 <p>Before you get started, do not use macro names that begin with an underscore - these are reserved for compiler and standard library writers, and must not be used in your own code.</p> <p>Additionally, I would say that the macros you suggest are all ver bad ideas, because they hide from the reader what is going on. The only justification for them seems to be to save you a very small amount of typing. Generally, you should only be using macros when there is no sensible alternative. In this case there is one - simply write the code.</p>