The name of the header file is enclosed within angular brackets. We can define the syntax of the header file in 2 ways: User-defined header files: Header files starting #define can be designed by the user.ĭon’t forget to check- Basic structure of C Programming.Standard library header files: These are the pre-existing header files already available in the C/C++ compiler.Header files offer these features by importing them into your program with the help of a preprocessor directive called #include. These preprocessor directives are responsible for instructing the C/C++ compiler that these files need to be processed before compilation.Įvery C program should necessarily contain the header file which stands for standard input and output used to take input with the help of scanf() function and display the output using printf() function.Ĭ++ program should necessarily contain the header file which stands for input and output stream used to take input with the help of “ cin>” function and display the output using “ cout<<” function.įrom this example, it is clear that each header file of C and C++ has its own specific function associated with it. In C++, all the header files may or may not end with the .h extension but in C, all the header files must necessarily begin with the.h extension. The C/C++ Standard Library offers its users a variety of functions, one of which is header files. So, let’s start and explore the depth of header files of C/C++, which will be helping you out in numerous ways. Before the source code is compiled, it gets automatically processed due to the presence of preprocessor directives. The word “pre” means “before” and the word “processor” means “to make something”. The term “ preprocessor” is self-explanatory. Each program requires at least one header file to work.īefore we begin our discussion, it is important to understand, what are preprocessor directives? These are the basic building blocks of header files in C and C++. We are going to discuss each and everything about header files in C/C++. Are you aware of the various Header Files in C/C++? If not, there’s no need to worry.

C++ conio library