C/C++ using #define values...

You're quite right -- you can't really use BM_CLICK or any other #define at run-time unless you refer to it directly, because a #define is just a text substitution as far as the compiler is concerned (i.e., it happens at compile time, and any knowledge about the #define is lost). I've used a table and a lookup function to map the input text ("BM_CLICK") to the corresponding value; it's not particularly elegant, but it solves the problem.

Hope this helps.

There isn't an automatic way to do this. I would suggest creating a table of strings and values, and then scanning the table for the specified string. You'll still need an 'if', but you'll be doing this inside a loop. To add new values, you just update the table, not the code.

You could use a hash map (if your library supports it), database or some other mechanism, but someone, somewhere, is going to be doing the equivalent of what I just described (although they might use an index or hash, instead of scanning), and you will still need to create and maintain the table.

Thanks guys,

Was afraid of that. I'll prolly use an array if I don't hardcode
in the values, or I could just furnish the user with a table of
#define numbers...

Thanks again, Mac