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<h4 class="subsection">3.7.3 System-specific Predefined Macros</h4>
<p><a name="index-system_002dspecific-predefined-macros-62"></a><a name="index-predefined-macros_002c-system_002dspecific-63"></a><a name="index-reserved-namespace-64"></a>
The C preprocessor normally predefines several macros that indicate what
type of system and machine is in use. They are obviously different on
each target supported by GCC. This manual, being for all systems and
machines, cannot tell you what their names are, but you can use
<samp><span class="command">cpp -dM</span></samp> to see them all. See <a href="Invocation.html#Invocation">Invocation</a>. All system-specific
predefined macros expand to a constant value, so you can test them with
either ‘<samp><span class="samp">#ifdef</span></samp>’ or ‘<samp><span class="samp">#if</span></samp>’.
<p>The C standard requires that all system-specific macros be part of the
<dfn>reserved namespace</dfn>. All names which begin with two underscores,
or an underscore and a capital letter, are reserved for the compiler and
library to use as they wish. However, historically system-specific
macros have had names with no special prefix; for instance, it is common
to find <code>unix</code> defined on Unix systems. For all such macros, GCC
provides a parallel macro with two underscores added at the beginning
and the end. If <code>unix</code> is defined, <code>__unix__</code> will be defined
too. There will never be more than two underscores; the parallel of
<code>_mips</code> is <code>__mips__</code>.
<p>When the <samp><span class="option">-ansi</span></samp> option, or any <samp><span class="option">-std</span></samp> option that
requests strict conformance, is given to the compiler, all the
system-specific predefined macros outside the reserved namespace are
suppressed. The parallel macros, inside the reserved namespace, remain
defined.
<p>We are slowly phasing out all predefined macros which are outside the
reserved namespace. You should never use them in new programs, and we
encourage you to correct older code to use the parallel macros whenever
you find it. We don't recommend you use the system-specific macros that
are in the reserved namespace, either. It is better in the long run to
check specifically for features you need, using a tool such as
<samp><span class="command">autoconf</span></samp>.
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