`#ifdef _CRTBLD` cleanup
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- C++
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Description
We have code in the stl/inc headers that looks like this:
_CRTBLD is defined only when building the STL's separately compiled source files in stl/src. (The name is a relic of the era when the CRT and the STL were neighbors in the same repo.) _CRTBLD is never defined for ordinary users.
When something is guarded by #ifdef _CRTBLD, it's being used for "cross-TU" communication within the STL's DLL and static LIB, but isn't currently needed for user code to communicate with the STL's DLL/LIB. (If the declaration is marked _CRTIMP2, _CRTIMP2_PURE, or similar, then it's being DLL-exported and must remain so for binary compatibility, but we don't need to provide a declaration to users.)
In principle, we should be able to cleanly separate all of this #ifdef _CRTBLD code, such that it doesn't appear in stl/inc at all. Sometimes this hasn't been possible because we don't have convenient .hpp files in stl/src that are being included by the necessary TUs, but we could add them. Adding .hpp files to stl/src has minor setup impact in the MSVC-internal repo so they aren't free, but it's not a huge deal. As usual, we always need to follow the "Hack These Files" checklist.
In some cases, a cleanup may be annoying or counterproductive, e.g. we have a guarded time_put<unsigned short, _OutIt> partial specialization. We would prefer PRs to be relatively non-invasive and easy to verify correctness.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the _CRTBLD guards in stl/inc, including the example in stl/inc/xtimec.h, and inspect the corresponding separately compiled sources in stl/src. Identify declarations that can move behind internal .hpp files while preserving exported declarations and avoiding invasive cases; follow the Hack These Files checklist when adding or removing files.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- cpp
- Domain
- build-system
- Issue type
- Refactor
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100