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1@node Feature Test Macros
2@subsection Feature Test Macros
3
4@cindex feature test macros
5The exact set of features available when you compile a source file
6is controlled by which @dfn{feature test macros} you define.
7
8If you compile your programs using @samp{gcc -ansi}, you get only the
f65fd747 9@w{ISO C} library features, unless you explicitly request additional
28f540f4 10features by defining one or more of the feature macros.
1f6676d7 11@xref{Invoking GCC,, GNU CC Command Options, gcc, The GNU CC Manual},
0005e54f 12for more information about GCC options.
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13
14You should define these macros by using @samp{#define} preprocessor
15directives at the top of your source code files. These directives
16@emph{must} come before any @code{#include} of a system header file. It
17is best to make them the very first thing in the file, preceded only by
18comments. You could also use the @samp{-D} option to GCC, but it's
19better if you make the source files indicate their own meaning in a
20self-contained way.
21
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22This system exists to allow the library to conform to multiple standards.
23Although the different standards are often described as supersets of each
24other, they are usually incompatible because larger standards require
25functions with names that smaller ones reserve to the user program. This
26is not mere pedantry --- it has been a problem in practice. For instance,
27some non-GNU programs define functions named @code{getline} that have
28nothing to do with this library's @code{getline}. They would not be
49c091e5 29compilable if all features were enabled indiscriminately.
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30
31This should not be used to verify that a program conforms to a limited
49c091e5 32standard. It is insufficient for this purpose, as it will not protect you
6796bc80 33from including header files outside the standard, or relying on semantics
b4cbd371 34undefined within the standard.
6796bc80 35
28f540f4 36@defvr Macro _POSIX_SOURCE
d08a7e4c 37@standards{POSIX.1, (none)}
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38If you define this macro, then the functionality from the POSIX.1
39standard (IEEE Standard 1003.1) is available, as well as all of the
f65fd747 40@w{ISO C} facilities.
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41
42The state of @code{_POSIX_SOURCE} is irrelevant if you define the
43macro @code{_POSIX_C_SOURCE} to a positive integer.
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44@end defvr
45
86187531 46@defvr Macro _POSIX_C_SOURCE
d08a7e4c 47@standards{POSIX.2, (none)}
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48Define this macro to a positive integer to control which POSIX
49functionality is made available. The greater the value of this macro,
50the more functionality is made available.
51
52If you define this macro to a value greater than or equal to @code{1},
53then the functionality from the 1990 edition of the POSIX.1 standard
54(IEEE Standard 1003.1-1990) is made available.
55
56If you define this macro to a value greater than or equal to @code{2},
57then the functionality from the 1992 edition of the POSIX.2 standard
58(IEEE Standard 1003.2-1992) is made available.
59
60If you define this macro to a value greater than or equal to @code{199309L},
61then the functionality from the 1993 edition of the POSIX.1b standard
62(IEEE Standard 1003.1b-1993) is made available.
63
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64If you define this macro to a value greater than or equal to
65@code{199506L}, then the functionality from the 1995 edition of the
66POSIX.1c standard (IEEE Standard 1003.1c-1995) is made available.
67
68If you define this macro to a value greater than or equal to
69@code{200112L}, then the functionality from the 2001 edition of the
70POSIX standard (IEEE Standard 1003.1-2001) is made available.
71
72If you define this macro to a value greater than or equal to
73@code{200809L}, then the functionality from the 2008 edition of the
74POSIX standard (IEEE Standard 1003.1-2008) is made available.
75
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76Greater values for @code{_POSIX_C_SOURCE} will enable future extensions.
77The POSIX standards process will define these values as necessary, and
1f77f049 78@theglibc{} should support them some time after they become standardized.
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79The 1996 edition of POSIX.1 (ISO/IEC 9945-1: 1996) states that
80if you define @code{_POSIX_C_SOURCE} to a value greater than
81or equal to @code{199506L}, then the functionality from the 1996
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82edition is made available. In general, in @theglibc{}, bugfixes to
83the standards are included when specifying the base version; e.g.,
84POSIX.1-2004 will always be included with a value of @code{200112L}.
