Microsoft KB Archive/143208

= PRB: Using STL in Windows Program Can Cause Min/Max Conflicts =

Article ID: 143208

Article Last Modified on 8/3/2001

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q143208



SYMPTOMS
A windows-based program that uses the Standard Template Library (STL) will not compile, and it generates several invalid parameter and syntax errors.



CAUSE
The problem is caused by conflicting definitions of min and max. Min and max are defined as macros in Windef.h as follows: #ifndef NOMINMAX #ifndef max #define max(a,b) (((a) > (b)) ? (a) : (b)) #endif

#ifndef min #define min(a,b) (((a) < (b)) ? (a) : (b)) #endif #endif /* NOMINMAX */ NOTE: Windef.h is included by Windows.h, which is included in nearly every Windows-based program.

Min and max are defined as templated functions in the Standard Template Library (STL). The following definitions of min and max can be found in the file Algobase.h:  template    inline const T& min(const T& a, const T& b) { return b < a ? b : a;  } template  inline const T& min(const T& a, const T& b, Compare comp) { return comp(b, a) ? b : a;  } template   inline const T& max(const T& a, const T& b) { return a < b ? b : a;  } template  inline const T& max(const T& a, const T& b, Compare comp) { return comp(a, b) ? b : a;  } Because the Windef.h definition is a macro, the function definitions cause syntax errors when both Windef.h (or Windows.h) and Algobase.h (from the STL) are included. The precise errors will depend on the order in which the two are compiled.



RESOLUTION
Simply define the NOMINMAX preprocessor symbol. This can be done in the Developer Studio project under Build, Settings, on the C/C++ tab, in the Preprocessor category. This will suppress the min and max definitions in Windef.h.



STATUS
This behavior is by design.

Keywords: kbprb kb3rdparty KB143208

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