Preprocessor keywords inside templates in C - c

I would like to define a template like this:
#define DECLARE_MY_STRUCT(name) \
#ifndef MY_STRUCT_DECLARED \
struct my_##name##_struct { \
double var; \
}; \
#define MY_STRUCT_DECLARED \
#endif
This would allow me to use DECLARE_MY_STRUCT template wherever I want and not get "my_struct was already defined" error.
Unfortunately, gcc treats #ifndef as its preprocessor directives instead of part of template declaration and fails to build such code. Any way to workaround this?
( Except for using
#ifndef MY_X_STRUCT_DECLARED
DECLARE_MY_STRUCT(X)
#endif
as there may be a lot of different struct names.
)

The C Standard does not allow nested pre-processor directives, so this is impossible. The # in #ifndef would be treated as a stringizing #.

Related

Eclipse CDT syntax error for macro using _Generic keyword

I'm using Oxygen with CDT 9.3.0 built-in.
When I use a macro I defined that uses _Generic, all those macro uses are underlined with "syntax error", but the project compiles fine (which is setup to use my makefiles).
After reading a similar so question, and since _Generic begin from C11 possibly not supported by eclipse's code analysis, I tried defining a symbol for my macro definition to empty but it didn't work. (At project settings, C/C++ General->Paths and Symbols->Symbols Tab, GNU C, added symbol CONVERT(...) without a value and added a symbol CONVERT(X), and CONVERT() and CONVERT without a value).
For example my macro is:
#define FIRST_(_1, ...) _1
#define FIRST(...) FIRST_(__VA_ARGS__, _1, _2, _3)
#define CONVERT(...) \
_Generic((FIRST(__VA_ARGS__)), \
char* : toText, \
int : toInt, \
) (__VA_ARGS__)
and usage point, that gives the syntax error:
void* test = CONVERT("testme");
As #ErikW pointed out, _Generic is a C11 feature that Eclipse CDT's parser does not support yet. This bug tracks adding support for it.
(By the way, contributions to Eclipse CDT's C11 support are very welcome!)
It is possible to work around this using macros.
The problem with trying to define another version of the CONVERT(...) macro in "Paths and Symbols" is that the macros defined there are treated as if you wrote them at the very top of your file. A subsequent redefinition in your actual code overwrites the definition from "Paths and Symbols".
I can think of two approaches to go about this:
Approach 1
CDT defines a special macro __CDT_PARSER__ which evaluates to true when it's parsing the code, but false when the code is actually compiled.
You can take advantage of this to define a different version of CONVERT(...) for CDT's purposes:
#ifdef __CDT_PARSER__
#define CONVERT(...)
#else
#define CONVERT(...) \
_Generic((FIRST(__VA_ARGS__)), \
char* : toText, \
int : toInt, \
) (__VA_ARGS__)
#endif
This almost works, but not quite. We still get a syntax error, because this line:
void* test = CONVERT("testme", 42);
will now expand to:
void* test = ;
As you can see, we don't actually want an empty expansion for CONVERT(...). We want an expansion that will parse as a variable's initializer. 0 will work:
#ifdef __CDT_PARSER__
#define CONVERT(...) 0
#else
...
#endif
Approach 2
Instead of defining a different version of CONVERT(...), we could define _Generic(...) itself to be a macro for CDT's purposes.
This time, we can do it in "Paths and Symbols", because there is no redefinition of _Generic(...) in the code that would mess it up.
So let's define a symbol in "Paths and Symbols", with _Generic(...) as the name and an empty value.
Now, this line:
void* test = CONVERT("testme", 42);
will expand to:
void* test = _Generic((FIRST("testme", 42)), \
char* : toText, \
int : toInt, \
) ("testme", 42)
which will in turn expand to:
void* test = ("testme", 42);
which parses (("testme", 42) parses as a parenthesized comma-expression and is thus a valid initializer).
This approach has the advantage that you don't need to modify your actual code, and that it handles all uses of the _Generic macro rather than just the one in CONVERT.
On the other hand, it's possible that for some other uses of the _Generic macro, this particular expansion won't parse. If that's the case, you might be able to come up with a different expansion that will parse for all uses, or else you can go with Approach 1.

