string literals - shared source file for C++, Java, Objective-C?

Asked Mar 11 '15 at 17:39

Active Mar 11 '15 at 21:11

Viewed 62 times

Is there a way to have a single source file define compile-time string literals in both Java and C++ (and ideally also Objective-C) ?

For C++ and Objective-C it's relatively easy using #if __OBJC__:

#if __OBJC__
#define _str_literal_ @
#else
#define _str_literal_
#endif

#define MY_TOKEN _str_literal_"hello world"

#undef _str_literal_

But for C++ / Java I suspect some sort of code-generating tool would be required.

Edited to reflect Dale's advice.

edited Mar 11 '15 at 21:11

asked Mar 11 '15 at 17:39

orion elenzil

1

Please don't use two leading underscores in your own code. Those symbols are reserved for the compiler. – Dale Wilson Mar 11 '15 at 17:41
Write code to generate the definitions for each language? That lets you keep exactly one definitive source of the literals. – Alan Stokes Mar 11 '15 at 17:43
Even if such a mechanism existed (and it does not exist for C++ and Java), its use would be limited. Sooner or later your software may have to be translated into different languages, and then you'll need a more complex solution anyway. – Christian Hackl Mar 11 '15 at 17:48
Does Java support conditional compilation directives? – Thomas Matthews Mar 11 '15 at 18:19
@ThomasMatthews: No. – Christian Hackl Mar 11 '15 at 18:40
See also http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4526113/java-conditional-compilation-how-to-prevent-code-chunks-to-be-compiled – Christian Hackl Mar 11 '15 at 18:40
@dalewilson - did not know; thanks for the tip! – orion elenzil Mar 11 '15 at 21:13
@ChristianHackl - good point re more languages. – orion elenzil Mar 11 '15 at 21:13
I guess a funky way of doing it would be to have the definitions in C++ and assign them to variables in Java via the JNI. – orion elenzil Mar 12 '15 at 18:59

0 Answers0