Edit

/Zc:__STDC__ (Enable __STDC__ macro)

  • Article

The /Zc:__STDC__ compiler option defines the built-in __STDC__ preprocessor macro as 1 in C code.

Syntax

/Zc:__STDC__

Remarks

The /Zc:__STDC__ compiler option implements Standard C conforming behavior for the __STDC__ preprocessor macro, setting it to 1 when compiling C11 and C17 code.

The /Zc:__STDC__ option is new in Visual Studio 2022 version 17.2. This option is off by default, but can be enabled explicitly when /std:c11 or /std:c17 is specified. There's no negative version of the option.

This option is a source breaking change. Due to the behavior of the UCRT, which doesn't expose POSIX functions when __STDC__ is 1, it isn't possible to define this macro for C by default without introducing breaking changes to the stable language versions.

Example

// test__STDC__.c
#include <io.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
#if __STDC__
    int f = _open("file.txt", _O_RDONLY);
    _close(f);
#else
    int f = open("file.txt", O_RDONLY);
    close(f);
#endif
}

/* Command line behavior

C:\Temp>cl /EHsc /W4 /Zc:__STDC__ test__STDC__.c && test__STDC__

*/

To set this compiler option in Visual Studio

  1. Open the project's Property Pages dialog box. For details, see Set C++ compiler and build properties in Visual Studio.

  2. Select the Configuration Properties > C/C++ > Command Line property page.

  3. In Additional options, add /Zc:__STDC__. Choose OK or Apply to save your changes.

See also

/Zc (Conformance)
/std (Specify language standard version)