warning C4003 and errors C2589 and C2059 on: x = std::numeric_limits<int>::max();

Question

This line works correctly in a small test program, but in the program for which I want it, I get the following compiler complaints:

#include <limits>

x = std::numeric_limits<int>::max();

c:\...\x.cpp(192) : warning C4003: not enough actual parameters for macro 'max'
c:\...\x.cpp(192) : error C2589: '(' : illegal token on right side of '::'
c:\...\x.cpp(192) : error C2059: syntax error : '::'

I get the same results with:

#include <limits>
using namespace std;

x = numeric_limits<int>::max();

Why is it seeing max as the macro max(a,b); ?

Answer 1

Some other header file is polluting the global name space with a max macro. You can fix that by undefining the macro:

#undef max
x = std::numeric_limits<int>::max();

Answer 2

This commonly occurs when including a Windows header that defines a min or max macro. If you're using Windows headers, put #define NOMINMAX in your code, or build with the equivalent compiler switch (i.e. use /DNOMINMAX for Visual Studio).

Note that building with NOMINMAX disables use of the macro in your entire program. If you need to use the min or max operations, use std::min() or std::max() from the <algorithm> header.