including c header in c++ file

Question

I am trying to include a "c" header file in a cpp file. The c header file has the keyword "Boolean".

c header looks something like this:

#ifndef _CONFIGSTORE_H_
#define _CONFIGSTORE_H_

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C"
{
#endif
Boolean ConfigStoreIsPassword(char *pName);

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif

#endif //_CONFIGSTORE_H_

Below is the way i am including the c header in my cpp file:

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

or

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C"
{
#endif

#include "configstore.h"

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif

Either way i include, i get the below error: ../../../../src/Common/framework/configstore.h:52: error: 'Boolean' does not name a type

Could you please let me know how i can add the c header in cpp file Thanks in advance!!

-Vasavi

Answer 1

Two things spring to mind here. One, you are nesting an extern "C" block inside another extern "C" block. Remove the outer blocks.

Two, Boolean is not a keyword in c++. bool is. Try adding typedef bool Boolean; before your header inclusion.

Answer 2

Boolean is not a standard type for either C or C++ .

You'll need to find the header where Boolean is declared and include it before including your file.

Answer 3

You need to provide a definition of the Boolean type, that the C++ compiler can understand.

The extern "C" stuff just affects how symbol names are mangled, it doesn't magically make the C++ compiler understand C-specific types.

Not that Boolean is valid C, anyway. There's probably another header missing from your includes.

Answer 4

You don't need and should not use extern "C" around the #include statement. The header already does this right. configstore.h needs to include the definition of Boolean . As others have mentioned, you could add the definition of Boolean to the source file (or include the definition) before including configstore.h , but this is a bad idea as it creates include order dependencies between unrelated modules.