Why is std::min failing when windows.h is included?

#include <algorithm>
#include <Windows.h>

int main()
{
    int k = std::min(3, 4);
    return 0;
}

What is windows doing if I include Windows.h? I can't use std::min in visual studio 2005. The error message is:

error C2589: '(' : illegal token on right side of '::'
error C2059: syntax error : '::'

Solution 1:

The windows.h header file (or more correctly, windef.h that it includes in turn) has macros for min and max which are interfering.

You should #define NOMINMAX before including it.

Solution 2:

No need to define anything, just bypass the macro using this syntax:

(std::min)(a, b); // added parentheses around function name
(std::max)(a, b);