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85@end defvr
86
2c6fe0bd 87@defvr Macro _XOPEN_SOURCE
ca34d7a7 88@defvrx Macro _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED
d08a7e4c 89@standards{X/Open, (none)}
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90If you define this macro, functionality described in the X/Open
91Portability Guide is included. This is a superset of the POSIX.1 and
2c6fe0bd 92POSIX.2 functionality and in fact @code{_POSIX_SOURCE} and
6d52618b 93@code{_POSIX_C_SOURCE} are automatically defined.
2c6fe0bd 94
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95As the unification of all Unices, functionality only available in
96BSD and SVID is also included.
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97
98If the macro @code{_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED} is also defined, even more
99functionality is available. The extra functions will make all functions
100available which are necessary for the X/Open Unix brand.
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101
102If the macro @code{_XOPEN_SOURCE} has the value @math{500} this includes
103all functionality described so far plus some new definitions from the
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104Single Unix Specification, @w{version 2}. The value @math{600}
105(corresponding to the sixth revision) includes definitions from SUSv3,
106and using @math{700} (the seventh revision) includes definitions from
107SUSv4.
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108@end defvr
109
dfd2257a 110@defvr Macro _LARGEFILE_SOURCE
d08a7e4c 111@standards{X/Open, (NONE)}
dfd2257a 112If this macro is defined some extra functions are available which
cf6960d7 113rectify a few shortcomings in all previous standards. Specifically,
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114the functions @code{fseeko} and @code{ftello} are available. Without
115these functions the difference between the @w{ISO C} interface
116(@code{fseek}, @code{ftell}) and the low-level POSIX interface
117(@code{lseek}) would lead to problems.
118
119This macro was introduced as part of the Large File Support extension (LFS).
120@end defvr
121
310b3460 122@defvr Macro _LARGEFILE64_SOURCE
d08a7e4c 123@standards{X/Open, (NONE)}
0aa9fad6 124If you define this macro an additional set of functions is made available
e8b1163e 125which enables @w{32 bit} systems to use files of sizes beyond
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126the usual limit of 2GB. This interface is not available if the system
127does not support files that large. On systems where the natural file
128size limit is greater than 2GB (i.e., on @w{64 bit} systems) the new
129functions are identical to the replaced functions.
130
131The new functionality is made available by a new set of types and
e8b1163e 132functions which replace the existing ones. The names of these new objects
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133contain @code{64} to indicate the intention, e.g., @code{off_t}
134vs. @code{off64_t} and @code{fseeko} vs. @code{fseeko64}.
135
136This macro was introduced as part of the Large File Support extension
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137(LFS). It is a transition interface for the period when @w{64 bit}
138offsets are not generally used (see @code{_FILE_OFFSET_BITS}).
310b3460 139@end defvr
dfd2257a 140
8619129f 141@defvr Macro _FILE_OFFSET_BITS
d08a7e4c 142@standards{X/Open, (NONE)}
e8b1163e 143This macro determines which file system interface shall be used, one
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144replacing the other. Whereas @code{_LARGEFILE64_SOURCE} makes the @w{64
145bit} interface available as an additional interface,
e8b1163e 146@code{_FILE_OFFSET_BITS} allows the @w{64 bit} interface to
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147replace the old interface.
148
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149If @code{_FILE_OFFSET_BITS} is defined to the
150value @code{32}, the @w{32 bit} interface is used and
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151types like @code{off_t} have a size of @w{32 bits} on @w{32 bit}
152systems.
153
e8b1163e 154If the macro is defined to the value @code{64}, the large file interface
dfd2257a 155replaces the old interface. I.e., the functions are not made available
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156under different names (as they are with @code{_LARGEFILE64_SOURCE}).
