Preprocessor definitions (-D)

Replace macros in preprocessed code

Description

Replace macros with their definitions in preprocessed code.

Set Option

Set the option using one of these methods:

  • Polyspace® user interface (desktop products only): In your project configuration, select the Macros node and then enter macro definitions for this option.

  • Polyspace Platform user interface (desktop products only): In your project configuration, on the Build tab, select the Target & Compiler node and then enter macro definitions for this option.

  • Command line and options file: Use the option -D. See Command-Line Information.

Why Use This Option

Use this option to emulate your compiler behavior. For instance, if your compiler considers a macro _WIN32 as defined when you build your code, it executes code in a #ifdef _WIN32 statement. If Polyspace does not consider that macro as defined, you must use this option to replace the macro with 1.

Depending on your settings for Compiler (-compiler), some macros are defined by default. Use this option to define macros that are not implicitly defined.

Typically, you recognize from compilation errors that a certain macro is not defined. For instance, the following code does not compile if the macro _WIN32 is not defined.

#ifdef _WIN32
  int env_var;
#endif

void set() {
  env_var=1;
}
The error message states that env_var is undefined. However, the definition of env_var is in the #ifdef _WIN32 statement. The underlying cause for the error is that the macro _WIN32 is not defined. You must define _WIN32.

Settings

No Default

Using the button, add a row for the macro you want to define. The definition must be in the format Macro=Value. If you want Polyspace to ignore the macro, leave the Value blank.

For example:

  • name1=name2 replaces all instances of name1 by name2.

  • name= instructs the software to ignore name.

  • name with no equals sign or value replaces all instances of name by 1. To define a macro to execute code in a #ifdef macro_name statement, use this syntax.

Tips

  • If Polyspace does not support a non-ANSI® keyword and shows a compilation error, use this option to replace all occurrences of the keyword with a blank string in preprocessed code. The replacement occurs only for the purposes of the analysis. Your original source code remains intact.

    For instance, if your compiler supports the __far keyword, to avoid compilation errors:

    • In the user interface (desktop products only), enter __far=.

    • On the command line, use the flag -D __far=.

    The software replaces the __far keyword with a blank string during preprocessing. For example:

    int __far* pValue;
    is converted to:
    int * pValue;

  • Polyspace recognizes keywords such as restrict and does not allow their use as identifiers. If you use those keywords as identifiers (because your compiler does not recognize them as keywords), replace the disallowed name with another name using this option. The replacement occurs only for the purposes of the analysis. Your original source code remains intact.

    For instance, to allow use of restrict as identifier:

    • In the user interface, enter restrict=my_restrict.

    • On the command line, use the flag -D restrict=my_restrict.

  • Your compiler specification determines the values of many compiler-specific macros. In case you want to know how Polyspace defines a specific macro, use the option -dump-preprocessing-info.

Command-Line Information

You can specify only one flag with each -D option. However, you can specify the option multiple times.

Parameter: -D
No Default
Value: flag=value
Example (Bug Finder): polyspace-bug-finder -D HAVE_MYLIB -D int32_t=int
Example (Code Prover): polyspace-code-prover -D HAVE_MYLIB -D int32_t=int
Example (Bug Finder Server): polyspace-bug-finder-server -D HAVE_MYLIB -D int32_t=int
Example (Code Prover Server): polyspace-code-prover-server -D HAVE_MYLIB -D int32_t=int

See Also

Topics