Only object-like macros are converted to assembly. Function-like macros have no assembly representation and so cannot be converted. Pre-defined and built-in C/C++ macros are not converted to assembly (i.e., __FILE__, __TIME__, __TI_COMPILER_VERSION__, etc.). For example, this code is converted to assembly because it is an object-like macro:

#define NAME Charley

This code is not converted to assembly because it is a function-like macro:

#define MAX(x,y) (x>y ? x : y)

Some macros, while they are converted, have no functional use in the containing assembly file. For example, the following results in the assembly substitution symbol FOREVER being set to the value while(1), although this has no useful use in assembly because while(1) is not legal assembly code.

#define FOREVER while(1)

Macro values are not interpreted as they are converted. For example, the following results in the assembler substitution symbol OFFSET being set to the literal string value 5+12 and not the value 17. This happens because the semantics of the C/C++ language require that macros are evaluated in context and not when they are parsed.

#define OFFSET 5+12

Because macros in C/C++ are evaluated in their usage context, C/C++ printf escape sequences such as \n are not converted to a single character in the converted assembly macro. See Section 14.3.11 for suggestions on how to use C/C++ macro strings.

Macros are converted using the .define directive (see Section 14.5.2), which functions similarly to the .asg assembler directive. The exception is that .define disallows redefinitions of register symbols and mnemonics to prevent the conversion from corrupting the basic assembly environment. To remove a macro from the assembly scope, .undef can be used following the .cdecls that defines it (see Section 14.5.3).

The macro functionality of # (stringize operator) is only useful within functional macros. Since functional macros are not supported by this process, # is not supported either. The concatenation operator ## is only useful in a functional context, but can be used degenerately to concatenate two strings and so it is supported in that context.