Thread: How to add more header files?

Code which uses a function in a header file needs to #include that header file. If it doesn't, it does not matter in the slightest where you place the header files.

Common technique is to place the header files that are specific to your project in the same directory as source files (with .c extension). Since the source files will #include the header files as needed, it is not otherwise necessary to register header files in your project.

There are other techniques but, if you can't get the most basic "vanilla" approach down (that works regardless with all compilers unless you do something really funky to confuse things), you shouldn't be using those.

Hi Jamorp, you'll have to use double quotes for the header file inclusion even if you included it in the "c:\MinGW\include" folder, since it does not belong to that IDE/Compiler's standard installation package, like for example, if I had a header file called greetMe.h, after including it it in the "c:\MinGW\include" folder, I add it like this:

Code:

#include "greetMe.h"

If you did not put it in that "MinGW\include" folder, however, you'll have to specify the full path like this:

Code:

#include "c:\users\admin\documents\My custom headers\greetMe.h"

Have fun! and when you're ready check this out:

Sudoku Program in "C"

Originally Posted by Suigen

Hi Jamorp, you'll have to use double quotes for the header file inclusion even if you included it in the "c:\MinGW\include" folder, since it does not belong to that IDE/Compiler's standard installation package, like for example, if I had a header file called greetMe.h, after including it it in the "c:\MinGW\include" folder, I add it like this:

Clearly, you don't understand the point that it is not necessary and definitely not recommended that additional headers be placed in an implementation's include path.

Originally Posted by Suigen

If you did not put it in that "MinGW\include" folder, however, you'll have to specify the full path like this:

It is only necessary to specify a full path if you don't understand how the compiler finds user specified header files (i.e. those with names in double quotes).

If you need to fully specify paths of headers, then you are missing the point of header files.

Originally Posted by jamorp

..double quotes, thanks Suigen, this helped me one step further. Instead of "No such file or directory" I've got now this error message below, which makes me wonder if third-party "bintree.h" is incompatible with my setup:

That error message is from the linker, and has nothing to do with the compiler, let alone header files. It results from building a standard C program - one that has a main() function - as a windows program. Look up compiler, library, or development options, and find the settings to build a "Console application" or similar (the precise wording depends on development environment).

Jamorp, Grumpy is right. You should include your header files which are specific to your project in your project folder, i.e the one which houses your .c source file just like Grumpy said for portability to another person's computer for example.

Grumpy, my bad, I should have suggested setting up his IDE/compiler to look from header files from a specific path and caching them, but because Jamorp said he/she was a beginner, he would need to understand his IDE/Compiler properly.

Jamorp, you can google: "How to set up <insert IDE/Compiler's name> to find header files from different path" as I do not know your Implementation software.

Jamorp, be sure that you are not building a Windows/Win32 project if your intention was to create a console application (Because their "main( )" function and function calls are different).

Please, keep me posted.