The MIP SDK requires at least C++14 support, but some parts of the MIP SDK can make use of newer C++ features. These parts are guarded by #ifdefs for the __cplusplus version or feature test macros and they will be safely ignored if your compiler lacks support.

In a few cases however, this can be dangerous when the MIP SDK is built as a library (e.g., MicroStrain pre-built versions from github) and then gets used in a project with a different C++ standard version. If the #ifdef guards cause a different implementation to be selected, then there is a mismatch and a violation of the one-definition rule. This can cause linker errors or mysterious crashes and odd behavior. To avoid this, the MIP SDK requires that the user explicitly opt-in to certain C++ features. This "opt-in" choice must be made identically when the library is compiled and then in the project where it is used (this includes anywhere the MIP SDK headers are included).

std::span

A "span" in C++ parlance is the combination of a pointer and length, typically representing a view of an array. The MIP SDK provides an implementation called microstrain::Span, which tries to be compatible with std::span from C++20. It includes most, but not all, features from the standard version. If your compiler supports it, you may use std::span instead by defining MICROSTRAIN_USE_STD_SPAN. This will replace the microstrain span implementation with a typedef to std::span.

https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/span

std::endian

The serialization system requires a notion of endianness. By default, an enum called microstrain::Endian is defined which provides integer constants representing big and little endianness. If your compiler supports std::endian from C++20, you may define MICROSTRAIN_USE_STD_ENDIAN in your project. This will replace the microstrain enum with a typedef to std::endian.

https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/types/endian

Other Optional C++ Features

These features can be used with the MIP SDK if your compiler supports them. No special #defines are necessary as compiled library code is not affected by the choice. They are used by header-only features and no alternative implementations are supplied with which they could conflict.