#if, #elif, #else, and #endif Directives

Preprocessor directives that control compilation of portions of a source file.

#if ifCondition ...
[#elif elifCondition ...]
[#else ...]
#endif

Parameters

Item	Description
ifCondition	Primary condition to evaluate. If this parameter evaluates to a nonzero value, all text between this #if directive and the next instance of the #elif, #else, or #endif directive is retained in the translation unit; otherwise, the subsequent source code is not retained. The condition can use the preprocessor operator defined to determine whether a specific preprocessor constant or macro is defined; this usage is equivalent to the use of the #ifdef directive. See the Remarks section for restrictions on the value of the ifCondition parameter.
elifCondition [optional]	Other condition to evaluate. If the ifCondition parameter and all previous #elif directives evaluate to zero, and this parameter evaluates to a nonzero value, all text between this #elif directive and the next instance of the #elif, #else, or #endif directive is retained in the translation unit; otherwise, the subsequent source code is not retained. The condition can use the preprocessor operator defined to determine whether a specific preprocessor constant or macro is defined; this usage is equivalent to the use of the #ifdef directive. See the Remarks section for restrictions on the value of the elifCondition parameter.

Remarks

Each #if directive in a source file must be matched by a closing #endif directive. Any number of #elif directives can appear between the #if and #endif directives, but at most one #else directive is allowed. The #else directive, if present, must be the last directive before #endif. Conditional-compilation directives contained in include files must satisfy the same conditions.

The #if, #elif, #else, and #endif directives can nest in the text portions of other #if directives. Each nested #else, #elif, or #endif directive belongs to the closest preceding #if directive.

If no conditions evaluate to a nonzero value, the preprocessor selects the text block after the #else directive. If the #else clause is omitted and no conditions evaluate to a nonzero value, no text block is selected.

The ifCondition and elifCondition parameters much meet the following requirements:

• Conditional compilation expressions are treated as signed long values, and these expressions are evaluated using the same rules as expressions in C++.
• Expressions must have integral type and can include only integer constants, character constants, and the defined operator.
• Expressions cannot use sizeof or a type-cast operator.
• The target environment may not be able to represent all ranges of integers.
• The translation represents type int the same as type long, and unsigned int the same as unsigned long.
• The translator can translate character constants to a set of code values different from the set for the target environment. To determine the properties of the target environment, check values of macros from LIMITS.H in an application built for the target environment.
• The expression must not perform any environmental inquiries and must remain insulated from implementation details on the target computer.

Examples

This section contains examples that demonstrate how to use conditional compilation preprocessor directives.

Use of the defined operator

The following example shows the use of the defined operator. If the identifier CREDIT is defined, the call to the credit function is compiled. If the identifier DEBIT is defined, the call to the debit function is compiled. If neither identifier is defined, the call to the printerror function is compiled. Note that "CREDIT" and "credit" are distinct identifiers in C and C++ because their cases are different.

#if defined(CREDIT)
    credit();
#elif defined(DEBIT)
    debit();
#else
    printerror();
#endif

Use of nested #if directives

The following example shows how to nest #if directives. This example assumes that a symbolic constant named DLEVEL has been previously defined. The #elif and #else directives are used to make one of four choices, based on the value of DLEVEL. The constant STACK is set to 0, 100, or 200, depending on the definition of DLEVEL. If DLEVEL is greater than 5, then STACK is not defined.

#if DLEVEL > 5
    #define SIGNAL  1
    #if STACKUSE == 1
        #define STACK   200
    #else
        #define STACK   100
    #endif
#else
    #define SIGNAL  0
    #if STACKUSE == 1
        #define STACK   100
    #else
        #define STACK   50
    #endif
#endif
#if DLEVEL == 0
    #define STACK 0
#elif DLEVEL == 1
    #define STACK 100
#elif DLEVEL > 5
    display( debugptr );
#else
    #define STACK 200
#endif

Use for including header files

A common use for conditional compilation is to prevent multiple inclusions of the same header file. In C++, where classes are often defined in header files, conditional compilation constructs can be used to prevent multiple definitions. The following example determines whether the symbolic constant EXAMPLE_H is defined. If so, the file has already been included and does not need to be reprocessed; if not, the constant EXAMPLE_H is defined to indicate that EXAMPLE.H has already been processed.

#if !defined( EXAMPLE_H )
#define EXAMPLE_H

class Example
{
...
};

#endif // !defined( EXAMPLE_H )

See also

Preprocessor Directives (DirectX HLSL)