Weird constants

Question

I've seen these in real code:

#define SCREEN_DIMENSIONS 2
#define THREE_THOUSAND_FIVE_HUNDRED_TWENTY_TWO 3522

What is the weirdest constant you've ever seen?

P.S. And of course my favorite in JScript:

bool b;
switch (b.ToString().length) {
case 4: // true
  ...
  break;
case 5:  // false
  ...
  break;
)

Answer 1

#define private public

Answer 2

#define TEN 9

Answer 3

#define TRUE 0
#define FALSE 1

Answer 4

Not the same, but I worked on a code base where the variables and labels where named after streets and pubs in Glasgow. So you could write code like

Goto :TheBowserBar

The code layout only made sense if you knew the city really well - strange.

Answer 5

char *myGodItsFullOfStars = "********************************************************************************";

Answer 6

The Android's accelerometer API has gravitational constants for different planets.

http://code.google.com/android/reference/android/hardware/SensorManager.html

Answer 7

From The Daily WTF:

private String paula = "Brillant";

Answer 8

To comply with Indiana H.B. 246:

#ifdef INDIANA
const float PI = 3.2;
#endif

Answer 9

/** SUBVERSION REVISION OF THE FILE */
private String SVN_REVISION = 34234;

I still haven't figured it out. It was littered in a few dozen files, and never used.

Answer 10

Never seen it, but really want:

#define MAGIC "more magic"

We have a bunch of magic #defines here that we use as the kernal of license keys...

Answer 11

#define NUMBER_OF_CONSTANTS_NOT_INCLUDING_THIS_ONE  4
#define NUMBER_OF_CONSTANTS_INCLUDING_THE_LAST_ONE_BUT_NOT_THIS_ONE  5

Answer 12

#define ADMIN "Admin"

Answer 13

//Thank you Crash Macro!!!
#define CRASH (*((void*) 0))++

I actually used that one in a project where i was doing some programming with a simulator that had no debugger. It went something like this:

if(v == SOMETHING_WRONG)
    CRASH;

Then I got to spend a few hours looking at memory dumps in a hex editor to find out what happened. (also the comment was obligatory).

Answer 14

From the early days of C:

#define PI 3.14159 /* should the value of PI ever change */

Yes, I know they meant the constant, but I wonder what sort of extreme universe-altering behavior would have to occur for the actual value of PI to change.

Answer 15

We complained to another programmer about him having too many "magic numbers" in his code and that he should turn them into constants. We should have more specific...

Private Const MAGIC_NUMBER as Integer = 7;

Answer 16

function signature that look like:

void FAR PASCAL function()...

where:

#define FAR far
#define PASCAL __stdcall

Answer 17

Here is one right from our own community.

#define TRUE 0
#define FALSE 1

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/541705/is-iftrue-a-good-idea-in-c

Answer 18

This in an application that deals a LOT with ton / lbs conversions:

const ONE_TON_IN_LBS = 1999.6

Answer 19

From the DailyWTF

#define whilst while

Personally, in Authorware (which allowed spaces in variables names)

booBoolMoveOnIsOn True := 1

Answer 20

I'm not sure if this counts, but

#define COMMA ,

I can't remember the specifics, but this was necessary for nesting template arguments.

Answer 21

#define WTF "What the... ?"

Answer 22

Here's my personal favorite form TDWTF: pascal.h

#define procedure void
#define then
#define is
#define not !=
#define begin {
#define end }

Answer 23

Not a constant, but related to your dimensions=2 remark: When I was at UW, the manpage for the print spooler had something like:

--duplex n   Print on this many sides of the page.  Acceptable values
             (until we obtain more versatile printers) are 1 and 2.

Answer 24

public bool bTrue = true;

Answer 25

I once worked for a school board as a programmer of COBOL reports. In order to comply with desegregation directives, it was necessary to track enrollment and attendance by race. As a result, many of the reports contained counts of students in the categories White, Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, etc.

For some reason I thought it would be amusing to globally change all the category names to their...shall we say slang equivalents?...and then go ask the boss for some help debugging a counter overflow problem. Discretion prevents me from writing down what the actual names were but you get the drift.

Took him a couple of minutes to notice. His reaction was funny as hell. Damn near got me fired, though.

Answer 26

Here is a good one I remember from my last job. It included the following comments.

'Hard coded to be more dynamic
Const DYNAMIC_VAL = 1

Answer 27

Took him a couple of minutes to notice.