157Instead the old function names now reference the new functions, e.g., a
158call to @code{fseeko} now indeed calls @code{fseeko64}.
dfd2257a 159
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160If the macro is not defined it currently defaults to @code{32}, but
161this default is planned to change due to a need to update
162@code{time_t} for Y2038 safety, and applications should not rely on
163the default.
164
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165This macro should only be selected if the system provides mechanisms for
166handling large files. On @w{64 bit} systems this macro has no effect
167since the @code{*64} functions are identical to the normal functions.
168
169This macro was introduced as part of the Large File Support extension
170(LFS).
310b3460 171@end defvr
dfd2257a 172
47f24c21 173@defvr Macro _TIME_BITS
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174Define this macro to control the bit size of @code{time_t}, and therefore
175the bit size of all @code{time_t}-derived types and the prototypes of all
03caacbc 176related functions.
47f24c21 177
47f24c21 178@enumerate
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179
180@item
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181If @code{_TIME_BITS} is undefined, the bit size of @code{time_t} is
182architecture dependent. Currently it defaults to 64 bits on most
183architectures. Although it defaults to 32 bits on some traditional
184architectures (i686, ARM), this is planned to change and applications
185should not rely on this.
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186
187@item
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188If @code{_TIME_BITS} is defined to be 64, @code{time_t} is defined
189to be a 64-bit integer. On platforms where @code{time_t} was
190traditionally 32 bits, calls to proper syscalls depend on the
191Linux kernel version on which the system is running. For Linux kernel
192version above @b{5.1} syscalls supporting 64-bit time are used. Otherwise,
193a fallback code is used with legacy (i.e. 32-bit) syscalls.
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194
195@item
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196If @code{_TIME_BITS} is defined to be 32, @code{time_t} is defined to
197be a 32-bit integer where that is supported. This is not recommended,
198as 32-bit @code{time_t} stops working in the year 2038.
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199
200@item
03caacbc 201For any other use case a compile-time error is emitted.
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202@end enumerate
203
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204@code{_TIME_BITS=64} can be defined only when
205@code{_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64} is also defined.
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206
207By using this macro certain ports gain support for 64-bit time and as
03caacbc 208a result become immune to the Y2038 problem.
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209@end defvr
210
b4cbd371 211@defvr Macro _ISOC99_SOURCE
d08a7e4c 212@standards{GNU, (none)}
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213If this macro is defined, features from ISO C99 are included. Since
214these features are included by default, this macro is mostly relevant
215when the compiler uses an earlier language version.
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216@end defvr
217
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218@defvr Macro _ISOC11_SOURCE
219@standards{C11, (none)}
220If this macro is defined, ISO C11 extensions to ISO C99 are included.
221@end defvr
222
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223@defvr Macro _ISOC2X_SOURCE
224@standards{C2X, (none)}
225If this macro is defined, ISO C2X extensions to ISO C11 are included.
226Only some features from this draft standard are supported by
227@theglibc{}.
228@end defvr
229
48789000 230@defvr Macro __STDC_WANT_LIB_EXT2__
d08a7e4c 231@standards{ISO, (none)}
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232If you define this macro to the value @code{1}, features from ISO/IEC
233TR 24731-2:2010 (Dynamic Allocation Functions) are enabled. Only some
234of the features from this TR are supported by @theglibc{}.
235@end defvr
236
bf91be88 237@defvr Macro __STDC_WANT_IEC_60559_BFP_EXT__
d08a7e4c 238@standards{ISO, (none)}
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239If you define this macro, features from ISO/IEC TS 18661-1:2014
240(Floating-point extensions for C: Binary floating-point arithmetic)
241are enabled. Only some of the features from this TS are supported by
242@theglibc{}.
243@end defvr
244
412cb261 245@defvr Macro __STDC_WANT_IEC_60559_FUNCS_EXT__
d08a7e4c 246@standards{ISO, (none)}
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247If you define this macro, features from ISO/IEC TS 18661-4:2015
248(Floating-point extensions for C: Supplementary functions) are
249enabled. Only some of the features from this TS are supported by
250@theglibc{}.
