Object-Oriented Programming

Separate Compilation

Michael L. Collard, Ph.D.

Department of Computer Science, The University of Akron

Separate Compilation

  • Real programs are composed of multiple files
  • Files are compiled separately into object files
  • The object files are linked together using the linker
  • For each application, one file is the main program and contains the main function
  • Separating functions and classes into separate files increases cohesion (good) but also increases coupling

File Structure

  • Include file: *.hpp includes function declarations, e.g., Aggregate.hpp
  • Implementation file: *.cpp includes function definitions, e.g., Aggregate.cpp
  • Two files are highly related

Include File

  • Required header comment, as in any other source file
  • Required include guard to prevent the compiler from seeing these contents more than once
  • Insert only the include of any files needed for the function declarations
  • Insert the function declarations (function prototypes)
  • The code that uses the include file must compile no matter where it is included or which includes precede it

Implementation File

  • Required header comment, as in any other source file
  • Include the related include file first, then when you compile the implementation file, you check that the include file is complete.
  • Insert any included files needed for the implementation
  • An include file is needed in the implementation file if it is used in the implementation of the code, i.e., the function definition
  • Do not include .cpp files

Roles

  • Include files (*.hpp) contain the interface concerns
  • Implementation files (*.cpp) contain the implementation concerns
  • Hide as many concerns as possible in the implementation files

Indirect Includes

Direct Includes

Self-Sufficiency

  • An include file needs to be self-sufficient
  • It should not depend on previous includes or the order of includes
  • This applies to all include files that we write

Exposing Implementation Concerns

Hiding Implementation Concerns