Sessions on advanced C++ programming

A.7. Compiling and linking issues

Topics

• Compile-time dependences in C++
  Object-orientation is a well-accepted technology to minimalize object interactions, ie: run-time dependences between objects. In the same time reducing compile-time dependences is also an important issue for project management purposes.
• Compilation firewalls
  Compile-time dependences could be minimalized using the PIMPL idiom, which is often called Compile-time firewalls. We discuss here the different options.
• Fast PIMPL idiom
  PIMPL has some disadvantages, here we discuss them, and also see an alternative solution, the fast PIMPL idiom.
• Codeblow
  Using templates sometimes cause exponential grow of the code instantiated. This situation is sometime called codeblow. Let us to analize the problem, and see, how to avoid codeblow.
• Using C and C++ together
  C and C++ sources should be compiled separatelly, but we can link them together. Because of the different strategy to generate external names in C and C++, we use extern "C".
• Interpositioning
  An interesting "issue", when more than one external name can be taken part in the linking. Also be care with the left-to-write searching method of linkers.
• Order of objects at linking
  Do you think, that the order of object files at linking is not a significant issue. Well, check this small project, and decide it yourself.
• Static members
  Static members are initialized at the beginning of the program, in order of their apperance in the source. Order between different sources, however, not defined, and could be depending of linking order.
• Dynamic linking issues