Linux kernel does it this way: /* Force a compilation error if condition is true, but also produce a result (of value 0 and type size_t), so the expression can be used e.g. in a structure initializer (or where-ever else comma expressions aren't permitted). */ #define BUILD_BUG_ON_ZERO(e) (sizeof(char[1 - 2 * !!(e)]) - 1) /* &a[0] degrades to a pointer: a different type from an array */ #define __must_be_array(a) \ BUILD_BUG_ON_ZERO(__builtin_types_compatible_p(typeof(a), typeof(&a[0]))) #define ARRAY_SIZE(arr) (sizeof(arr) / sizeof((arr)[0]) + __must_be_array(arr)) On Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 1:50 PM, Florian Weimer <fweimer@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On 08/09/2013 02:49 PM, Marcin Sobieszczanski wrote: >> >> What about a template function: >> >> template<typename T, size_t SZ> size_t ARRAY_SIZE( T (&a) [SZ] ) { >> return SZ; } > > > Yes, that's a good approach for C++ code, but a lot of code I'm dealing with > only compiles as C. > > > -- > Florian Weimer / Red Hat Product Security Team