Over reliance on macros

user_118750 0
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I feel, every time I read a C or C++ program, that half or more of it is just macros. I understand that macros can be cool but they are hard to track, debug, etc. Not to mention that most programming languages do not even define something like macros (although Perl6 will have something of the sort).

I personally always have found a way to write my code without using macros, whether it be with templates, multiple inheritance, etc. I have even felt I am not a good programmer because all the pros use macros and I try to avoid them as much as I can.

The question is, are there problems which cannot be solved without macros? Are macros ultimately a good/bad practice? When should I consider using a macro?

macros c c++
13 Answers

I've started working at a telecom company. The product code base is about 20 years old, and has to support many legacy products, while also trying to avoid duplicate code. the language used is C++03. I find lots of contstructs similar to the following

ClassA::methodA(...)
{
   // Common code
   ...

#if defined(PRODUCT_A) || defined(PRODUCT_B)
   // Code for Product A or Product B
   ...
#elif defined(PRODUCT_C)
   // Code for product C
   ...
#endif

  // Common code
  ...
}

Horrible stuff, I agree. So far, we haven't been able to find a better solution. At least with this approach, we can understand what the code is supposed to do by simple code-reading.

user_10596540
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