Newbie question about the define macro

I happened to read some code recently and I have the following doubts.

What does this statement mean:

#define stricmp strcasecmp


Is this supported in c++?

Does the statement mean " stricmp = strcasecmp ; "
if then what is the type?

Is there a better way other than using a macro?

Edit: nm. I was wrong.

>#define stricmp strcasecmp
It means you need to be prepared for nightmarish sessions of code maintenance. If the author thought this was a good idea, I can only imagine what else he did. Basically, the author realized that strcasecmp isn't a standard function and decided to change the name to something that (he thought) was more portable.

>Is there a better way other than using a macro?
Yes. Write an inline function that calls strcasecmp. That way your inline function has an interface that never changes and you have only one point of failure that needs to be changed when the code is ported. Alternatively, you can write your own case insensitive string comparison algorithm. Playing name games is never a good solution.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Prelude

>#define stricmp strcasecmp
It means you need to be prepared for nightmarish sessions of code maintenance. If the author thought this was a good idea, I can only imagine what else he did. Basically, the author realized that strcasecmp isn't a standard function and decided to change the name to something that (he thought) was more portable.

>Is there a better way other than using a macro?
Yes. Write an inline function that calls strcasecmp. That way your inline function has an interface that never changes and you have only one point of failure that needs to be changed when the code is ported. Alternatively, you can write your own case insensitive string comparison algorithm. Playing name games is never a good solution.

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You got that backwords. stricmp is changed to srtcasecmp, not the other way around.

Stricmp is a standard function.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by King Mir

Stricmp is a standard function.

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Nope.

>stricmp is changed to srtcasecmp, not the other way around.
You're thinking of typedef. For #define, the new name comes first, then the replacement text.

>Stricmp is a standard function.
Really. Would you care to post a quote from the standard proving this?

Fairly standard. Actually, were can I get a copy of the real standard?

My C library reference lists this function.

http://www.gotw.ca/gotw/029.htm

A snippet from that site:

Quote:

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Write a ci_string class which is identical to the standard 'string' class, but is case-insensitive in the same way as the (nonstandard but widely implemented) C function stricmp():

The "how can I make a case-insensitive string?" question is so common that it probably deserves its own FAQ -- hence this issue of GotW.

Note 1: The stricmp() case-insensitive string comparison function is not part of the C standard, but it is a common extension on many C compilers.

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>Fairly standard.
Fairly standard? You mean sort of standard but not completely? That's like being sort of dead, or sort of pregnant. Something is either standard or it's not. There's no inbetween here.

>Actually, were can I get a copy of the real standard?
You can download the PDF for $18 from www.ansi.org.

>My C library reference lists this function.
I don't doubt it. My compiler compiles it too, but that doesn't mean it's a standard C function.

edit::

C examples on the C++ board just seems wrong. My mistake.

Quote:

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stricmp strcasecmp

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One neede for Unix the other needed for Windows? Eh, maybe I wrong.

Thanks everyone.
Bottomline: Macros are bad practice.