How to call std::min() when min has been defined as a macro?

Question

How do I call std::min when min has already been defined as a macro?

Answer 1

You might be able to avoid the macro definition by:

• #undef
• avoid the definition in the first place (either by configuration such as #define NOMINMAX or similar or avoiding including the offending header)

If those options can't be used or you don't want to use them, you can always avoid invoking a function-like macro with an appropriate use of parens:

#include 
#include 

#define min(x,y) (((x) < (y)) ? (x) : (y))

int main() 
{
    printf( "min is %d\n", (std::min)( 3, 5));  // note: the macro version of `min` is avoided
}

This is portable and has worked since the dark, early days of C.