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251@end defvr
252
4fc12f0e 253@defvr Macro __STDC_WANT_IEC_60559_TYPES_EXT__
d08a7e4c 254@standards{ISO, (none)}
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255If you define this macro, features from ISO/IEC TS 18661-3:2015
256(Floating-point extensions for C: Interchange and extended types) are
257enabled. Only some of the features from this TS are supported by
258@theglibc{}.
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259@end defvr
260
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261@defvr Macro __STDC_WANT_IEC_60559_EXT__
262@standards{ISO, (none)}
263If you define this macro, ISO C2X features defined in Annex F of that
264standard are enabled. This affects declarations of the
265@code{totalorder} functions and functions related to NaN payloads.
266@end defvr
267
28f540f4 268@defvr Macro _GNU_SOURCE
d08a7e4c 269@standards{GNU, (none)}
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270If you define this macro, everything is included: @w{ISO C89}, @w{ISO
271C99}, POSIX.1, POSIX.2, BSD, SVID, X/Open, LFS, and GNU extensions. In
272the cases where POSIX.1 conflicts with BSD, the POSIX definitions take
273precedence.
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274@end defvr
275
c688b419 276@defvr Macro _DEFAULT_SOURCE
d08a7e4c 277@standards{GNU, (none)}
c688b419 278If you define this macro, most features are included apart from
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279X/Open, LFS and GNU extensions: the effect is to enable features from
280the 2008 edition of POSIX, as well as certain BSD and SVID features
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281without a separate feature test macro to control them.
282
283Be aware that compiler options also affect included features:
284
285@itemize
286@item
287If you use a strict conformance option, features beyond those from the
288compiler's language version will be disabled, though feature test
289macros may be used to enable them.
290
291@item
292Features enabled by compiler options are not overridden by feature
293test macros.
294@end itemize
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295@end defvr
296
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297@defvr Macro _ATFILE_SOURCE
298@standards{GNU, (none)}
299If this macro is defined, additional @code{*at} interfaces are
300included.
301@end defvr
302
303@defvr Macro _FORTIFY_SOURCE
304@standards{GNU, (none)}
305If this macro is defined to @math{1}, security hardening is added to
306various library functions. If defined to @math{2}, even stricter
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307checks are applied. If defined to @math{3}, @theglibc{} may also use
308checks that may have an additional performance overhead.
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309@end defvr
310
5d98a7da 311@defvr Macro _DYNAMIC_STACK_SIZE_SOURCE
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312@standards{GNU, (none)}
313If this macro is defined, correct (but non compile-time constant)
5d98a7da 314MINSIGSTKSZ, SIGSTKSZ and PTHREAD_STACK_MIN are defined.
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315@end defvr
316
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317@defvr Macro _REENTRANT
318@defvrx Macro _THREAD_SAFE
88f9e739 319@standards{Obsolete, (none)}
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320These macros are obsolete. They have the same effect as defining
321@code{_POSIX_C_SOURCE} with the value @code{199506L}.
322
323Some very old C libraries required one of these macros to be defined
324for basic functionality (e.g.@: @code{getchar}) to be thread-safe.
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325@end defvr
326
28f540f4 327We recommend you use @code{_GNU_SOURCE} in new programs. If you don't
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328specify the @samp{-ansi} option to GCC, or other conformance options
329such as @option{-std=c99}, and don't define any of these macros
330explicitly, the effect is the same as defining @code{_DEFAULT_SOURCE}
331to 1.
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332
333When you define a feature test macro to request a larger class of features,
334it is harmless to define in addition a feature test macro for a subset of
335those features. For example, if you define @code{_POSIX_C_SOURCE}, then
336defining @code{_POSIX_SOURCE} as well has no effect. Likewise, if you
337define @code{_GNU_SOURCE}, then defining either @code{_POSIX_SOURCE} or
c941736c 338@code{_POSIX_C_SOURCE} as well has no effect.