Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!uwvax!oddjob!gargoyle!ihnp4!twitch!hoqax!twb
From: twb@hoqax.UUCP (BEATTIE)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Standard int sizes
Message-ID: <764@hoqax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-Apr-87 09:08:51 EST
Article-I.D.: hoqax.764
Posted: Thu Apr 16 09:08:51 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Apr-87 08:43:08 EST
References: <6759@brl-adm.ARPA> <230@ems.UUCP> <170@vianet.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 28
Summary: use typedef not #define

In article <170@vianet.UUCP>, devine@vianet.UUCP writes:
>   If you need to know exact sizes of types, you should define your
> own types using the preprocessor or typedefs.  That is, if you need
> a 16 bit arithmetic type, use:
> 
> If "machine has compiler that uses 16 bits for 'short'"
> #define int16  short
> 
> If "machine has compiler that uses 16 bits for 'int'"
> #define int16  int

It is not a good idea to use #define where you mean typedef.
Think about the difference between:

typedef int *INT_PTR;
INT_PTR a, b;

and

#define INT_PTR int *
INT_PTR a, b;

The first defines a and b to be pointers to int ("int *a, *b").
The second defines a as pointer to int and b as int ("int *a, b").

Remember that #define is a string substitution and typedef defines a new
type.
Tom.