# Compiler properties

Not all compilers and platforms are alike. Therefore Meson provides
the tools to detect properties of the system during configure time. To
get most of this information, you first need to extract the *[compiler
object](Reference-manual_returned_compiler.md)* from the main
*meson* variable.

```meson
compiler = [[#meson.get_compiler]]('c')
```

Here we extract the C compiler. We could also have given the argument
`cpp` to get the C++ compiler, `objc` to get the objective C compiler
and so on. The call is valid for all languages specified in the
*project* declaration. Trying to obtain some other compiler will lead
to an unrecoverable error.

## System information

This is a bit complex and more thoroughly explained on the page on
[cross compilation](Cross-compilation.md). But if you just want to
know the operating system your code will run on, issue this command:

```meson
host_machine.system()
```

## Compiler id

The compiler object method [[compiler.get_id]] returns a
lower case string describing the "family" of the compiler. Since 0.53.0
[[compiler.get_linker_id]] returns a lower case string with the linker name. Since
compilers can often choose from multiple linkers depending on operating
system, `get_linker_id` can be useful for handling or mitigating effects
of particular linkers.

The compiler object also has a method [[compiler.get_argument_syntax]] which
returns a lower case string of `gcc`, `msvc`, or another undefined string
value; identifying whether the compiler arguments use the same syntax as
either `gcc` or `msvc`, or that its arguments are not like either. This should
only be used to select the syntax of the arguments, such as those to test
with [[compiler.has_argument]].

See [reference tables](Reference-tables.md#compiler-ids) for a list of
supported compiler ids and their argument type.

## Does code compile?

Sometimes the only way to test the system is to try to compile some
sample code and see if it works. For example, this can test that a
"C++17" compiler actually supports a particular C++17 feature,
without resorting to maintaining a feature list vs. compiler vendor,
compiler version and operating system.
Testing that a code snippet runs is a two-phase operation. First
we define some code using the multiline string operator:

```meson
code = '''#include<stdio.h>
void func() { printf("Compile me.\n"); }
'''
```

Then we can run the test.

```meson
result = [[#compiler.compiles]](code, name : 'basic check')
```

The variable *result* will now contain either `true` or `false`
depending on whether the compilation succeeded or not. The keyword
argument `name` is optional. If it is specified, Meson will write the
result of the check to its log.

## Does code compile and link?

Sometimes it is necessary to check whether a certain code fragment not
only compiles, but also links successfully, e.g. to check if a symbol
is actually present in a library. This can be done using the
[[compiler.links]] method like this:

```meson
code = '''#include<stdio.h>
void func() { printf("Compile me.\n"); }
'''
```

Then we can run the test.

```meson
result = [[#compiler.links]](code, args : '-lfoo', name : 'link check')
```

The variable *result* will now contain either `true` or `false`
depending on whether the compilation and linking succeeded or not. The
keyword argument `name` is optional. If it is specified, Meson will
write the result of the check to its log.

## Compile and run test application

Here is how you would compile and run a small test application.
Testing if a code snippets **runs** versus merely that it links
is particularly important for some dependencies such as MPI.

```meson
code = '''#include<stdio.h>
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
  printf("%s\n", "stdout");
  fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", "stderr");
  return 0;
}
'''
result = [[#compiler.run]](code, name : 'basic check')
```

The `result` variable encapsulates the state of the test, which can be
extracted with the following methods. The `name` keyword argument
works the same as with `compiles`.

| Method     | Return value                                                                                |
| ------     | ------------                                                                                |
| compiled   | `True` if compilation succeeded. If `false` then all other methods return undefined values. |
| returncode | The return code of the application as an integer                                            |
| stdout     | Program's standard out as text.                                                             |
| stderr     | Program's standard error as text.                                                           |

Here is an example usage:

```meson
if result.stdout().strip() == 'some_value'
  # do something
endif
```

## Does a header exist?

Header files provided by different platforms vary quite a lot. Meson
has functionality to detect whether a given header file is available
on the system. The test is done by trying to compile a simple test
program that includes the specified header. The following snippet
describes how this feature can be used.

```meson
if [[#compiler.has_header]]('sys/fstat.h')
  # header exists, do something
endif
```

## Expression size

Often you need to determine the size of a particular element (such as
`int`, `wchar_t` or `char*`). Using the `compiler` variable mentioned
above, the check can be done like this.

```meson
wcharsize = [[#compiler.sizeof]]('wchar_t', prefix : '#include<wchar.h>')
```

This will put the size of `wchar_t` as reported by sizeof into
variable `wcharsize`. The keyword argument `prefix` is optional. If
specified its contents is put at the top of the source file. This
argument is typically used for setting `#include` directives in
configuration files.

In older versions (<= 0.30) Meson would error out if the size could
not be determined. Since version 0.31 it returns -1 if the size could
not be determined.

## Does a function exist?

Just having a header doesn't say anything about its contents.
Sometimes you need to explicitly check if some function exists. This
is how we would check whether the function `open_memstream` exists in
header `stdio.h`

```meson
if [[#compiler.has_function]]('open_memstream', prefix : '#include <stdio.h>')
  # function exists, do whatever is required.
endif
```

Note that, on macOS programs can be compiled targeting older macOS
versions than the one that the program is compiled on. It can't be
assumed that the OS version that is compiled on matches the OS version
that the binary will run on.

Therefore when detecting function availability with [[compiler.has_function]], it
is important to specify the correct header in the prefix argument.

In the example above, the function `open_memstream` is detected, which
was introduced in macOS 10.13. When the user builds on macOS 10.13,
but targeting macOS 10.11 (`-mmacosx-version-min=10.11`), this will
correctly report the function as missing. Without the header however,
it would lack the necessary availability information and incorrectly
report the function as available.

## Does a structure contain a member?

Some platforms have different standard structures. Here's how one
would check if a struct called `mystruct` from header `myheader.h`
contains a member called `some_member`.

```meson
if [[#compiler.has_member]]('struct mystruct', 'some_member', prefix : '#include<myheader.h>')
  # member exists, do whatever is required
endif
```

## Type alignment

Most platforms can't access some data types at any address. For
example it is common that a `char` can be at any address but a 32 bit
integer only at locations which are divisible by four. Determining the
alignment of data types is simple.

```meson
int_alignment = [[#compiler.alignment]]('int') # Will most likely contain the value 4.
```

## Has argument

This method tests if the compiler supports a given command line
argument. This is implemented by compiling a small file with the given
argument.

```meson
has_special_flags = [[#compiler.has_argument]]('-Wspecialthing')
```

*Note*: some compilers silently swallow command line arguments they do
not understand. Thus this test cannot be made 100% reliable.