different names.
Using our trusty Boost.Preprocessor rocket launcher, this is preatty easy: #include <boost/preprocessor/tuple/rem.hpp> #include <boost/preprocessor/control/if.hpp> #include <boost/preprocessor/comparison/equal.hpp> #define X_SELECT_PIN(pin_nb, selected_pin_nb, ...) \ BOOST_PP_TUPLE_REM_CTOR(BOOST_PP_IF( \ BOOST_PP_EQUAL(pin_nb, selected_pin_nb), \ (__VA_ARGS__), \ () \ )) // Usage #define X(pin_name, pin_nb)\ X_SELECT_PIN(pin_nb, 2, SetOn_GPIO##pin_name (void);) CPLD_GPIOs #undef X This uses BOOST_PP_IF to expand your pattern only for the selected pin. The added parentheses and BOOST_PP_TUPLE_REM_CTOR are there to protect the macro from expansions containing commas.
X-macros: how to make the list of variables compile-time configurable?
I have code similar to #define LIST_OF_VARIABLES \ X(value1) \ X(value2) \ X(value3) as explained in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Macro Now I have the need to make the LIST_OF_VARIABLES configurable at compile time So it could effectively be e.g. #define LIST_OF_VARIABLES \ X(default_value1) \ X(cust_value2) \ X(default_value3) or e.g. #define LIST_OF_VARIABLES \ X(default_value1) \ X(default_value2) \ X(cust_value3) depending on some macros previously defined. The LIST_OF_VARIABLES is long and the customizations are relatively small. I would not like to copy the long list for each customization, because that will cause maintenance issues (the DRY principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_repeat_yourself). As a matter of fact the LIST_OF_VARIABLES should be in one file and the customizations elsewhere (either another file or just -D options in the Makefile) In pseudo-code I was thinking of something like #define X(arg) \ #ifdef CUST_##arg \ Y(CUST_##arg) \ #else \ Y(DEFAULT_##arg) \ #endif And then use the X-macros under the name Y. But of course that does not work, because a macro cannot contain preprocessor directives. What would be a way to achieve this? C is a must (no templates or Boost macros), gcc specific solutions are acceptable.
I think that what you have to do is along the lines of: #ifdef USE_DEFAULT_VALUE1 #define X_DEFAULT_VALUE1 X(default_value1) #else #define X_DEFAULT_VALUE1 /* omitted */ #endif #ifdef USE_DEFAULT_VALUE2 #define X_DEFAULT_VALUE2 X(default_value2) #else #define X_DEFAULT_VALUE2 /* omitted */ #endif #ifdef USE_DEFAULT_VALUE3 #define X_DEFAULT_VALUE3 X(default_value3) #else #define X_DEFAULT_VALUE3 /* omitted */ #endif #ifdef USE_CUST_VALUE1 #define X_CUST_VALUE1 X(cust_value1) #else #define X_CUST_VALUE1 /* omitted */ #endif #ifdef USE_CUST_VALUE2 #define X_CUST_VALUE2 X(cust_value2) #else #define X_CUST_VALUE2 /* omitted */ #endif #define LIST_OF_VARIABLES \ X_DEFAULT_VALUE1 \ X_DEFAULT_VALUE2 \ X_DEFAULT_VALUE3 \ X_CUST_VALUE1 \ X_CUST_VALUE2 \ You then need to define USE_DEFAULT_VALUE1 etc as required for the specific configuration you are after. As long as you always need the items in the same order, this is sufficient. If you need them in different orders, then you conditionally define LIST_OF_VARIABLES in the different sequences.
Answering myself. With help of the comments I came up with a solution that works and meets most requirements I had mentioned With the "main code" $cat main.c #ifndef VALUE1 #define VALUE1 value1 #endif #ifndef VALUE2 #define VALUE2 value2 #endif #ifndef VALUE3 #define VALUE3 value3 #endif #define LIST_OF_VARIABLES \ X(VALUE1) \ X(VALUE2) \ X(VALUE3) and a customization file like $cat cust1 -DVALUE2=value2cust the code can be compiled using (GNUmake pseudo syntax) $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(shell cat cust1) main.c Actually having the extra indirection with every value defined on a single line is good, because it allows commenting the values. That would not have been possible with the continuation lines in the single LIST_OF_VARIABLES macro. Edit: Not true. A COMMENT(foo) macro expanding to nothing would have solved that issue, too. (Credit: Got the idea from the answer posted by #Jonathan Leffer.) However the approach does not yet meet the following requirements I hadn't mentioned no ugly boilerplate code (all these #ifndef lines are not really nice) customization should also make it possible to drop default values from the list altogether or add completely new values (yes, this could probably be done with some ugly dummy code already now) So not really satisfied yet with my own answer. Need to think about the approach from the Dr. Dobbs article a bit more, maybe that can be used. Open for better answers.
