C Preprocessor and Macros

September 22, 2018

C Preprocessor and Macros

In this article, you will be introduced to c preprocessors and you will learn to use #include, #define and conditional compilation.

The C preprocessor is a macro preprocessor (allows you to define macros) that transforms your program before it is compiled. These transformations can be inclusion of header file, macro expansions etc.

All preprocessing directives begins with a # symbol. For example,

#define PI 3.14

Some of the common uses of C preprocessor are:

Include header files

Macros

Conditional Compilation

Diagnostics

Line Control

Pragmas

Other Directives

Preprocessor Output

Including Header Files

The #include preprocessor is used to include header files to a C program. For example,

#include <stdio.h>

Here, "stdio.h" is a header file. The #include preprocessor directive replaces the above line with the contents of stdio.h header file which contains function and macro definitions.

That's the reason why you need to use #include <stdio.h> before you can use functions like scanf() and printf().

You can also create your own header file containing function declaration and include it in your program using this preprocessor directive.

#include "my_header.h"

Visit this page to learn on using header files.

Macros using #define

You can define a macro in C using #define preprocessor directive.

A macro is a fragment of code that is given a name. You can use that fragment of code in your program by using the name. For example,

#define c 299792458  // speed of light

Here, when we use c in our program, it's replaced with 299792458.

Example 1: Using #define preprocessor

#include <stdio.h>
#define PI 3.1415

int main()
{
    float radius, area;
    printf("Enter the radius: ");
    scanf("%d", &radius);
    // Notice, the use of PI
    area = PI*radius*radius;
    printf("Area=%.2f",area);
    return 0;
}

You can also define macros that works like a function call, known as function-like macros. For example,

#define circleArea(r) (3.1415*(r)*(r))

Every time the program encounters circleArea(argument), it is replaced by (3.1415*(argument)*(argument)).

Suppose, we passed 5 as an argument then, it expands as below:

circleArea(5) expands to (3.1415*5*5)

Example 2: Using #define preprocessor

#include <stdio.h>
#define PI 3.1415
#define circleArea(r) (PI*r*r)

int main()
{
    int radius;
    float area;

    printf("Enter the radius: ");
    scanf("%d", &radius);
    area = circleArea(radius);
    printf("Area = %.2f", area);

    return 0;
}

Visit this page to learn more about macros and #define preprocessor.

Conditional Compilation

In C programming, you can instruct preprocessor whether to include certain chuck of code or not. To do so, conditional directives can be used.

It's similar like a if statement. However, there is a big difference you need to understand.

The if statement is tested during the execution time to check whether a block of code should be executed or not whereas, the conditionals is used to include (or skip) certain chucks of code in your program before execution.

Uses of Conditional

use different code depending on the machine, operating system
compile same source file in two different programs
to exclude certain code from the program but to keep it as reference for future purpose

How to use conditional?

To use conditional, #ifdef, #if, #defined, #else and #elseif directives are used.

#ifdef Directive

#ifdef MACRO     
     conditional codes
#endif

Here, the conditional codes are included in the program only if MACRO is defined.

#if, #elif and #else Directive

#if expression
   conditional codes
#endif

Here, expression is a expression of integer type (can be integers, characters, arithmetic expression, macros and so on). The conditional codes are included in the program only if the expression is evaluated to a non-zero value.

The optional #else directive can used with #if directive.

#if expression
   conditional codes if expression is non-zero
#else
   conditional if expression is 0
#endif

You can also add nested conditional to your #if...#else using #elif

#if expression
   conditional codes if expression is non-zero
#elif expression1
    conditional codes if expression is non-zero
#elif expression2
    conditional codes if expression is non-zero
... .. ...
else
   conditional if all expressions are 0
#endif

#defined

The special operator #defined is used to test whether certain macro is defined or not. It's often used with #if directive.

#if defined BUFFER_SIZE && BUFFER_SIZE >= 2048
  conditional codes

Predefined Macros

There are some predefined macros which are readily for use in C programming.

Predefined macro	Value
__DATE__	String containing the current date
__FILE__	String containing the file name
__LINE__	Integer representing the current line number
__STDC__	If follows ANSI standard C, then value is a nonzero integer
__TIME__	String containing the current date.

Example #3: predefined Macros

C Program to find the current time

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
   printf("Current time: %s",__TIME__);   //calculate the current time
}

Output

Current time: 19:54:39

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