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From: alen@cogen.UUCP (Alen Shapiro)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Brain-dead Unix tutor needs quick help (-1)
Message-ID: <387@cogen.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Nov-87 17:14:00 EST
Article-I.D.: cogen.387
Posted: Tue Nov 17 17:14:00 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Nov-87 04:36:36 EST
Reply-To: alen@cogen.UUCP (Alen Shapiro)
Organization: Cogensys, LaJolla, Calf.
Lines: 11
Keywords: I used to know the reason
Summary: reason for using #define XXX (-1) not #define XXX -1

References:


I'm giving a series of informal Unix/C tutorial sessions (fun - honest).
One of the topics touches on good C coding practices. I've hit a mental
block about the reason ()s are used in preprocessor expressions like
#define XXX (-1). I seem to remember finding the reason absolutely
obvious when I found out about it some years ago but since then it has become
an "obvious" fact of coding, so obvious that I can't remember why.

Please someone out in net-land, put me out of my mysery. Is there a potential
confusion of unary minus with something else here?

--alen the Lisa slayer (it's a long story)