Given further context, it appears you want to be able to cherry pick individual values from your list at compile time. I think you might be interested in a preprocessor switch, which can accomplish what you're using preprocessor conditionals for with a lot less boilerplate. Generic preprocessor switch Here's a brief framework: #define GLUEI(A,B) A##B #define GLUE(A,B) GLUEI(A,B) #define SECONDI(A,B,...) B #define SECOND(...) SECONDI(__VA_ARGS__,,) #define SWITCH(NAME_, PATTERN_, DEFAULT_) SECOND(GLUE(NAME_,PATTERN_), DEFAULT_) SWITCH macro usage Invoke SWITCH(MY_PREFIX_,SPECIFIC_IDENTIFIER,DEFAULT_VALUE) to expand everything that is not a matching pattern to DEFAULT_VALUE. Things that are a matching pattern can expand to whatever you map them to. To create a matching pattern, define an object like macro called MY_PREFIX_SPECIFIC_IDENTIFIER, whose replacement list consists of a single comma followed by the value you want the SWITCH to expand to in this case. The magic here is simply that SWITCH builds a hidden token, giving it a chance to expand (well, in this implementation SECOND's indirection is also significant), and inject a new second argument to SECOND if it's defined. Nominally this new token isn't defined; in such cases, it simply becomes the first argument to SECOND, which just discards it, never to be seen again. For example, given the above macros: #define CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_DEFAULT , overridden_id_for_default #define CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_SIGNED , overridden_id_for_signed SWITCH(CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_, DRAFT , draft ) SWITCH(CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_, DRAWN , drawn ) SWITCH(CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_, PROOFED , proofed ) SWITCH(CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_, DELIVERED , delivered ) SWITCH(CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_, SIGNED , signed ) SWITCH(CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_, FULFILLED , fulfilled ) SWITCH(CONTRACT_IDENTIFIER_FOR_, DEFAULT , default ) ...will expand to: draft drawn proofed delivered overridden_id_for_signed fulfilled overridden_id_for_default Decorated X Macros Assuming you wish to give your values names, and simply replace cherry picked values from the command line, you can make use of SWITCH to do something like this: #define VARVALUE(N_,V_) SWITCH(VALUE_FOR_, N_, V_) #define LIST_OF_VARIABLES \ X(VARVALUE(value1, default_value1)) \ X(VARVALUE(value2, default_value2)) \ X(VARVALUE(value3, default_value3)) The VARVALUE macros will be applied first in this form. To override a specific value, you can define your pattern matcher using either a #define: #define VALUE_FOR_value2 , custom_value2 ...or on the command line/makefile: CFLAGS += -DVALUE_FOR_value2=,custom_value2 Disable/insertion using switch macro To support disabling individual items safely, nest two switches and add an EAT macro to catch the entry: #define EAT(...) #define SELECT_ITEM_MACRO_FOR_STATE_ON , X #define X_IF_ENABLED(N_, V_) \ SWITCH(SELECT_ITEM_MACRO_FOR_STATE_, SWITCH(ENABLE_VALUE_, N_, ON), EAT) \ (SWITCH(VALUE_FOR_, N_, V_)) #define LIST_OF_VARIABLES \ X_IF_ENABLED(value1, default_value1) \ X_IF_ENABLED(value2, default_value2) \ X_IF_ENABLED(value3, default_value3) Just as before, individual macros can be overridden using VALUE_FOR_valuex pattern macros, but this also allows disabling items using ENABLE_VALUE_valuex macros, which can be set to anything but ,ON to disable that item. Similarly, one way to add support for inserting values is to flip the idea: #define ADD_ITEM_MACRO_FOR_STATE_EAT , EAT #define X_IF_ADDED(N_) \ SWITCH(ADD_ITEM_MACRO_FOR_STATE_, SWITCH(VALUE_FOR_, N_, EAT), X) \ (SECOND(GLUE(VALUE_FOR_,N_))) #define LIST_OF_VARIABLES \ X_IF_ENABLED(value1, default_value1) \ X_IF_ENABLED(value2, default_value2) \ X_IF_ENABLED(value3, default_value3) \ X_IF_ADDED(value4) \ X_IF_ADDED(value5) \ X_IF_ADDED(value6) ...this allows you to define VALUE_FOR_value4 as a a pattern macro, but by default will expand to nothing. Summary The framework supporting setting, removing, or inserting values winds up being: #define GLUEI(A,B) A##B #define GLUE(A,B) GLUEI(A,B) #define SECONDI(A,B,...) B #define SECOND(...) SECONDI(__VA_ARGS__,,) #define SWITCH(NAME_, PATTERN_, DEFAULT_) SECOND(GLUE(NAME_,PATTERN_), DEFAULT_) #define