Is it better to use static const
vars than #define
preprocessor? Or maybe it depends on the context?
What are advantages/disadvantages for each method?
cconstants
Is it better to use static const
vars than #define
preprocessor? Or maybe it depends on the context?
What are advantages/disadvantages for each method?
Best Answer
Pros and cons between
#define
s,const
s and (what you have forgot)enum
s, depending on usage:enum
s:enum class X
are disambiguated by the scopeX::
int
but can be explicitly set by the programmertemplate <typename T> void f(T t) { cout << ++t; }
won't compile, though you can wrap an enum into a class with implicit constructor, casting operator and user-defined operators)template <typename T> void f(T)
get a distinct instantiation when passed the same numeric value from different enums, all of which are distinct from any actualf(int)
instantiation. Each function's object code could be identical (ignoring address offsets), but I wouldn't expect a compiler/linker to eliminate the unnecessary copies, though you could check your compiler/linker if you care.enum { A = 1, B = 2 }
- isA|B
"legal" from a program logic perspective?)make
and other timestamp-based recompilation tools will trigger client recompilation when they're changed (bad!)const
s:#define
ala#define S std::string("abc")
, but the constant avoids repeated construction of distinct temporaries at each point of useconst
value, which minimises work and impact if switching between the two#define
s:#define X "x"
and some client usage ala"pre" X "post"
, if you want or need to make X a runtime-changeable variable rather than a constant you force edits to client code (rather than just recompilation), whereas that transition is easier from aconst char*
orconst std::string
given they already force the user to incorporate concatenation operations (e.g."pre" + X + "post"
forstring
)sizeof
directly on a defined numeric literalunsigned
){ 1, 2 }
that can be used to initialise arrays, or#define MICROSECONDS *1E-6
etc. (definitely not recommending this!)__FILE__
and__LINE__
can be incorporated into the macro substitution#if
statements for conditionally including code (more powerful than a post-preprocessing "if" as the code need not be compilable if not selected by the preprocessor), use#undef
-ine, redefine etc.make
and other timestamp-based recompilation tools will trigger client recompilation when they're changed (bad!)My personal opinion:
As a general rule, I use
const
s and consider them the most professional option for general usage (though the others have a simplicity appealing to this old lazy programmer).