The editor provides several features to help identify and
verify preprocessor statements.
Preprocessor statements are customized language statements
supported by your environment to extend or simplify creating code.
These statements are transformed into programming language statements
before the program is compiled. Using editor preferences and toolbar
tasks these statements can be supported by editor tools.
The Preprocessor Integration preferences
trigger running the preprocessor during editing to verify the expected
output from the preprocessor statement. The preprocessor output file
contains the programming language statements generated from the preprocessor
statements. The location of the output file is dependent on whether
the preprocessor is local or remote.
For a local preprocessor, the output file is defined by the Preprocessor
Output File Name option on the property group and is located
in the BuildOutput folder of the local project.
The output file for a remote preprocessor is defined by the Preprocessor
Output Location property on the Editor Configuration page.
The preprocessor output is used to provide editor functions, such
as hover help and content assist with the following limitations:
- Syntax of the preprocessor statement is not verified.
- Content assist and quick fix for incomplete preprocessor statement
is not provided.
- Hover help for a preprocessor statement variable is not provided.
- Syntax coloring for specific keywords in preprocessor statements
is not supported. Syntax coloring can be defined for a preprocessor
statement and applies to the entire statement.
Editor tool functions such as syntax errors apply only to the preprocessor
generated output in the file.
Invocation of the preprocessor can occur automatically when the
file is opened or saved as defined by the Preprocessor
Integration preference. It can also be manually invoked
using the Source menu in the editor.
The Preprocessor Integration preference
also provides settings that impact how preprocessor statements are
identified by the editor. These settings help to distinguish preprocessor
statements from comments or non-syntax text that is not a preprocessor
statement.
The
Source menu in the editor provides the
following actions for identifying preprocessor statements.
- Identify using configured Preprocessors
- Compare statements in the program with the specified preprocessor.
Statements that match statements in the preprocessor are marked as
preprocessor statements.
- Identify Using Specific Output File
- Compare statements in the program with an identified output file
from a previous invocation of the preprocessor. Statements that match
the output file are marked as preprocessor statements.
Use the
Clear Identifications menu
item to remove marks identifying a preprocessor statement.
Other action items, provide for accessing preprocessor preferences
and configuring preprocessors.
- Configure Preprocessors
- Provides access to the property group where you can configure
the mechanism used to invoke the preprocessor and retrieve the preprocessor
output file. The property group editor opens to the appropriate Editor
Configuration page for the type of preprocessor being used.
- Preferences
- Access the Preprocessor Integration preference.