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

What is the best alternative to #if in #define

I am using CUDA for my current project, and need to maintain a CPU and GPU kernel with a single implementation. I can tag a function with
__device__ __host__
but that doesn't allow me to split the code when needed to use device-only features. So, I have come up with the following solution:
template <bool IsOnDevice>
#if IsOnDevice
__device__
#else
__host__
#endif
...the rest of the function header
Now, I would like to place this code in a #define to encapsulate this part, such as
//Macro:
#define DEVICE_FUNCTION \
template <bool IsOnDevice> \
#if IsOnDevice \
__device__ \
#else \
__host__ \
#endif
//Example function:
DEVICE_FUNCTION
...the rest of the function header
However, this doesn't compile as no other preprocesses can be included in the macro. I also tried
#DEVICE_FUNCTION_true __device__
#DEVICE_FUNCTION_false __host__
#DEVICE_FUNCTION_RESOLVER(flag) DEVICE_FUNCTION_##flag
#DEVICE_FUNCTION \
template <bool IsOnDevice> \
DEVICE_FUNCTION_RESOLVER(IsOnDevice)
With no luck, as the token gets resolved as DEVICE_FUNCTION_IsOnDevice even though IsOnDevice is known at compile time. Is there any way to encapsulate code with #if's in a macro (or anything, really)?
You could use __CUDA_ARCH__ predefined macro to distungish whether code should be treated as device code or not. On the host side, the macro is not defined.
Here is an example:
__device__ __host__ void foo()
{
#ifdef __CUDA_ARCH__
__syncthreads();
#else
// do something else on host side
#endif
}

Compile-time assertion fails without GCC optimization

I have following compile-time assertion which fails if I compile without -O[1-3] flags.
#ifndef __compiletime_error
#define __compiletime_error(message)
#endif
#ifndef __compiletime_error_fallback
#define __compiletime_error_fallback(condition) do { } while (0)
#endif
#define __compiletime_assert(condition, msg, prefix, suffix) \
do { \
int __cond = !(condition); \
extern void prefix ## suffix(void) __compiletime_error(msg); \
if (__cond) \
prefix ## suffix(); \
__compiletime_error_fallback(__cond); \
} while (0)
#define _compiletime_assert(condition, msg, prefix, suffix) \
__compiletime_assert(condition, msg, prefix, suffix)
#define compiletime_assert(condition, msg) \
_compiletime_assert(condition, msg, __compiletime_assert_, __LINE__)
#endif
This would combine with the following macro which is located in another (gcc-4 specific) file:
#define __compiletime_error(message) __attribute__((error(message)))
the issue comes from this line in the code:
extern void prefix ## suffix(void) __compiletime_error(msg); \
It seems GCC does not understand extern in the macro without -O[1-3] flag. I am not sure how should I declare __compiletime_error before it actually gets called in this macro. If I remove this line, I get famous warning of Implicit declaration of a function
Your compiletime_assert framework is relying on the optimizer performing dead code elimination to remove the call to prefix ## suffix. This is highly fragile and is in no way guaranteed to work.
Instead, try using one of the solutions from Ways to ASSERT expressions at build time in C - or, since you're using a modern compiler, just use C11 _Static_assert.

Is there a way to both check a macro is defined and it equals a certain value at the same time

