Question

I haven’t done much c programming but when I do when I need a false I put 0 when I want true I put 1, (ex. while(1)), in other cases I use things like “while(ptr)” or “if(x)”.

Should I try using C99 booleans, should I recommend them to others if I’m helping people new to programming learn c basics(thinking of cs 1?? students)?

I’m pretty sure the Visual Studio compiler supports c99 bools, but do a lot of projects (open source and c apps in industry) compile for c89? If I don’t use C bools should I at least do something like #define TRUE 1 #define FALSE 0?

Also what about c++ Booleans (for c++)?

Answer 1

In C++ there is no reason to not use it. In C, i only use int for this task, without any #define or something like that. Variable-names like isDefinition are clear enough to indicate what’s going on, in my opinion.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with defining your own bool or using the ones of <stdbool.h>.