Is there a way to test how a macro expands to C or Objective-C

Question

A macro is a preprocessor. Sometimes we set things right, sometimes we do not.

Would it be nice to expand the macro from time to time and see how it works?

Answer 1

You can do this with most compilers, for example. with gcc:

$ gcc -E 

it just starts the preprocessor and then stops, providing you with preprocessed output on stdout.

If you use Xcode, although you don’t even need to do this - depending on which version of Xcode you are using, you can just select Preprocess from the Build menu (which caused it in Xcode 3.x - if you use Xcode 4, maybe it has been moved / renamed). See: Xcode Preprocessor Output