C - typedef vs #define

Asked Aug 26 '17 at 12:42

Active Aug 26 '17 at 12:42

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I read that:

The C programming language provides a keyword called typedef, which you can use to give a type, a new name. Following is an example to define a term BYTE for one-byte numbers: typedef unsigned char BYTE;

This can be done using #define too. Like:

#define BYTE unsigned char

So my question is... Why use typedef when I can use #define?

I mean #define can be used for things which are not types too. So what advantage do I get for using typedef?

asked Aug 26 '17 at 12:42

Debanik Dawn

1

Imagine a `typedef` for long structure and try to implement it with `#define`. – i486 Aug 26 '17 at 12:46
2

TL;DR: One is lexical replacement, the other is seen by the type system. Read the high voted answers in the duplicated post for pitfalls and differences in semantics. – StoryTeller - Unslander Monica Aug 26 '17 at 12:46

C - typedef vs #define

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