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Does Code::Blocks have a #define for its own version?

I created a new project for wxWidgets in Code::Blocks and noticed that in the generated "about" window a "define" is used to show the wxWidgets version (wxVERSION_STRING).

I would like to show more information in the about window, including the version of C::B

Does C::B have a define to show its version?

One way to show the version of C::B from the linux command line:

codeblocks --script="nothing" 2>/dev/null | gawk -F'Code::Blocks ' '{ print $2 }' | gawk -F'- wx' '{ print $1 }'

The --script="nothing" option prevents C::B to start another instance.

Solution

  • It looks like the Code::Blocks IDE doesn't provide the string constant you wanted, however it's easy to define this constant manually as a macro, and the IDE will automatically add this macro to all files it compiles.

    BTW, if to run the codeblocks executable from the command line it'll output its version - however, I couldn't find this string in the Code::Blocks binary or configuration files - probably it's obfuscated.

    hekto@ubuntu:~$ codeblocks
Starting Code::Blocks Release 20.03  rev 11997 2020-04-18, 19:47:24 - wx3.0.4 - gcc 9.3.0 (Linux, unicode) - 64 bit

    In order to define a macro CB_VERSION with value, equal to this string, you can open the Global compiler settings window, choose the #defines pane and enter this macro manually:

    GlobalCompilerSettings

    Please note the "\\\" string in the beginning and the \\\"" string at the end of the macro value - without them the C++ preprocessor won't be able to pass the value of this macro into the C++ source code. So, the program below, compiled and linked inside the IDE, will output the value of the CB_VERSION macro.

    #include <iostream>

int main()
{
  const char* ver = CB_VERSION;
  std::cout << ver << std::endl;
}

    UPDATE. Another way to get information about your current Code::Blocks IDE is to look at the XML file ~/.config/codeblocks/default.conf. This file contains a comment, which describes how and when the product has been built:

    <!-- application info:
 svn_revision:  11997
 build_date:    2020-04-18, 19:47:24
 compiler_version:  gcc 9.3.0
 Linux Unicode
-->

    Also the XML node VERSION in this file stores the official product version and release number:

    <VERSION>
    <str>
        <![CDATA[20.03-r11997]]>
    </str>
</VERSION>

    However, in order to extract these pieces of information you need to write some script and call it before the compilation - it's not easy. So, defining a macro with version information still looks better.