#if Q_BYTE_ORDER = Q_LITTLE_ENDIAN apparently not working

[Pt_develop]

Following the documentation examples on the use of Q_BYTE_ORDER:

@#if Q_BYTE_ORDER == Q_BIG_ENDIAN
...
#endif@

or

@ #if Q_BYTE_ORDER == Q_LITTLE_ENDIAN
...
#endif@

I successfully tried

@QString endianType;
#if Q_BYTE_ORDER == Q_BIG_ENDIAN
endianType="BIG ENDIAN";
#endif@

but when I tried

@QString endianType;
#if Q_BYTE_ORDER == Q_LITTLE_ENDIAN
endianType="LITTLE ENDIAN";
#endif@

I got a compile error:
expected constructor, destructor, or type conversion before "=" token

Yet if I modify the code to

@#if Q_BYTE_ORDER == Q_LITTLE_ENDIAN
QString endianType="LITTLE ENDIAN";
#endif@

it compiles ok. While I can use this work arround I'm wondering if anyone knows the reason for this compile difference between the use of Q_LITTLE_ENDIAN and Q_BIG_ENDIAN when compared to Q_BYTE_ORDER>

[koahnig]

This sounds a bit odd.
Probably you should check for extra, hidden characters in your code.

[mburr]

You probably have this code at global scope; the compiler may have even said so on the line just before the error message. The statement endianType="LITTLE ENDIAN"; is invalid at that point.

Try the following instead:

@
void foo()
{
QString endianType;
#if Q_BYTE_ORDER == Q_LITTLE_ENDIAN
endianType="LITTLE ENDIAN";
#endif
}
@

There's no error when you use "the workaround" of QString endianType="LITTLE ENDIAN"; because initialization is permitted at global (or namespace) scope.

Finally, there's no error when you have #if Q_BYTE_ORDER == Q_BIG_ENDIANbecause your machine isn't big-endian so the line that would cause the error never gets compiled.

[Pt_develop]

Thanks mburr!

I did some more testing and you pinpointed the problem exactly.