VS2010 Compiler define

Question

In gcc I am writting friend class FriendMaker<T>::Type but Visual Studio wants friend FriendMaker<T>::Type . So I think it is time to go compiler specific.

So What I need to ifdef for Visual Studio ? I am using 2010 at the moment but I may switch to 2012 latter.

Answer 1

Use the macro _MSC_VER . To check if the compiler is VS2010, or above:

#if _MSC_VER >= 1600

The following are values for the different versions of VS:

• VS 2003 (VC7.1): 1310
• VS 2005 (VC8): 1400
• VS 2008 (VC9): 1500
• VS 2010 (VC10): 1600
• VS 2012 (VC11): 1700

Answer 2

Just use the friend class ... syntax for both compilers. The friend ... syntax, without the class keyword, is actually invalid; VS2010 is incorrect in not complaining about it.

See this question .

Answer 3

I think you need to use following code for cross compiler:

template <typename T> class B;

template <typename T>
class A
{
    friend typename B<T>::V;
};