Explain the macros, C/C++ Programming

Assignment Help:

Explain the Macros?

Preprocessor' is a translation stage that is applied to your source code before the compiler proper gets its hands on it. Usually the preprocessor performs textual substitutions on your source code. Macro is a kind of preprocessor which replaces instances of one piece of text with another.

A preprocessor line of the form

#define name text

defines a macro with the given name having as its value the given substitute text. After that for the rest of the current source file someplace the preprocessor sees that name, it will replace it with the replacement text. The name follows the similar rules as ordinary identifiers it can contain only letters, digits, and underscores, and may not begin with a digit. Ever since macros behave quite differently from normal variables or functions it is customary to give them names which are all capital letters or at least which begin with a capital letter. The replacement text is able to be absolutely anything--it's not restricted to numbers, or anything, or simple strings.

The mainly common use for macros is to propagate various constants around and to make them more self-documenting. We have been saying things like

char line[100];
...
getline(line, 100);

but this is neither reliable nor readable it's not essentially obvious what all those 100's scattered around the program are and if we ever decide that 100 is too small for the size of the array to hold lines we'll have to remember to change the number in two or more places. A lot better solution is to use a macro:

#define MAXLINE 100
char line[MAXLINE];
...
getline(line, MAXLINE);

Now if we still want to change the size we only must do it in one place. The macro text MAXLINE is known as a symbolic constant.


Related Discussions:- Explain the macros

Define local classes, A cl a s s c a n b e d e f i n e ...

A cl a s s c a n b e d e f i n e d i n s i d e a b l o c k o r f u n c t i o n.   T h i s t yp e cla s s i s known

Explain the new and delete operators, The new and delete operators The ...

The new and delete operators The C language has explained library functions- malloc() and free() for dynamic allocation and de-allocation of memory. C++ gives yet another appro

Purchasing code signing certificate, Purchasing Code Signing Certificate ...

Purchasing Code Signing Certificate I want to purchase a Code Signing Certificate in good standing from someone in order to sign my .EXE programs with. Please be aware I do n

In which condition a template a better solution than a base , In which cond...

In which condition a template a better solution than a base class? A: While you are designing a generic class to contain or manage objects of other types, while the format & beh

I need online game dvelopment, Project Description: Online game developm...

Project Description: Online game development Online Live Baccarat Game is needed - client program. - server program(IOCP or ect..). - web program(ASP or PHP or etc..

C program to handle stack using exception handling, Aim: To implement a pr...

Aim: To implement a program to handle stack overflow, underflow and odd number exception using Exception Handling. Code: #include #include #include #define MAX

Calculating interest, The interest charged on a loan banking facility is ca...

The interest charged on a loan banking facility is calculated based on principal amount, rate and time. implement a C program that can be used to automate the calculation of the in

Need squid web proxy with ffmpeg to convert flv to h.264, Need Squid Web Pr...

Need Squid Web Proxy with ffmpeg to convert flv to h.264 Project Description: We need a squid proxy setup with the modification that will transcode FLV to h.264 in real-time,

Array structure, We started off taking about input, output, CPU and memory ...

We started off taking about input, output, CPU and memory devices. Within C we need a method of storing large amounts of data in memory. We have used the idea of variables (pointer

LOOPS, HOW CAN WE EASLY LEARN C++

HOW CAN WE EASLY LEARN C++

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd