Header Files, Source Files, & Extension Names–C++ Notes (C Plus Plus Notes)

What’s the difference between Header files & Source files?

Basically, header files are #included and not compiled, whereas source files are compiled and not #included.

So do not compile ‘.h‘ files, and do not #include ‘.cpp‘ Source files.

Also, do not #include the same .h file twice. This will lead to an error.

Extensions

• All files are fundamentally the same in that they’re all text file, however different kinds of files should have different extensions:
  • Header files should use a .h extension (.h/.hpp/.hxx). Which particular one of these you use doesn’t matter.
  • C source files should use .c (.c only). (But that’s for ‘C’ language.)