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POUsing C++ library in C code
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  1. POUsing C++ library in C code
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    copied!<p>I have a C++ library that provides various classes for managing data. I have the source code for the library.</p> <p>I want to extend the C++ API to support C function calls so that the library can be used with C code and C++ code at the same time.</p> <p>I'm using GNU tool chain (gcc, glibc, etc), so language and architecture support are not an issue.</p> <p>Are there any reasons why this is <strong>technically</strong> not possible?</p> <p>Are there any <strong>gotcha's</strong> that I need to watch out for?</p> <p>Are there resources, example code and/or documentation available regarding this?</p> <hr> <p>Some other things that I have found out:</p> <ol> <li>Use the following to wrap your C++ headers that need to be used by C code.</li> </ol> <p></p> <pre><code>#ifdef __cplusplus extern "C" { #endif // // Code goes here ... // #ifdef __cplusplus } // extern "C" #endif </code></pre> <ol start="2"> <li>Keep "real" C++ interfaces in separate header files that are not included by C. Think <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_class_data_pattern" rel="noreferrer">PIMPL principle</a> here. Using <code>#ifndef __cplusplus #error</code> stuff helps here to detect any craziness.</li> <li>Careful of C++ identifiers as names in C code</li> <li>Enums varying in size between C and C++ compilers. Probably not an issue if you're using GNU tool chain, but still, be careful.</li> <li><p>For structs follow the following form so that C does not get confused.</p> <pre><code>typedef struct X { ... } X </code></pre></li> <li><p>Then use pointers for passing around C++ objects, they just have to be declared in C as struct X where X is the C++ object.</p></li> </ol> <p>All of this is courtesy of a friend who's a wizard at C++.</p>
 

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