cc-preprocessorpreprocessor-directive

How Can I #define "elif" as "else if", in C++?

I wanted to have elif as a macro for else if by means of c++ Preprocessor

So that instead of writing like :-

if (something)
{
    // Do something
}
else if (something else)
{
    // Do something else
}
else
{
    // Do something else
}

I could just write like :-

if (something)
{
    // Do something
}
elif (something else)
{
    // Do something else
}
else
{
    // Do something else
}

This is what i tried :-

#define elif "else if"

But MinGW-w64 is Showing Error :-

error: expression cannot be used as a function

Help Please !?

Solution

  • The #define preprocessing directive does not use quotation marks to delimit its replacement tokens. To define elif to be replaced by else if, simply use:

    #define elif else if

    That said, this would generally be regarded as a bad idea. C programmers become accustomed to the normal keywords that affect program control, and using customized keywords will confuse many people.