Comparing String Arguments in Macros

Last reviewed: January 6, 1995
Article ID: Q39517

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Macro Assembler for MS-DOS, versions 5.0, 5.1, 5.1a, 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0b
Microsoft Macro Assembler for OS/2, versions 5.1, 5.1a, 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0b

When using IF directives, relational operators could be used to form the conditions. Note: The relational operators treat the expressions as follows:

   EQ and NE treat their operators as 16-bit numbers

   LT, LE, GT, and GE treat their operators as 17-bit numbers.

The relational operators cannot be used for comparing string arguments. It is often necessary to compare string arguments in MACROs. IFIDN and IFDIF directives are available for this purpose. IFIDN grants assembly if two arguments are identical; IFDIF grants assembly if two arguments are different. The syntax is as follows:

    IFIDN <argument1>,<argument2>
    IFDIF <argument1>,<argument2>

Additional reference words: 5.00 5.10 5.10a 6.00 6.00a 6.00b
KBCategory: kbprg
KBSubCategory: MASMLngIss

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Last reviewed: January 6, 1995
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