Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!fxgrp!ljz
From: ljz@fxgrp.UUCP (Lloyd Zusman, Master Byte Software)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: initializing
Message-ID: <198@fxgrp.UUCP>
Date: 15 Jan 88 18:58:11 GMT
References: <11276@brl-adm.ARPA>
Reply-To: fxgrp!ljz@ames.arpa (Lloyd Zusman, Master Byte Software)
Followup-To: <11276@brl-adm.ARPA> PEPRBV%CFAAMP.BITNET@husc6.harvard.EDU (Bob Babcock)
Organization: FX Development Group, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Lines: 37

In article <11276@brl-adm.ARPA> PEPRBV%CFAAMP.BITNET@husc6.harvard.EDU (Bob Babcock) writes:
>If I want to initialize a global variable in an include file, and have
>the initialization statement appear only in the main program, I can use
>something like
>
>  #ifdef MAIN_PROGRAM
>  #define INITIAL_VALUE(x) =x
>  #else
>  #define INITIAL_VALUE(x)
>  #endif
>  int i INITIAL_VALUE(1);
>
>But this doesn't work for an array, and I can't figure out anything
>which does.  Is there some trick I'm missing?

This appeared on the net a couple years ago, I believe.  Do the following:

#define _ , 	    	    	    /* i.e., define underscore to be comma */
#ifdef MAIN_PROGRAM
#define INITIAL_VALUE(x) = {x}	    /* note the braces */
#else
#define INITIAL_VALUE(x)
#endif

Then,

int i INITIAL_VALUE(1);
int j[8] INITIAL_VALUE(1 _ 2 _ 3 _ 4 _ 5 _ 6 _ 7 _ 8);

Many purists will not like this, but if you want to do it, it should
work.

---
    Lloyd Zusman
    Master Byte Software
    Los Gatos, California		Internet:   fxgrp!ljz@ames.arpa
    "We take things well in hand."	UUCP:	    ...!ames!fxgrp!ljz