Thread: Static libraries and template functions

The entire template implementation needs to be in a header file when using templates.

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Mats

Well, at least not if you:
1. Want to be able to compile it with most common compilers.
2. Do not want to write EVERY implementation that you could possibly conceive - this is really what prevents it from linking is that the way the templates work is that the code is generated as needed by the compiler. If you actually write

Code:

stack::push<int>(int) 
{
  ... // Code that pushes an integer onto a stack<int>
}

and every other stack operation for every other type that you use, then you could compile that into a librar that is not part of a header file.

But the whole point of using templates is generally that you do not WANT to write every variant of every function that you have templates for.

--
Mats