Conforming to standards

The header files supplied with the C library provide the proper declarations for the functions and for the number and types of arguments used with them. Constant values used in conjunction with the functions are also declared. The files can usually be included in any order, although individual function descriptions show the preferred order for specific headers.

When you use the -ansi option, qcc compiles strict ANSI code. Use this option when you're creating an application that must conform to the ANSI standard. The effect on the inclusion of ANSI- and POSIX-defined header files is that certain portions of the header files are omitted:

• for ANSI header files, these are the portions that go beyond the ANSI standard
• for POSIX header files, these are the portions that go beyond the POSIX standard

You can then use the qcc -D option to define feature-test macros to select those portions that are omitted. Here are the most commonly used feature-test macros:

_POSIX_C_SOURCE=version

Include those portions of the header files that relate to the given POSIX standard. For example, _POSIX_C_SOURCE=199506 specifies the IEEE Standard Portable Operating System Interface for Computer Environments - POSIX 1003.1, 1996.

_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64

Make the libraries use 64-bit file offsets.

_LARGEFILE64_SOURCE

Include declarations for the functions that support large files (those whose names end with 64).

_QNX_SOURCE

Include everything defined in the header files. This is the default.

Feature-test macros may be defined on the command line, or in the source file before any header files are included. The latter is illustrated in the following example, in which an ANSI- and POSIX-conforming application is being developed.

#define _POSIX_C_SOURCE=199506
#include <limits.h>
#include <stdio.h>
   …
#if defined(_QNX_SOURCE)
  #include "non_POSIX_header1.h"
  #include "non_POSIX_header2.h"
  #include "non_POSIX_header3.h"
#endif

You'd then compile the source code using the -ansi option.

You can also set the POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable to 1. This environment variable is used by Unix-style operating systems to alter behavior to comply with POSIX where it's different from the OS's default behavior. It's a de facto standard that isn't defined by POSIX.

For example, if POSIXLY_CORRECT is set, functions that check the length of a pathname do so before removing any redundant . and .. components. If POSIXLY_CORRECT isn't set, the functions check the length after removing any redundant components.