C Macro definitions in Preprocessor

Question

Is C  able to define macros as is done in the C programming language with pre-processor statements   I would like to simplify regular typing of certain repeating statements such as the following    Console WriteLine  foo

User · Answer

I use this to avoid Console WriteLine        public static void Cout this string str  params object   args         Console WriteLine str  args       and then you can use the following    line 1  Cout     This  0  is an  1   Cout  sentence    example      it s concise and kindof funky

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There is no direct equivalent to C-style macros in C   but inlined static methods - with or without  if  elseif  else pragmas - is the closest you can get                lt summary gt              Prints a message when in debug mode              lt  summary gt           MethodImpl MethodImplOptions AggressiveInlining           public static unsafe void Log object message     if DEBUG             Console WriteLine message    endif                         lt summary gt              Prints a formatted message when in debug mode              lt  summary gt               lt param name  format  gt A composite format string lt  param gt               lt param name  args  gt An array of objects to write using format lt  param gt           MethodImpl MethodImplOptions AggressiveInlining           public static unsafe void Log string format  params object   args     if DEBUG             Console WriteLine format  args    endif                         lt summary gt              Computes the square of a number              lt  summary gt               lt param name  x  gt The value lt  param gt               lt returns gt x   x lt  returns gt           MethodImpl MethodImplOptions AggressiveInlining           public static double Square double x                return x   x                          lt summary gt              Wipes a region of memory              lt  summary gt               lt param name  buffer  gt The buffer lt  param gt           MethodImpl MethodImplOptions AggressiveInlining           public static unsafe void ClearBuffer ref byte   buffer                ClearBuffer ref buffer  0  buffer Length                           lt summary gt              Wipes a region of memory              lt  summary gt               lt param name  buffer  gt The buffer lt  param gt               lt param name  offset  gt Start index lt  param gt               lt param name  length  gt Number of bytes to clear lt  param gt           MethodImpl MethodImplOptions AggressiveInlining           public static unsafe void ClearBuffer ref byte   buffer  int offset  int length                fixed byte  ptrBuffer    amp buffer offset                     for int i   0  i  lt  length    i                          ptrBuffer   i    0                                              This works perfectly as a macro  but comes with a little drawback  Methods marked as inlined will be copied to the reflection part of your assembly like any other  normal  method

User · Answer

Luckily  C  has no C C  -style preprocessor - only conditional compilation and pragmas  and possibly something else I cannot recall  are supported  Unfortunatelly  C  has no metaprogramming capabilities  this may actually relate to your question to some extent

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I would suggest you to write extension  something like below   public static class WriteToConsoleExtension         Extension to all types    public static void WriteToConsole this object instance                                        string format                                        params object   data              Console WriteLine format  data           class Program       static void Main string   args                Program p   new Program               Usage of extension         p WriteToConsole  Test  0    1    DateTime Now  1             Hope this helps  and not too late

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I will create a C  macrocompiler called C macros   Progress is here

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Turn the C Macro into a C  static method in a class

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You can use a C preprocessor  like mcpp  and rig it into your  csproj file  Then you chnage  build action  on your source file from Compile to Preprocess or whatever you call it  Just add BeforBuild to your  csproj like this      lt Target Name  BeforeBuild  Inputs    Preprocess   Outputs    Preprocess- gt    Filename  P cs    gt   lt Exec Command     Bin cpp exe   Preprocess  -P -o   RelativeDir   Filename  P cs    gt   lt CreateItem Include    Preprocess- gt    RelativeDir   Filename  P cs    gt     lt Output TaskParameter  Include  ItemName  Compile    gt   lt  CreateItem gt      You may have to manually change Compile to Preprocess on at least one file  in a text editor  - then the  Preprocess  option should be available for selection in Visual Studio   I know that macros are heavily overused and misused but removing them completely is equally bad if not worse  A classic example of macro usage would be NotifyPropertyChanged  Every programmer who had to rewrite this code by hand thousands of times knows how painful it is without macros

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Since C  7 0 supports using static directive and Local functions you don t need preprocessor macros for most cases

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No  C  does not support preprocessor macros like C   Visual Studio on the other hand has snippets  Visual Studio s snippets are a feature of the IDE and are expanded in the editor rather than replaced in the code on compilation by a preprocessor

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While you can t write macros  when it comes to simplifying things like your example  C  6 0 now offers static usings  Here s the example Martin Pernica gave on his Medium article   using static System Console     Note the static keyword  namespace CoolCSharp6Features     public class Program         public static int Main string   args              WriteLine  Hellow World without Console class name prefix            return 0

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