I regularly use object-like preprocessor macros as boolean flags in C code to turn on and off sections of code.
For example
#define DEBUG_PRINT 1
And then use it like
#if(DEBUG_PRINT == 1)
printf("%s", "Testing");
#endif
However, it comes a problem if the header file that contains the #define is forgotten to be included in the source code. Since the macro is not declared, the preprocessor treats it as if it equals 0, and the #if statement never runs.
When the header file is forgotten to be included, non-expected, unruly behaviour can occur.
Ideally, I would like to be able to both check that a macro is defined, and check that it equals a certain value, in one line. If it is not defined, the preprocessor throws an error (or warning).
I'm looking for something along the lines of:
#if-def-and-true-else-throw-error(DEBUG_PRINT)
...
#endif
It's like a combination of #ifdef and #if, and if it doesn't exist, uses #error.
I have explored a few avenues, however, preprocessor directives can't be used inside a #define block, and as far as I can tell, there is no preprocessor option to throw errors/warnings if a macro is not defined when used inside a #if statement.
This may not work for the general case (I don't think there's a general solution to what you're asking for), but for your specific example you might consider changing this sequence of code:
#if(DEBUG_PRINT == 1)
printf("%s", "Testing");
#endif
to:
if (DEBUG_PRINT == 1) {
printf("%s", "Testing");
}
It's no more verbose and will fail to compile if DEBUG_PRINT is not defined or if it's defined to be something that cannot be compared with 1.
as far as I can tell, there is no preprocessor option to throw errors/warnings if a macro is not defined when used inside a #if statement.
It can't be an error because the C standard specifies that behavior is legal. From section 6.10.1/3 of ISO C99 standard:
After all replacements due to macro expansion and the defined unary
operator have been performed, all remaining identifiers are replaced with the pp-number
0....
As Jim Balter notes in the comment below, though, some compilers (such as gcc) can issue warnings about it. However, since the behavior of substituting 0 for unrecognized preprocessor tokens is legal (and in many cases desirable), I'd expect that enabling such warnings in practice would generate a significant amount of noise.
There's no way to do exactly what you want. If you want to generate a compilation failure if the macro is not defined, you'll have to do it explicitly
#if !defined DEBUG_PRINT
#error DEBUG_PRINT is not defined.
#endif
for each source file that cares. Alternatively, you could convert your macro to a function-like macro and avoid using #if. For example, you could define a DEBUG_PRINT macro that expands to a printf call for debug builds but expands to nothing for non-debug builds. Any file that neglects to include the header defining the macro then would fail to compile.
Edit:
Regarding desirability, I have seen numerous times where code uses:
#if ENABLE_SOME_CODE
...
#endif
instead of:
#ifdef ENABLE_SOME_CODE
...
#endif
so that #define ENABLE_SOME_CODE 0 disables the code rather than enables it.
Rather than using DEBUG_PRINT directly in your source files, put this in the header file:
#if !defined(DEBUG_PRINT)
#error DEBUG_PRINT is not defined
#endif
#if DEBUG_PRINT
#define PrintDebug([args]) [definition]
#else
#define PrintDebug
#endif
Any source file that uses PrintDebug but doesn't include the header file will fail to compile.
If you need other code than calls to PrintDebug to be compiled based on DEBUG_PRINT, consider using Michael Burr's suggestion of using plain if rather than #if (yes, the optimizer will not generate code within a false constant test).
Edit:
And you can generalize PrintDebug above to include or exclude arbitrary code as long as you don't have commas that look like macro arguments:
#if !defined(IF_DEBUG)
#error IF_DEBUG is not defined
#endif
#if IF_DEBUG
#define IfDebug(code) code
#else
#define IfDebug(code)
#endif
Then you can write stuff like
IfDebug(int count1;) // IfDebug(int count1, count2;) won't work
IfDebug(int count2;)
...
IfDebug(count1++; count2++;)
Yes you can check both:
#if defined DEBUG && DEBUG == 1
# define D(...) printf(__VA_ARGS__)
#else
# define D(...)
#endif
In this example even when #define DEBUG 0 but it is not equal to 1 thus nothing will be printed.
You can do even this:
#if defined DEBUG && DEBUG
# define D(...) printf(__VA_ARGS__)
#else
# define D(...)
#endif
Here if you #define DEBUG 0 and then D(1,2,3) also nothing will be printed
DOC
Simply create a macro DEBUG_PRINT that does the actual printing:
#define DEBUG_PRINT(n, str) \
\
if(n == 1) \
{ \
printf("%s", str); \
} \
else if(n == 2) \
{ \
do_something_else(); \
} \
\
#endif
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
DEBUG_PRINT(1, "testing");
}
If the macro isn't defined, then you will get a compiler error because the symbol is not recognized.
#if 0 // 0/1
#define DEBUG_PRINT printf("%s", "Testing")
#else
#define DEBUG_PRINT printf("%s")
#endif
So when "if 0" it'll do nothing and when "if 1" it'll execute the defined macro.

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