Feature Test Macros ------------------- The exact set of features available when you compile a source file is controlled by which "feature test macros" you define. If you compile your programs using `gcc -ansi', you get only the ISO C library features, unless you explicitly request additional features by defining one or more of the feature macros. *Note GNU CC Command Options: (gcc.info)Invoking GCC, for more information about GCC options. You should define these macros by using `#define' preprocessor directives at the top of your source code files. These directives *must* come before any `#include' of a system header file. It is best to make them the very first thing in the file, preceded only by comments. You could also use the `-D' option to GCC, but it's better if you make the source files indicate their own meaning in a self-contained way. - Macro: _POSIX_SOURCE If you define this macro, then the functionality from the POSIX.1 standard (IEEE Standard 1003.1) is available, as well as all of the ISO C facilities. - Macro: _POSIX_C_SOURCE If you define this macro with a value of `1', then the functionality from the POSIX.1 standard (IEEE Standard 1003.1) is made available. If you define this macro with a value of `2', then both the functionality from the POSIX.1 standard and the functionality from the POSIX.2 standard (IEEE Standard 1003.2) are made available. This is in addition to the ISO C facilities. - Macro: _BSD_SOURCE If you define this macro, functionality derived from 4.3 BSD Unix is included as well as the ISO C, POSIX.1, and POSIX.2 material. Some of the features derived from 4.3 BSD Unix conflict with the corresponding features specified by the POSIX.1 standard. If this macro is defined, the 4.3 BSD definitions take precedence over the POSIX definitions. Due to the nature of some of the conflicts between 4.3 BSD and POSIX.1, you need to use a special "BSD compatibility library" when linking programs compiled for BSD compatibility. This is because some functions must be defined in two different ways, one of them in the normal C library, and one of them in the compatibility library. If your program defines `_BSD_SOURCE', you must give the option `-lbsd-compat' to the compiler or linker when linking the program, to tell it to find functions in this special compatibility library before looking for them in the normal C library. - Macro: _SVID_SOURCE If you define this macro, functionality derived from SVID is included as well as the ISO C, POSIX.1, POSIX.2, and X/Open material. - Macro: _XOPEN_SOURCE - Macro: _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED If you define this macro, functionality described in the X/Open Portability Guide is included. This is a superset of the POSIX.1 and POSIX.2 functionality and in fact `_POSIX_SOURCE' and `_POSIX_C_SOURCE' are automatically defined. As the unification of all Unices, functionality only available in BSD and SVID is also included. If the macro `_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED' is also defined, even more functionality is available. The extra functions will make all functions available which are necessary for the X/Open Unix brand. If the macro `_XOPEN_SOURCE' has the value 500 this includes all functionality described so far plus some new definitions from the Single Unix specification, version 2. - Macro: _LARGEFILE_SOURCE If this macro is defined some extra functions are available which rectify a few shortcomings in all previous standards. More concreten the functions `fseeko' and `ftello' are available. Without these functions the difference between the ISO C interface (`fseek', `ftell') and the low-level POSIX interface (`lseek') would lead to problems. This macro was introduced as part of the Large File Support extension (LFS). - Variable: Macro _LARGEFILE64_SOURCE If you define this macro an additional set of function gets available which enables to use on 32 bit systems to use files of sizes beyond the usual limit of 2GB. This interface is not available if the system does not support files that large. On systems where the natural file size limit is greater than 2GB (i.e., on 64 bit systems) the new functions are identical to the replaced functions. The new functionality is made available by a new set of types and functions which replace existing. The names of these new objects contain `64' to indicate the intention, e.g., `off_t' vs. `off64_t' and `fseeko' vs. `fseeko64'. This macro was introduced as part of the Large File Support extension (LFS). It is a transition interface for the time 64 bit offsets are not generally used (see `_FILE_OFFSET_BITS'. - Variable: _FILE_OFFSET_BITS This macro lets decide which file system interface shall be used, one replacing the other. While `_LARGEFILE64_SOURCE' makes the 64 bit interface available as an additional interface `_FILE_OFFSET_BITS' allows to use the 64 bit interface to replace the old interface. If `_FILE_OFFSET_BITS' is undefined or if it is defined to the value `32' nothing changes. The 32 bit interface is used and types like `off_t' have a size of 32 bits on 32 bit systems. If the macro is defined to the value `64' the large file interface replaces the old interface. I.e., the functions are not made available under different names as `_LARGEFILE64_SOURCE' does. Instead the old function names now reference the new functions, e.g., a call to `fseeko' now indeed calls `fseeko64'. This macro should only be selected if the system provides mechanisms for handling large files. On 64 bit systems this macro has no effect since the `*64' functions are identical to the normal functions. This macro was introduced as part of the Large File Support extension (LFS). - Macro: _GNU_SOURCE If you define this macro, everything is included: ISO C, POSIX.1, POSIX.2, BSD, SVID, X/Open, LFS, and GNU extensions. In the cases where POSIX.1 conflicts with BSD, the POSIX definitions take precedence. If you want to get the full effect of `_GNU_SOURCE' but make the BSD definitions take precedence over the POSIX definitions, use this sequence of definitions: #define _GNU_SOURCE #define _BSD_SOURCE #define _SVID_SOURCE Note that if you do this, you must link your program with the BSD compatibility library by passing the `-lbsd-compat' option to the compiler or linker. *Note:* If you forget to do this, you may get very strange errors at run time. - Macro: _REENTRANT - Macro: _THREAD_SAFE If you define one of these macros, reentrant versions of several functions get declared. Some of the functions are specified in POSIX.1c but many others are only available on a few other systems or are unique to GNU libc. The problem is that the standardization of the thread safe C library interface still is behind. Unlike on some other systems no special version of the C library must be used for linking. There is only one version but while compiling this it must have been specified to compile as thread safe. We recommend you use `_GNU_SOURCE' in new programs. If you don't specify the `-ansi' option to GCC and don't define any of these macros explicitly, the effect is the same as defining `_POSIX_C_SOURCE' to 2 and `_POSIX_SOURCE', `_SVID_SOURCE', and `_BSD_SOURCE' to 1. When you define a feature test macro to request a larger class of features, it is harmless to define in addition a feature test macro for a subset of those features. For example, if you define `_POSIX_C_SOURCE', then defining `_POSIX_SOURCE' as well has no effect. Likewise, if you define `_GNU_SOURCE', then defining either `_POSIX_SOURCE' or `_POSIX_C_SOURCE' or `_SVID_SOURCE' as well has no effect. Note, however, that the features of `_BSD_SOURCE' are not a subset of any of the other feature test macros supported. This is because it defines BSD features that take precedence over the POSIX features that are requested by the other macros. For this reason, defining `_BSD_SOURCE' in addition to the other feature test macros does have an effect: it causes the BSD features to take priority over the conflicting POSIX features.