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C++ Header Guard

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17 Mar 2009CPOL2 min read 51K   238   12   16
Create unique preprocessor macros to prevent multiple header inclusion.
screenshot.png

Introduction

This article is a rework of the idea from an existing article but with the focus on usability and ease of use.

This utility creates unique preprocessor macros to prevent multiple header inclusion. If a filename is specified as a command line argument or a file is dropped onto the dialog, it's name is also included in the macro.

The dialog stays "always on top," accepts dropped shortcuts, snaps to screen edges and can be dragged by its surface. Upon entering a key/OK button, the displayed macro is copied to the clipboard, and the program exits.

Usage

The program is designed to be used from inside VC 2005/2008 IDE to generate a unique macro for the currently opened file:

menu2.png

menu.png

The Code

A unique macro is generated from GUID:

C++
CString CIncludeGen::CreateGuid()
{
	TCHAR fmtGuid[] = _T("%08lx_%04x_%04x_%02x%02x_%02x%02x%02x%02x%02x%02x");
	GUID guid;
	CoCreateGuid(&guid);

	CString str;
	str.Format(fmtGuid, guid.Data1,guid.Data2,guid.Data3,
			guid.Data4[0], guid.Data4[1], guid.Data4[2], guid.Data4[3],
			guid.Data4[4], guid.Data4[5], guid.Data4[6], guid.Data4[7]);
	str.MakeUpper();
	return str;
}

When sending the text to a clipboard, it is necessary to use the HWND of the dialog in OpenClipboard, as stated in MSDN:

"If an application calls OpenClipboard with hwnd set to NULL, EmptyClipboard sets the clipboard owner to NULL; this causes SetClipboardData to fail."

C++
bool CIncludeGen::copy2clipboard(HWND clipbrdowner)
{
	if (m_text.IsEmpty()) return false;
	
	bool retVal=true;
	if(::OpenClipboard(clipbrdowner))
	{
		
		LPTSTR lptstrCopy;
		LPCTSTR txt=m_text;
		HGLOBAL hglbCopy;
		
		::EmptyClipboard();
		
		hglbCopy = GlobalAlloc(GMEM_MOVEABLE,
                      (m_text.GetLength() + 1) * sizeof(TCHAR));
		if (hglbCopy != NULL)
		{
			lptstrCopy = (LPTSTR)GlobalLock(hglbCopy);
		
			memcpy(lptstrCopy, txt, 
                               (m_text.GetLength() * sizeof(TCHAR))); 
			lptstrCopy[m_text.GetLength()] = (TCHAR) 0; // null character 
			GlobalUnlock(hglbCopy); 
	
		if (NULL==::SetClipboardData(CF_UNICODETEXT,
                     hglbCopy)) MessageBeep(-1);
		}
		else retVal=false;
	
		::CloseClipboard();
		}
	else retVal=false;
return retVal;
}

The font for the edit control is created by retrieving the info about current default font and modifying its properties. The edit control is read-only, so the default background color (white) is restored by handling the WM_CTLCOLORSTATIC message:

C++
bool CMainDlg::createEditCtlFont()
{
	m_editCtlFont=(HFONT)GetStockObject(DEFAULT_GUI_FONT);
	if (m_editCtlFont.IsNull()) return false;
	LOGFONT lfont={0};
	if (0==GetObject(m_editCtlFont,sizeof(LOGFONT), &lfont)) return false;
	if (IsClearTypeEnabled()) lfont.lfQuality=CLEARTYPE_QUALITY;

	lfont.lfPitchAndFamily=FIXED_PITCH | FF_MODERN;
	WCHAR fn[32]=L"Courier New";
	lfont.lfHeight=(LONG)(lfont.lfHeight*1.15);//increase size a bit

	memcpy(lfont.lfFaceName, fn, _countof(fn));
	m_editCtlFont.DeleteObject();
	if (NULL==m_editCtlFont.CreateFontIndirect(&lfont)) return false;
return true;
}

...

LRESULT CMainDlg::OnCtlColor(UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam, BOOL& bHandled)
{
	if (((HWND)lParam)==GetDlgItem( IDC_EDIT1 )) return (LRESULT)GetStockObject(
             WHITE_BRUSH );
return ::DefWindowProc(m_hWnd, wParam, lParam, bHandled);
}

The dialog background color is changed by handling WM_CTLCOLORDLG and returning previously created brush of desired color:

C++
#define INCLHG_DLG_BKGCOLOR RGB(198,209,223)
...
CMainDlg::CMainDlg()
{
	m_dialogbrush.CreateSolidBrush(INCLHG_DLG_BKGCOLOR);...
LRESULT CMainDlg::OnMainDialogColor(UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam,
    BOOL& bHandled)
{
return (LRESULT)m_dialogbrush.m_hBrush;
}

The focus in the dialog form has the OK button, set by calling GotoDlgCtrl(GetDlgItem(IDOK)) and returning FALSE in CMainDlg::OnInitDialog.

Dropped shortcuts are resolved using the function assembled by Igor Vigdorchik. I will leave other features in the code as a readers' exercise.

The project is built with VC 2008 Express, Windows SDK 6.1, WTL 8.0 and ATL 3.0 from Platform SDK R2.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralVery nice idea Pin
John R. Shaw23-Mar-09 15:21
John R. Shaw23-Mar-09 15:21 
GeneralJust what I was looking for... Pin
Loreia18-Mar-09 5:30
Loreia18-Mar-09 5:30 
GeneralMy vote of 2 Pin
RChin17-Mar-09 14:31
RChin17-Mar-09 14:31 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
wanft17-Mar-09 11:22
wanft17-Mar-09 11:22 
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 [modified] Pin
Emilio Garavaglia17-Mar-09 22:02
Emilio Garavaglia17-Mar-09 22:02 
AnswerRe: My vote of 1 Pin
T800G18-Mar-09 5:35
T800G18-Mar-09 5:35 
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 Pin
Rick York18-Mar-09 8:24
mveRick York18-Mar-09 8:24 
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 Pin
Emilio Garavaglia18-Mar-09 23:30
Emilio Garavaglia18-Mar-09 23:30 
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 Pin
Rick York19-Mar-09 7:33
mveRick York19-Mar-09 7:33 
Yes, there are potential issues but I have been doing this for many years and have not found a problem yet that could not be worked around easily.

In the case of headers at that level I nearly always include them in the stdafx.h file and then use the guard method that you mentioned previously about WIN32_INCLUDED to also include it if necessary in the modules that require it. The bottom line is I always put an external guard around including a header from within a header which is something I first noticed in some of the win32 SDK headers even though microsoft is very inconsistent about this practice. That is where the biggest compile time improvement comes from.
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 Pin
Goran Mitrovic18-Mar-09 9:53
Goran Mitrovic18-Mar-09 9:53 
Question#pragma once? Pin
Steve Maier17-Mar-09 11:08
professionalSteve Maier17-Mar-09 11:08 
AnswerRe: #pragma once? Pin
xliqz17-Mar-09 13:22
xliqz17-Mar-09 13:22 
GeneralRe: #pragma once? Pin
snapshot_a17-Mar-09 13:40
snapshot_a17-Mar-09 13:40 
GeneralRe: #pragma once? Pin
kenneth nielsen17-Mar-09 13:57
kenneth nielsen17-Mar-09 13:57 
GeneralRe: #pragma once? Pin
jonnybgood217-Mar-09 14:32
jonnybgood217-Mar-09 14:32 
GeneralRe: #pragma once? Pin
T800G18-Mar-09 5:41
T800G18-Mar-09 5:41 

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