Thread: pre compiler #if 0?

  1. #1
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    pre compiler #if 0?

    I'm editing some existing code, and in the code, there are several statements:

    Code:
    #if 0
       blah blha
       blha blah
    #endif
    what does #if 0 do? It seems to me that it just ignores the code in between the if block??

  2. #2
    Programming Wraith GReaper's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dayalsoap View Post
    It seems to me that it just ignores the code in between the if block??
    Exactly that.
    Devoted my life to programming...

  3. #3
    Officially An Architect brewbuck's Avatar
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    It's a way of disabling code in a way that is easily switchable -- you flip the switch by changing the 0 to a 1.

    Normally this kind of thing is temporary. It might surround a piece of experimental code, or code that isn't quite ready for prime time yet. Using a constant 0 isn't as useful as a preprocessor macro, though:

    Code:
    #if ENABLE_SOME_FEATURE
    ...
    #endif
    This way the feature can be controlled from a header file or even a compiler switch (by defining the ENABLE_SOME_FEATURE symbol you can control the presence of the bit of code at compile time)
    Code:
    //try
    //{
    	if (a) do { f( b); } while(1);
    	else   do { f(!b); } while(1);
    //}

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