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*.h or *.hpp for your class definitions

c++ header

Question

I've always used a *.h file for my class definitions, but after reading some boost library code, I realised they all use *.hpp. I've always had an aversion to that file extension, I think mainly because I'm not used to it.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using *.hpp over *.h?

1
493
7/20/2016 7:20:32 PM

Accepted Answer

Here are a couple of reasons for having different naming of C vs C++ headers:

  • Automatic code formatting, you might have different guidelines for formatting C and C++ code. If the headers are separated by extension you can set your editor to apply the appropriate formatting automatically
  • Naming, I've been on projects where there were libraries written in C and then wrappers had been implemented in C++. Since the headers usually had similar names, i.e. Feature.h vs Feature.hpp, they were easy to tell apart.
  • Inclusion, maybe your project has more appropriate versions available written in C++ but you are using the C version (see above point). If headers are named after the language they are implemented in you can easily spot all the C-headers and check for C++ versions.

Remember, C is not C++ and it can be very dangerous to mix and match unless you know what you are doing. Naming your sources appropriately helps you tell the languages apart.

473
9/30/2008 11:41:07 AM

I use .hpp because I want the user to differentiate what headers are C++ headers, and what headers are C headers.

This can be important when your project is using both C and C++ modules: Like someone else explained before me, you should do it very carefully, and its starts by the "contract" you offer through the extension

.hpp : C++ Headers

(Or .hxx, or .hh, or whatever)

This header is for C++ only.

If you're in a C module, don't even try to include it. You won't like it, because no effort is done to make it C-friendly (too much would be lost, like function overloading, namespaces, etc. etc.).

.h : C/C++ compatible or pure C Headers

This header can be included by both a C source, and a C++ source, directly or indirectly.

It can included directly, being protected by the __cplusplus macro:

  • Which mean that, from a C++ viewpoint, the C-compatible code will be defined as extern "C".
  • From a C viewpoint, all the C code will be plainly visible, but the C++ code will be hidden (because it won't compile in a C compiler).

For example:

#ifndef MY_HEADER_H
#define MY_HEADER_H

   #ifdef __cplusplus
      extern "C"
      {
   #endif

   void myCFunction() ;

   #ifdef __cplusplus
      } // extern "C"
   #endif

#endif // MY_HEADER_H

Or it could be included indirectly by the corresponding .hpp header enclosing it with the extern "C" declaration.

For example:

#ifndef MY_HEADER_HPP
#define MY_HEADER_HPP

extern "C"
{
#include "my_header.h"
}

#endif // MY_HEADER_HPP

and:

#ifndef MY_HEADER_H
#define MY_HEADER_H

void myCFunction() ;

#endif // MY_HEADER_H
paercebal

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