Talk:Header file

message: * I am no expert on the subject, so my question could be silly... but, shouldn't the last programB.c read #include "programA.c" instead of #include "programA.h"? — Isilanes 19:54, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Include in programB.c 

message: "interfaces in Java are analogous to C header files" seems suspect to me.  The two are surely quite different ideas? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.113.57.163 (talk • contribs) 
:They're not totally different, in that C header files are typically used to publish public interfaces, and Java interfaces are typically used to describe public interfaces. They are different "parts of speech", so to speak, since header files contain source code, whereas the Java interface is a construct which appears in source code. In any case, I've made massive changes that included deleting that sentence. Java is mentioned farther up the page, with more finesse. :) --Quuxplusone 06:13, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Dubious statement

message: Derek farn's old intro:
:In computer programming, particularly in the C and C++ programming languages, a header file or include file is a file, usually in the form of source code, which is intended to be processed by a compiler when another source file is compiled.  The header file is referenced within the source file by using some computer language directive, usually containing the word include.  A common convention is that the name of a header file name include the letter h in its suffix, eg., .h, hpp.
My reversion:
:In computer programming, particularly in the C and C++ programming languages, a header file or include file is a file that is automatically included in another source file in order to provide forward declarations for subroutines or variables used in the latter file. Typically, header files are included via compiler directives at the beginning (or head) of the other source file.
Reasons I think the latter is better:
*"usually in the form of source code" — As far as I know, header files are by definition "source code", since they're processed by a compiler (or assembler), and therefore cannot be called "executable code". So this is redundant, but masks its redundancy with the weasel word "usually".
:There is no requirement in C or C++ for headers to be source code (not so sure about other languages) and in some implementations they have the form of a precompiled binary file (this can speed up compilation significantly when headers are large). Derek farn 10:57, 11 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Not a word in whose dictionary? Derek farn 10:57, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

text: Directive is the term used by many language specifications.  The directive article could use some work, otherwise it looks fine to me, the usage is not a compiler directive. Derek farn 10:57, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

text: Yes, usually is vague here.  Some languages use #include, others $include and others %include, and I am sure there are other combinations.  The essence is that most contain the letters include (there are a few languages that use other words). Derek farn 10:57, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

text: Ok, it may be ungrammatical, but it is technically correct.  Fix the grammar. Derek farn 10:57, 11 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reverted intro 

message: Nice! This article sure helped me alot in understanding how header files works in c++. I wish to thank the editors alot! Solved a 2h headache.
213.112.109.129 11:48, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Thanks 

message: How do you display the contents of a header file using a c++ program??
----Curieous 17:46, 08 Feb 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Doubt

message: The page says that newer languages do no need header files because of a special naming scheme. What kind of special naming scheme is it? Java one-file-per-class? In C# I do not need to use any special naming scheme, it just works when I write class A{ public int f(){return 0;}} in any source file. It does not "restrict file-naming freedom" 217.75.59.233 (talk) 13:32, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Naming scheme has nothing to do with not requiring header files. It is all about compiler being smart enough to generate (keep) function and class list internally. 217.75.59.233 (talk) 13:35, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Java/C# - "naming scheme"

message: The following sentence in this article is written presumptively:
"This is to keep the interface in the header separate from the implementation."
As a first-time reader of this topic, I'm immediately wondering, "What interface?" I come here to try to understand what a header file is, and this sentence suddenly throws at me that there is some interface within headers. What? In all headers? Are headers something that contain "interfaces"? If so, what the hell is meant by an interface?
If headers always or usually have "interfaces" in them, then shouldn't the article first state this and immediately explain what an "interface" is?
That wasn't meant to be (too) harsh, but contributors should check their own edits for such levels of presumption, and do so as if what they have written were being read by someone unfamiliar with the encompassing subject.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.145.82.159 (talk) 08:42, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Interface? What interface? 

message: Can somebody please provide a live link to this reference http://archive.gamedev.net/reference/programming/features/orgfiles/page2.asp .This link is dead. Jobin (talk) 12:22, 10 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reference