EAT(...) #define SELECT_ITEM_MACRO_FOR_STATE_ON , X #define X_IF_ENABLED(N_, V_) \ SWITCH(SELECT_ITEM_MACRO_FOR_STATE_, SWITCH(ENABLE_VALUE_, N_, ON), EAT) \ (SWITCH(VALUE_FOR_, N_, V_)) #define ADD_ITEM_MACRO_FOR_STATE_EAT , EAT #define X_IF_ADDED(N_) \ SWITCH(ADD_ITEM_MACRO_FOR_STATE_, SWITCH(VALUE_FOR_, N_, EAT), X) \ (SECOND(GLUE(VALUE_FOR_,N_))) Given this framework, your list macro would be comprised of a series of X(value), X_IF_ENABLED(name,default_value), and/or X_IF_ADDED(name) values, where: X(value) can be used to always insert a call to the X macro with value X_IF_ENABLED(name,default_value) will call X with default_value, allowing you to override the default based on name. X_IF_ADDED(name) will provide an "empty slot" with name, which will do nothing unless you override that slot. Overriding slots is done by defining VALUE_FOR_name to expand to ,replacement. Disabling enabled slots is done by defining ENABLE_VALUE_name to expand to ,OFF. Demo showing change, removal, addition using command line
c token pasting (concatenation) with empty string
I'm trying to use macro for c code. However, I stuck in using token concatenation I have below variables. A, aA, bA, cA ... And, all of these variables used for same function (situation is a bit complicate, so just passing variable is not enough). If I have only aA, bA, cA Then, I can do using the below macro. #define CALL_FUNCTION(GROUP) \ FUNCTION(GROUP##A); However, because of A I can't use the mentioned macro anymore. I tried, #define CALL_FUNCTION(GROUP) \ FUNCTION(GROUP##A); FUNCTION(NULL); FUNCTION(a); FUNCTION(b); FUNCTION(c); But actually, NULL is not empty string, it didn't work. FUNCTION(""); Also didn't work. There are alternative way like, #define CALL_FUNCTION(GROUP) \ if(GROUP == NULL)\ FUNCTION(A);\ else\ FUNCTION(GROUP##A); However, in this case, I need to write few lines more. In my case, it cause much more codes. I googled a lot, but I couldn't solution. Is there anyone who knows how to token paste with empty string? Thanks
Pass an empty argument and it will effectively concatenate nothing with A, producing just A: #define CALL_FUNCTION(GROUP) \ FUNCTION(GROUP##A); CALL_FUNCTION() // expands to FUNCTION(A); CALL_FUNCTION(a) // expands to FUNCTION(aA); You can see this work live. The thing to note is that when you call CALL_FUNCTION(), you do not pass zero arguments, as you do with functions. Instead, you pass a single argument - empty. Similarly, MACRO(,) calls MACRO with two empty arguments. It just so happens that the concatenation behaviour with empty is what you want.
You just need a second macro that takes no parameters: #define CALL_FUNCTION() \ FUNCTION(A); #define CALL_FUNCTION(GROUP) \ FUNCTION(GROUP##A); Example: #include <stdio.h> #define FUNCTION(x) printf( # x "\n" ) #define CALL_FUNCTION() FUNCTION(A) #define CALL_FUNCTION(GROUP) FUNCTION(GROUP##A) int main(void) { CALL_FUNCTION(); CALL_FUNCTION(a); CALL_FUNCTION(b); CALL_FUNCTION(c); return 0; } Output: A aA bA cA
Macro using strings concatenation
I want to make a macro which doesn't use arguments but has predefined integer and string which is used. I asked before about something similar with macro that has arguments and this is how it is: #define BUZZER_PIN 1 #define BUZZER_PORT B #define BUZZER_ALT 1 #define INIT_BUZZER_(PORTX, PIN, ALT) \ do { \ PORT##PORTX##_PCR(PIN) = PORT_PCR_MUX(ALT) | PORT_PCR_DSE_MASK; \ GPIO##PORTX##_PDDR |= (PIN)<<1; \ } while (0) #define INIT_BUZZER(PORTX, PIN, ALT) \ INIT_BUZZER_(PORTX, PIN, ALT) but what if I just want to have INIT_BUZZER that will be referenced to INIT_BUZZER_ and do all above? I tried to: #define INIT_BUZZER INIT_BUZZER_(BUZZER_PORT, BUZZER_PIN, BUZZER_ALT) I am always having problem only with string and I don't understand that part well. If I call it this way I get BUZZER_PORT processed as string BUZZER_PORT not as the value of it = B
You need another macro to expand the macro arguments before it is passed to INIT_BUZZER_. #define INIT_BUZZER_X(PORTX, PIN, ALT) \ INIT_BUZZER_(PORTX, PIN, ALT) #define INIT_BUZZER INIT_BUZZER_X(BUZZER_PORT, BUZZER_PIN, BUZZER_ALT) Now, when you use INIT_BUZZER in your code, it will first expand into INIT_BUZZER_X with the three arguments. The preprocessor will then proceed to process INIT_BUZZER_X, in which it will expand each of the three arguments, and pass them to INIT_BUZZER_.
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.