using '__' in names

[Roman Mashak]

Hello, All!

I often meet that '_' or '__' is used as prefix to
functions/macros/variables names. I wonder does it have some strict meaning?
I didn't find any distinct explanation in C standard or local FAQ.

With best regards, Roman Mashak. E-mail: mr*@tusur.ru

[Daniele Benegiamo]

Roman Mashak wrote:

I often meet that '_' or '__' is used as prefix to
functions/macros/variables names. I wonder does it have some strict meaning?

If I remember: all symbols that starts with an underscore or contains
two consecutive underscores are reserved. This means that no portable
programs can uses this sort of identifiers.

Daniele

[Artie Gold]

Roman Mashak wrote:

Hello, All!

I often meet that '_' or '__' is used as prefix to
functions/macros/variables names. I wonder does it have some strict meaning?
I didn't find any distinct explanation in C standard or local FAQ.

With best regards, Roman Mashak. E-mail: mr*@tusur.ru

In general, such names are reserved for the implementation. Do *not* use
names like this in code you write.[1]

HTH,
--ag

[1] There are situations where it's legal, but it's still a Bad Idea.

--
Artie Gold -- Austin, Texas
http://goldsays.blogspot.com (new post 8/5)
http://www.cafepress.com/goldsays
"If you have nothing to hide, you're not trying!"

[Robert Gamble]

Daniele Benegiamo wrote:

Roman Mashak wrote:

I often meet that '_' or '__' is used as prefix to
functions/macros/variables names. I wonder does it have some strict meaning?

If I remember: all symbols that starts with an underscore or contains
two consecutive underscores are reserved. This means that no portable
programs can uses this sort of identifiers.

Identifiers starting with an underscore are reserved, there is no such
restriction on identifiers containing consecutive underscores.

Robert Gamble

[Jack Klein]

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 11:38:51 +0900, "Roman Mashak" <mr*@tusur.ru >
wrote in comp.lang.c:

Hello, All!

I often meet that '_' or '__' is used as prefix to
functions/macros/variables names. I wonder does it have some strict meaning?
I didn't find any distinct explanation in C standard or local FAQ.

All symbols beginning with two underscores ("__") or one underscore
followed by a upper case letter ("_A" through "_Z"), are reserved for
the implementation (compiler, its headers and library) in all
contexts.

All symbols beginning with an underscore followed by a lower case
letter ("_a" through "_z") are also reserved for the implementation at
file scope.

If you look at a header supplied by your compiler, you might see that
it includes something like this at the top:

#ifndef __STDIO_H__
#define __STDIO_H__

/* contents of header */

#endif

The point is that the standard reserves some identifiers for the
implementation so that it can define its own macros, data types,
internal helper functions, and non-standard extensions that will not
clash with any identifiers a programmer uses, if the programmer
understands and follows the rules.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of C (and C++) programmers do not
understand the rules. Most of them still define include guard macros
in their header files like this:

my_header.h:
#ifndef __MY_HEADER_H__
#define __MY_HEADER_H__
/* ... */
#endif

Because they see it in compiler supplied headers and somehow think it
is the thing to use in headers.

--
Jack Klein
Home: http://JK-Technology.Com
FAQs for
comp.lang.c http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html
comp.lang.c++ http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/
alt.comp.lang.l earn.c-c++
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~a...FAQ-acllc.html

[Jack Klein]

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 04:49:31 +0200, Daniele Benegiamo
<no****@nospam. com> wrote in comp.lang.c:

Roman Mashak wrote:

I often meet that '_' or '__' is used as prefix to
functions/macros/variables names. I wonder does it have some strict meaning?

If I remember: all symbols that starts with an underscore or contains
two consecutive underscores are reserved. This means that no portable
programs can uses this sort of identifiers.

Daniele

That's a mix of incorrect C and incorrect C++.

See my reply to the OP for the actual C reservations. The double
underscore "__" is free for any use in C if they are not the first two
characters.

While it is off-topic here, C++ reserves symbols with "__" anywhere in
them, but that's a language of a different color.

--
Jack Klein
Home: http://JK-Technology.Com
FAQs for
comp.lang.c http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html
comp.lang.c++ http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/
alt.comp.lang.l earn.c-c++
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~a...FAQ-acllc.html

[Daniele Benegiamo]

Robert Gamble wrote:

Daniele Benegiamo wrote:
Identifiers starting with an underscore are reserved, there is no such
restriction on identifiers containing consecutive underscores.

ANSI have reserved them for compiler writers:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...tm/eleme_5.asp
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...tm/eleme_6.asp
Not related to underscores, but maybe useful to Roman and others,
general identifier names have other restrictions (extracted from
http://www.informit.com/guides/conte...Num=185&rl=1):

The reserved standard C function names are:
* "is" followed by a lowercase letter, e.g. "isspace"
* "mem" followed by a lowercase letter, e.g. "memset"
* "str" followed by a lowercase letter, e.g. "strcmp"
* "to" followed by a lowercase letter, e.g. "tolower"
* "wcs" followed by a lowercase letter, e.g. "wcstof"

The following macros are reserved:
* Identifiers that start with E followed by a digit or an uppercase letter
* Identifiers that start with LC_ followed by an uppercase letter
* Identifiers that start with SIG or SIG_ followed by an uppercase letter
Daniele

[Robert Gamble]

Daniele Benegiamo wrote:

Robert Gamble wrote:

Daniele Benegiamo wrote:
Identifiers starting with an underscore are reserved, there is no such
restriction on identifiers containing consecutive underscores.

ANSI have reserved them for compiler writers:

Identifiers starting with an underscore are reserved. If an identifier
contains consecutive underscores, that does not in and of itself make
it reserved. If it starts with two consecutive underscores then it
obviously starts with one underscore which is covered in the first part
of my statement. Read carefully.

Robert Gamble

[Ben Pfaff]

"Robert Gamble" <rg*******@gmai l.com> writes:

Daniele Benegiamo wrote:

Robert Gamble wrote:

> Daniele Benegiamo wrote:
> Identifiers starting with an underscore are reserved, there is no such
> restriction on identifiers containing consecutive underscores.

ANSI have reserved them for compiler writers:

Identifiers starting with an underscore are reserved. If an identifier
contains consecutive underscores, that does not in and of itself make
it reserved.

I think there's some confusion with C++ here, which, unlike C,
does indeed reserve all identifiers that contain consecutive
underscores. From C++98:

$ 17.4.3.1.2 Global names [lib.global.name s]
$
$ 1 Certain sets of names and function signatures are always
$ reserved to the implementation:
$
$ - Each name that contains a double underscore (__) or begins
$ with an underscore followed by an upper-case letter (2.11)
$ is reserved to the implementation for any use.

--
"Large amounts of money tend to quench any scruples I might be having."
-- Stephan Wilms

[Roman Mashak]

Hello, Jack!
You wrote on Tue, 16 Aug 2005 22:19:54 -0500:

JK> All symbols beginning with an underscore followed by a lower case
JK> letter ("_a" through "_z") are also reserved for the implementation at
JK> file scope.
If I unerstand you right, standard also doesn't recommend these type of
symbols in your own libraries, application etc.? Also I met this in many
SDK, developed by many respected companies.
JK> If you look at a header supplied by your compiler, you might see that
JK> it includes something like this at the top:

With best regards, Roman Mashak. E-mail: mr*@tusur.ru